Public Inquiry – Page 16 – Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

Breaking News: Sinn Fein shed arrested

By Anthony Sheridan

There was a sensational story on the front of today’s Irish Times.

Adams canvasser owns shed where ‘Slab’ Murphy cash found

My god I thought. Could this possibly be true, could somebody who canvasses for Gerry Adams actually own a shed and could that shed be the very same shed where another ‘sinister’ Fenian hid some cash?

This is even more explosive (pun intended) than the recent, truly shocking story in the Irish Sun where it was revealed that Adams worked just eight metres, yes, that’s right, just eight metres, away from a vice den over his constituency office.

My god; is there no end to this man’s heinous crimes?

Well, thats it, I’ve heard enough. Gerry Adams, every member and supporter of Sinn Fein, every citizen who may even have considered voting for the party of sinisterism should be arrested forthwith and put away – at least until the election is over.

It’s the only way to protect the stability, prosperity and genuine democracy bestowed upon us over the years by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour.

Oh, and that evil shed, That shed should also be arrested and locked away; it’s clearly a threat to all of our futures.

Dolores O’Riordan judgement a disgrace

By Anthony Sheridan

The decision by judge Patrick Durkan to allow Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan buy her way out of a criminal offence is a disgrace.

First, let’s look at the offences committed by O’Riordan.

Caused a disturbance on an Aer Lingus flight including stepping on the foot of a flight attendant.

Assaulted two members of the airport police at Shannon.

Obstructed a police officer in the execution of his duty.

Escaped from police custody.

Headbutted and spat in the face of a policeman.

Falsely accused police officers of sexual assault.

These are very serious offences and would normally result in a conviction and probably a prison sentence. The judge had three options:

Acquit her on the grounds that she was suffering from a mental illness at the time.

Find her guilty and impose an appropriate sentence.

Let her off completely but make it look respectable under the cloak of the court poor box charade.

By letting her off the judge lessens respect for the law and increases the suspicion that the court poor box is nothing more than a mechanism under which those with influence can avoid the consequences of having a criminal record.

The judge is reported as saying that O’Riordan was treated in exactly the same way as any other member of the public but then went on to completely contradict that claim by saying:

Because she is a public figure, she not only had to deal with any sentence or sanction that the court imposed but also one that the public would impose.

This means, in effect, that public figures are entitled to greater leniency simply because they are public figures.

In my opinion O’Riordan should have been found guilty, fined €6,000 and told to get on with living with the reality of having a criminal record, just like ordinary people have to.

The court poor box perversion should be discontinued before it does any more damage to the standing of the law.

Afghanistan/Ireland: Same corruption culture

By Anthony Sheridan

There are 167 countries listed on the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International (TI) for 2015.

The least corrupt country (Denmark) comes in at number one. The most corrupt is Somalia at 167.

Ireland is 18 while Afghanistan comes in as the second most corrupt country at 166.

Ireland’s high rating does not come anywhere near reflecting the actual level of corruption in the country.

This can be clearly demonstrated by comparing a special report by TI on corruption in Afghanistan with similar corruption in Ireland.

This article is based on a news report by Al Jazeera on the TI report. I suspect that many Irish citizens would be shocked to learn that Ireland is, in many ways, even more corrupt than Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: The former CEO of Kabul bank Khalilullah Ferozi was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for his role in stealing 900 million USD.

Ireland: A judge refused to jail two bank directors who were found to have committed a serious crime because the financial regulator had given the green light to the illegal share-buying scheme for which they were convicted.

So, two criminal bankers are effectively set free after being found guilty of a serious crime and, much more seriously, no action whatsoever is taken against the state regulator who gave the go-ahead for the crime.

Afghanistan: With the backing of powerful politicians Ferozi was soon released from jail and signed a multi-million dollar real estate deal with the blessing of government officials.

Ireland: Because of the backing of powerful politicians criminal bankers/property developers never go to jail in the first place. Dodgy and outright criminal deals are not uncommon in the Irish business community, particularly deals involving state funds. Government officials seldom question these deals.

