Going backwards

Great letter in today’s Irish Times.

Back to the future

Madam, – Isn’t it ironic that we hear our politicians making such frequent use of the expression “going forward”, when the country is going backwards? – Yours, etc,

MARY WILSON,

Clifton Lane,

Monkstown,

Co Dublin.

Nail on the head

Letter is today’s Irish Times.

Madam,

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey’s attack on those he claimed had committed “economic treason” was entirely predictable, if a little belated. It is part of the strategy of Government leaders to blame international events and a small clique of speculators and bankers for all our woes.

They are being completely disingenuous in doing so and I do not believe the Irish people will be fooled.
The real architects of this economic debacle were the successive Fianna Fáil/PD governments under the “leadership” of Bertie Ahern. We were particularly unfortunate to have as taoiseach a man so lacking in political vision and integrity at a time of great, though transient, wealth. Successive Ahern administrations failed to manage the economy in a sustainable manner. Their ineptitude was staggering.

They claimed they wanted world-class public services at the same time as they were reducing taxes. They reduced direct taxes to the lowest level in Western Europe, simply to win elections, and now we find we have an unsustainably low level of taxation, which cannot allow us to even maintain the poor level of public services we currently “enjoy”.

They failed to institute a fair tax regime while giving generous tax breaks to speculators, fuelling the construction bubble. They also established less ethical, though technically legal, tax breaks, which have earned this country the dubious distinction of being compared to Lichtenstein. They were a government of “chancers” led by the “Dell Boy” of European leaders.

They established a regulatory regime which was lamentable, as we now know to our cost. They presided over a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money by adding layers of Government spin-doctors and advisers, often duplicating the work of civil servants. They appointed cronies to state bodies such as Fás, the organisation of jobs for the boys and junkets for the boys.

They established juggernaut bureaucracies such as the HSE. They built up a level of government spending that was patently unsupportable, based as it was on tax revenues from the sandy foundations of the construction industry and the property market.

All this time we were led by a man who, by his own admission, could not manage his own finances. So how in God’s name could we have expected anything other than the mess in which we are now mired?

Ahern’s decade has seen arguably the worst government in the history of this State, certainly the most morally bankrupt. It has made paupers once again of the Irish people.

The leading figures of these administrations of the past twelve years – Ahern, Harney, McCreevy, Cowen, et al., are the real economic traitors.

Yours, etc,
ALAN McPARTLAND,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.

Government website provides some light relief

Thanks to John McDermott for the link to this website which he rightly describes as a howl.

Set up in May last year the site is (allegedly) a cross-departmental approach by the Irish Government to raise awareness of bribery and corruption.

The first joke is the list of government departments involved in this campaign. All of them are, to some degree, responsible for creating the banana republic of Ireland.

Here are some other jokes to bring a smile.

The idea is to raise awareness. What Irish citizen is unaware of the widespread corruption that infects our land? What’s needed is an awareness of action. If the Government started jailing white collar criminals instead of television licence dodgers they might gain some credibility.

“Since the enactment of the Prevention of Corruption(Amendment) Act, 2001, the law on corruption in Ireland has been strengthened.”

Obviously, the banker’s are unaware of this.

“Ireland is very committed to ensuring that bribes to officials either at home or abroad are treated as criminal offences.”

White collar criminals are exempt.

“Since the enactment of the Prevention of Corruption(Amendment) Act, 2001, the law on corruption in Ireland has been strengthened.”

Note the year, 2001. To my knowledge nobody has been charged or jailed for corruption since.

“Accordingly, the relevant Irish Government Departments and bodies have initiated a comprehensive programme to ensure that implementation is being progressed.”

They have? Must be a State secret. ‘Being progressed’ are the magic words here, could be decades.

“The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) has compiled a brochure entitled OECD-Anti-Bribery Initiative’, which sets out the main elements and provisions of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign officials.”

Wow, a brochure? I hope it’s as glossy and shiny as all those thousands of brochures churned out by the now totally discredited Financial Regulator.

“Plans are in place to circulate this publication to employees of the relevant sections of the Department of Enterprise.”

I don’t know about you but I’m beginning to feel faint from the excitement. I just know I’ll suffer a complete collapse if this plan is actually carried out, it would be too much.

“Prison sentences have been handed down in several countries and individuals and companies that committed foreign bribery have been penalised with fines of up to US$28 million.”

Great; action at last. Oh no, that’s US dollars, it’s another country. And in reality, as far as so called Irish regulatory agencies are concerned – another universe.

Copy to:
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern TD

Angry letter from a policeman

A strong, angry letter from the Garda Representative Association in today’s Irish Examiner.

Credibility crisis for politicians

THE Government and our politicians lack the credibility required to lead the country. We’re told the country is in deep financial trouble, yet they continue to draw ridiculously inflated salaries, totally out of proportion to our size as an economy.

If, as the Taoiseach says, we all need to “put our shoulders to the wheel in order to save the economy”, why is it that public sector workers feel Mr Cowen’s weight, in addition to that of all the the other TDs and senators, on top of that wheel.

