Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
Journalist, barrister and Fianna Fail supporter Noel Whelan talking about his good friend Sean Gallagher on the Marian Finucane Show last Sunday.
He cannot be caught unless something catastrophic happens to his campaign in the remaining four or five days.
Gallagher’s problem is simple.
He, in common with all Irish politicians, is clinically incapable of telling the truth.
I received a letter in the post today from Limerick City Council in response to my formal complaint concerning the alleged abuse of expenses by Cllr. Kennedy.
My complaint has been forwarded to Cllr. Kennedy and a report has been requested from him by 1st November next.
When that report is received Limerick City Council officials will consider the reply (explanation) and forward same to me.
I submitted my complaint on 4th Oct. This is only the 24th and Limerick City Council has set a deadline for Cllr. Kennedy of 1st November.
In comparison to the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) who, on average, take about a year to make progress on complaints, this is indeed impressive.
The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte has been doing a great job recently defending the interests of the banking sector.
The interdepartmental group that produced the Keane Report on the mortgage crisis was made up of two bankers, 16 civil servants and Keane himself was seconded from KPMG
Marian Finucane commented that it was remarkable that organisations like MABS or Legal Aid weren’t involved in the report.
Rabbitte replied in his number one condescending voice:
No it isn’t Marian, no it isn’t and I’m one of the most stringent critics of the reckless behaviour of bankers.
You cannot address this issue without having bankers present in terms of the ramifications for the banking system.
In other words – I’m not answering the question.
Someone else challenged him on the fact that bankers were still paying themselves vast amounts of money.
Again, in his Sunday best condescending voice, Rabbitte patiently tried to explain things to the great unwashed.
Let’s not get carried away now, let’s not get carried away, I mean that’s not true. The bankers pay has been cut dramatically…
Look it, we’ve been landed in this mess, we have to have to try and deal with the unfortunate people in acute distress about losing their homes.
In other words, stop talking about greedy bankers; after all I’m supposed to be a left wing, for the ordinary people politician.
What’s the big deal about Sean Gallagher’s illegal loan to himself?
Such breaches of company law are rampant in Ireland; they are part and parcel of everyday business activity.
It is only because Gallagher is currently in the spotlight that the matter raises an eyebrow at all, if he wasn’t a presidential candidate his law breaking would never have been noticed.
His Fr. Ted excuse (the money was just resting in my account) that the money was ‘accidentally’ lodged in the wrong account is also par for the course.
In Ireland, when people of power and influence break the law they simply plead that it was a mistake and all is forgiven.
So called regulatory authorities never, ever pursue these people preferring to conserve their powers and resources for any ordinary citizen who might have the audacity to step out of line.
Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Roger Lewis said that Warren Gatland should be praised for choosing not to cheat in the game against France.
Shopping in the supermarket the other day I found myself in a perfect position to rob a packet of Marietta biscuits but choose not to.
So – Kudos to me.
Elaine Byrne has an excellent but very disturbing article in yesterday’s Sunday Independent.
She outlines the power that billionaire Denis O’Brien wields in this country and how the political system fears that power.
Byrne reminds us of how Enda Kenny responded to the damning conclusions of the Moriarty Tribunal.
He vowed to;
Sever the links between politics and business once and for all and, in so doing, achieve three fundamental goals: stop the further pollution of our society; re-establish a moral code and order regarding public life; and, through that, restore public confidence in politics and government.
The pollution of Irish society by the body politic is, however, continuing apace as we see from the reaction of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan, when challenged on the presence of Denis O’Brien at the recent Global Irish Forum last weekend.
That’s his own business, he’s contesting a lot of findings of the tribunal . . . it’s not for us to judge him.
The fact that a government minister thinks it’s not for him or the government to judge a man like O’Brien tells us all we need to know about so called political reform.
Channel 4 News did an in depth report on the presidential election covering all the candidates with the exception of Mary Davis and Gay Mitchell.
Was it just sloppy research on the part of Channel 4 that they missed Gay Mitchell who is, in effect, a government candidate or was it that they just didn’t notice him – I think the latter.
Given his right wing and deeply conservative/Catholic outlook the Fine Gael candidate was never going to get my number one vote but after reading a ‘sermon’ by Catholic militant, David Quinn, Mitchell is now off my list altogether.
I’ve just listened to a speech given by Steve Jobs to students at Stanford University in 2005.
It’s probably the most inspirational speech I have ever heard and, for me, the following quote lies at the heart of what he had to say.
Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other peoples thinking.
Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice and, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.
Once again we see the political expenses system being abused without any serious reaction from so called regulatory authorities.
Fine Gael councillor Pat Kennedy claimed travel expenses for the use of his car to attend five conferences and seminars in February and March 2010 when, in fact, his car was off the road due to an accident (Irish Independent).
Cllr. Kennedy told Limerick City Council that the car he rented for the period in question was changed on a number of occasions by the rental company.
When challenged Cllr. Kennedy chose not to provide any other car details and repaid the money (€1,690.65) in April 2010.
Limerick city manager, Tom Mackey, accepted the payment from Cllr. Kennedy and took no further action.
I contacted the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) this morning with the intention of making a formal complaint but was informed that I must first make a complaint to the Ethics Registrar of Limerick City Council (Copy of complaint below).
This latest scandal raises a number of questions.
Did Limerick City Council officials check with the car rental company to verify Kennedy’s claim that his rented car was changed on a number of occasion?
Company records would immediately confirm or otherwise this claim or, indeed, if he rented a car at all.
Is there a requirement/duty on public officials like city managers to report matters of this kind (to anybody) or can they just nod and wink behind closed doors?
I wish to lodge a formal complaint under Part 15 of the Local Government Act, 2001 against Fine Gael Councillor Pat Kennedy.
The complaint concerns a report in the Irish Independent dated 4th October 2011 in which the following allegation is made against Councillor Kennedy.
That he claimed travel expenses for the use of his car during the period October 1, 2009 through to March 31, 2010 when his car was off the road due to a traffic accident.
Specifically, Councillor Kennedy claimed that his car was used to travel to five conferences and seminars in February and March 2010 when, in fact, his car was not available to him during this period.
Yours Sincerely
Anthony Sheridan
The entry of Martin McGuinness into the presidential election has brought to the surface a unique and particularly virulent form of Irish hypocrisy.
In it’s simplest form this hypocrisy can be expressed in a sentence – McGuinness is good enough for the people of Northern Ireland but ‘his type’ does not measure up to the high standards of political leadership in the Republic.
This view is, of course, pure and utter bullshit propagated by a ruling elite who labour under the delusion that Ireland is a functional democracy when in reality it is nothing more than a banana republic, a failed state that has more in common with a badly run mafia than a modern democratic state.
McGuinness is accepted by the people of Northern Ireland, by the British Government and the British people, by all the peoples and governments of the European Union, by the United Nations, by the United States, indeed by the entire world as a bona fide, hard working and genuine politician who has made a major contribution in bringing peace to Northern Ireland.
Only the hypocritical, incompetent morons who destroyed our country are of the view that McGuinness is not a fit person to hold high office.
In order to stop McGuinness at all cost, this campaign is going to have an additional ingredient – a state/government strategy to smear McGuinness at every opportunity.
This strategy will probably include government leaks, the handing over of files to ‘friendly’ journalists and heightened Garda activity against republican supporters.