Afghanistan: Corruption still plagues the country despite an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars from the international community to reform the system.

Ireland: Corruption has yet to be even acknowledged as a reality by the state. Despite an almost weekly diet of corrupt revelations the issue itself is never actually discussed or acted upon.

Afghanistan: According to TI the country is still beset by rampant bribery within the police department, a justice department manipulated by politicians and government employees hired on the basis of whom they know.

Ireland: Corruption is rampant within the police force particularly at higher levels. Politicians openly manipulate the justice department, even to the point of sacking a police commissioner for political reasons, and many government employees are hired on the basis of whom they know.

Afghanistan: How do you fight corruption when the Government itself is corrupt?

Ireland: It is not just the government that is corrupt; the state itself is intrinsically corrupt.

Afghanistan: The report calls for a new independent body to fight corruption. An independent commission to train and appoint judges and a new Attorney General with a record of fighting crime.

Ireland: An independent body to fight corruption has never even been proposed never mind actually discussed as a serious idea. There is no independent commission to train and appoint judges. There is a body that advises politicians about the appointment of judges but this is merely a fig leaf to give the impression that there is no direct link between politicians and the appointments of judges.

Ireland has never appointed an Attorney General with a record of fighting corruption.

Afghanistan: Government response to the TI report:

We’re in the process of overhauling the whole system of fighting corruption.

Ireland: Politicians, government officials, police and most of the media have yet to even acknowledge that there is a need to create, never mind overhaul, a system to fight corruption.

Afghanistan: The president of Afghanistan finds himself in a very delicate position. If he’s not serious about fighting corruption he risks losing credibility and pubic trust. If he is serious he risks going toe to toe with some of the country’s most powerful people.

Ireland: This choice presents no problem for mainstream Irish politicians. For decades they have blatantly sided with the corrupt and still do even though a large percentage of the people have lost trust in the system.

Afghanistan: It was the backing of powerful people that helped convicted embezzler Ferozi to get out of jail to sign the real estate deal. It was only when Afghans became outraged that the president voided the agreement and pushed prosecutors to send Ferozi back to prison.

Ireland: Embezzlers who are friendly with politicians never go to jail in the first place. Irish citizens who express anger about the very close links between politicians and corrupt businessmen are likely to find themselves questioned by the police.

Afghanistan: Perhaps a glimmer of hope (the sending of Ferozi back to prison) in a crisis that has cost this country billions of dollars and public trust that’s impossible to measure.

Ireland: There is no glimmer of hope from the mainstream parties or from so-called law enforcement agencies. But there is great hope from the rapidly growing bottom-up movement of ordinary people who have rejected the culture of corruption that has inflicted so much suffering.

Copy to:
Transparency International

Varadkar spouts the usual waffle in response to patient’s suffering and death

By Anthony Sheridan

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar was dealing with the latest scandal in the HSE which included the usual suffering and death of patients.

He said he sympathised with the latest victims of the HSE particularly with the family of the deceased.

He said there would be full disclosure.

He said he was concerned about how long the review was taking.

He said he was determined to improve quality assurance (whatever that is).

He said lessons must be learnt.

He said mistakes must not be repeated.

He said he knew all about the scandal since early 2015.

A journalist asked him how the investigation into the horror inflicted on Grace was going.

Grace…Who’s Grace?

Ah no, he wasn’t asked that question. But still, we know there’s truth in it.

Renua could, at some point in the future, be radical

By Anthony Sheridan

Renua presents itself as a radical party; a party that’s going to change the way politics is done in Ireland. The party, led by Lucinda Creighton, is promising to dispose of the old regime and replace it with a truly democratic, accountable, transparent republic.

For example, it is proposing to dismiss corrupt members of the Oireachtas.

So, no messing there. But wait….here’s a recent statement from the party:

The current Coalition is not corrupt but its obsession with secrecy is creating a framework where corruption could be enabled to flourish at some future date.

Let’s stretch that out for some clarity:

The current government is not corrupt.
But its obsession with secrecy could create a framework…
Where corruption could be enabled…
At some future date.

Now let’s apply that to Renua’s commitment to radical change:

Renua is not yet a radical party…
But its obsession for political change may create a framework where it does become radical…
Where it may become enabled to honestly acknowledge and challenge the disease of corruption…
At some future date….but not now.

Copy to:
Renua

SINDO to defeat the great evil one

By Anthony Sheridan

A great fear stalks the land. An evil force, greater than any witnessed since the creation of the Cosmos, has invaded the green isle of Ireland.

The evil? – Sinn Fein.

The fear? – That the evil one will supplant the white knights of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour who have, since 1922, ruled our great nation with wisdom, courage and honesty.

The evil one is on the point of victory, only one force stands heroically in its path, only one force with the courage, patriotism and strength to save the people from their own foolishness for even contemplating voting for the dark one.

That force? THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT (Triumphant fanfare).

Tomorrow is the day of judgement when the SINDO engages in its final battle with the evil one before polling day.

Tomorrow is the day of justice when the SINDO, after many years of battle, delivers justice by slaying the evil dragon on behalf of a great but ungrateful people.

Every article, every sentence, every full stop will be recruited to do battle…including:

The horoscope:

A dark force will destroy you unless you vote as we advise.

The weather:

Dark clouds are approaching from the Left. Get out your umbrella’s and wellies on to save yourselves.

Sports:

It’s a game of two halves – good and evil. Cheer for the white knights, boo the evil one.

The personals:

Wanted: Unthinking/gullible voters to continue supporting the corrupt political system that has impoverished the people and enriched the powerful.

Fergus Finlay: Politics is not corrupt

By Anthony Sheridan

The headline of the article was not only dramatic, it was 100% true.

Politics is corrupt; public administration is corrupt, and democracy is dead

Unfortunately, the author of the article, Fergus Finlay, does not believe the truth of his own headline. He makes his real views crystal clear in the body of the article.

I’ve had correspondents who have accused me of being stupid and naïve because I should have realised years ago that politics is corrupt, public administration is corrupt, and democracy is dead.

Maybe I am stupid and naïve, but I don’t believe politics is essentially corrupt.

So Finlay believes those who have corresponded with him hold the view that politics is corrupt whereas he believes there is merely a risk of the state going corrupt.

I am absolutely convinced that the issue of accountability, and how its absence runs the risk of corrupting our state, should be a central issue in the general election campaign.

But it is obvious (and should be to Finlay) from the rest of his article that Ireland is indeed a corrupt state.

He writes about the horror inflicted on Grace by state authorities. He expresses hope that the investigation into the horror will be free from obstacles.

He is naïve in the extreme.

The scandal will be covered up or put on the slow train to nowhere until it becomes a non-memory. I can say with absolute certainty that there will be no justice whatsoever for Grace. This fact is easily proven by simply looking back on the endless stream of similar cases that have been run into the sand of unaccountability over the decades.

He then goes on to list, as if to punish himself for his naivety, other areas of public life where corruption is rampant – Banks, builders, politicians, the legal and accounting professions, charities.

Then, blinded by this close encounter with the glare of truth he, as always, makes a quick escape back into the cave of shadows.

In the comfort of the cave he talks to the shadows about how the wording of the Constitution might be used to persuade the corrupt to mend their ways.

He writes about the defeated referendum proposal to give Oireachtas Committees greater powers of investigation.

Even if (and it’s a big if) such committees successfully investigated wrongdoing and corruption the state would, as it has done with the conclusions of many investigations/tribunals, simply ignore the findings.

And it is crucial to keep in mind that the decision not to act against corruption is no accident. It is a deliberate policy, designed to protect the corrupt, faithfully adhered to by the ruling political class principally made up of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour.

Again, I don’t have to argue the point here. We simply have to look at the record of non-action by the mainstream parties over the past several decades to see the truth.

In his conclusion Mr. Finlay asks:

Could a lack of accountability kill democracy?

It most certainly could, we wouldn’t be the first country to be killed off by the disease of corruption.

But I’m optimistic that the current corrupt political/administrative system, that has done so much damage to Ireland and its people will, ultimately, be defeated.

It will be defeated by the emerging power of the growing number of citizens who have rejected the old regime and are successfully challenging its culture of corruption.

This election is shaping up to deliver a major victory for those who are determined to create a functional, genuinely democratic republic.

Mr. Finlay is a loyal supporter of the old regime, not because he’s corrupt, stupid or naïve but because he has lived all his adult life too close to the core of the rotten system.

Over the years that closeness has damaged his objectivity to such a degree that he is no longer capable of recognizing that the source of his anger and puzzlement is right there in front of his eyes.

Copy to:
Fergus Finlay

Ivan Yates: How to get a cheap vote by exploiting family grief

Close up Red POLITICAL CORRUPTION Text at the Center of Word Tag Cloud on White Background.

By Anthony Sheridan

Is former Fine Gael minister Ivan Yates a master of cynicism or has his principles and integrity been seriously damaged by his involvement in the corrupt culture of Irish politics?

I suspect it’s the latter.

Writing in yesterday’s Irish Independent Yates tells us that this election provides an opportunity to get rid of gobdaws from Irish politics.

We don’t need more gobdaws from Ballymagash blathering a torrent of parochial nonsense.

He goes on:

Given that standards in all professions are rising, politicians should not get a free pass. Let’s hope the 32nd Dáil comprises bright, smart people – and is devoid of cute hoors. We must separate the opportunist attention-seekers with an eye on a lucrative job, and people of genuine integrity whose aim is honourable public service.

Then, right beneath the words ‘people of genuine integrity whose aim is honourable public service’, Yates writes another article entitled:

Brass-neck survival guide for canvassers

Here Yates outlines in lurid detail how candidates and their supporters should lie, distort, abuse, fabricate and misrepresent themselves in order to get an opportunity to ‘provide honourable public service with genuine integrity’.

One particularly obnoxious piece of advice goes:

Be aware of any recent bereavement involving householders or the extended family – if your candidate attended the funeral, you may be in luck.

What level of depravity does a person have to sink to where they believe a traumatic family death is a ‘lucky’ opportunity for a cheap vote?

Copy to:
Ivan Yates

Miriam Lord endorses Michael Martin

By Anthony Sheridan

Michael Martin and the Fianna Fail party will be delighted with this glowing endorsement of their leader by Irish Times columnist Miriam Lord.

Lord, in common with all establishment journalists, possesses an amazing ability of writing about Irish politics and in particular about Fianna Fail without ever mentioning the dreaded phrase – political corruption.

Michael must be delighted to have so many friendly journalists singing his praises in the comfortable realm of denial.

Copy to:
Miriam Lord

‘Slab’ Murphy sentencing decision: A manipulation of justice for political ends?

By Anthony Sheridan

In a functional democracy the decision to defer the sentencing of Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy until polling day would be seen as a blatant manipulation of the justice system in support of a political agenda.

And this questionable decision is not without precedent. In 2007 Judge Alan Mahon suspended the tribunal he was chairing until after the approaching election when then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was due to answer allegations made against him.

So, in 2007, a judge suspends an investigation that, if it had continued, would have resulted in bad publicity for a Taoiseach and his party in the run up to an election.

In 2016 a court decides to deliver a sentence on polling day which is likely to deliver massive political advantage to the incumbent government and do serious damage to the prospects of an opposition party.

The court could have waited until Monday 29 to deliver its sentence ensuring that the event remained solely one of justice. The decision to deliver the sentence on polling day has, whether intentional or not, turned the event into one of justice and politics.

No functional democracy would tolerate such an apparent manipulation of justice.