Where are the swingeing cuts to their salaries and expenses which would lend some credibility to their pronouncements? The public sector, on top of the pension levy, are to be hit with a 25% cut in travel and subsistence expenses while, at the same time, TDs are to receive a 10% cut to their expenses.

Is there something wrong with that? The public sector represents about one- sixth (or 17%) of the population currently in employment. What about the other 83%?

If gardaí, nurses, firemen, teachers, etc, receive a 7% or 8% cut in their wages they may no longer be able to pay their bills and feed their families, yet if the politicians, department mandarins and other fat-cats took a 50% cut across the board, they would still have a lifestyle the rest of us can only dream about.

The financial regulator, on retiring, walked away with more than e600,000 as a thank you.

Thanks for what? Have you seen the state of the banks? On that subject, our pension fund was used to recapitalise the banks.

If the banks needed money, how can the Bank of Ireland pay its workers a 3.5% pay increase which is being denied to both the public and private sectors at large. An all-party committee set up by the Dáil to look at ways of reducing the expenses of TDs and senators has, to date, cost the taxpayer an extra e400,000.

This whole thing is a sick joke on the ordinary people of this country.

When the Taoiseach starts to address that we can make progress and maybe save this country if its not already too late. Leadership. Not self-preservation.

Michael Corcoran
Centra Executive Committee
Garda Representative Association
Anglesea Street
Cork

Groundhog Day (again)

From an Irish point of view there is absolutely nothing new about the recent scandals involving Anglo Irish and other banks. Theft and fraud within the Irish financial sector has long being an integral part of Irish culture.

Such activity is common because the State itself officially accepts such behavior as the norm and, over the years, has developed a whole raft of mechanisms and strategies to protect those in the financial sector who regularly engage in criminal activity.

We only have to look back at any one of the many scandals of the past thirty years or so to confirm the truth of the situation.

In this case I’ve chosen the Ansbacher scandal because, like the Anglo Irish Bank scandal, it involves secret names and a golden circle.

It will be obvious after reading the following quotes, opinions and comments that nothing has or is about to change in corrupt Ireland.

((My comments are in brackets, emphasis mine).

On the 27th September 1999 the then Tanaiste, Mary Harney, gave the following excuse for not publishing the Ansbacher names.

“If the Government were to break the law and publish the names, everybody on the list would walk free and prosecutions would not be brought.”

(During the Ansbacher scandal Harney constantly made the case for secrecy because, she claimed that she was absolutely determined that prosecutions would follow, that justice would be done).

When the Ansbacher report was finally published in 2002, five years after the scandal was first uncovered, Mary Harney’s party colleague and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell cautioned against public expectations that a rash of arrests and prosecutions would follow.

(This is thinly coded message for the crooks – Don’t worry, our strategy of putting things on the very long finger worked, you’re all off the hook).

(Nobody was ever prosecuted for the Ansbacher criminality. Those involved did secret deals with Revenue and a few were banned from acting as company directors. The exact same strategy is being adopted by the present Government to protect the bankers).

Mary Harney (Still in office) must have had a moment of Déjà vu as she listened to Brian Cowen.

“Be assured that the suggestions being made quite frankly by political opponents that I’m in some way not very much in favour of bringing this into the public domain as soon as possible consistent with the proper investigation of this which wouldn’t put anything at risk or compromise any future prosecutions that would be deemed to be appropriate.”

Here are some more quotes from the Ansbacher scandal to confirm that strategies employed by government to protect the corrupt are still the same.

“The Fine Gael motion calls on the Government to ensure that names of all persons who held Ansbacher accounts are made public via a Dail committee.”

(The Opposition made the same suggestion regarding the Anglo Irish Bank names and the Government has rejected it, just like they did in 1999).

The Ansbacher report was finally published in 2002.

“The Director of Public Prosecutions James Hamilton is also considering a copy of the report. Responding to queries yesterday he pointed out that if any criminal offence disclosed by the report requires further investigation for the purpose of prosecution, this will be a matter for gardai, the Revenue Commissioners, the Director of Corporate Enforcement or the Central Bank.”

(As I mentioned, no prosecutions were ever brought).

“The Ansbacher report is not just a damning indictment of those wealthy and powerful individuals who evaded their due taxes, broke company law and engaged in criminal conspiracies from the 1970s to the 1990s, it reflects the failure of Irish regulatory authorities and professional bodies to uphold the standards required of them in the interest of the common good. There is a great deal to be ashamed of in the report and many lessons to be learned. New and rigorous standards must be applied by the authorities.”

(No lessons have been learned because the same corrupt administration is still in place)

“In a series of interviews at the weekend, the Minister for Justice, Mr. McDowell, hoped for a change in Irish attitudes so that people who engaged in multi-million pound tax fraud were not regarded as heroes in their local yacht clubs while those who fiddled their social welfare payments were sent to jail”

(Just recently, we heard Ulick McEvaddy refer to the Anglo Irish ‘names’ as heroes. He’s not the only one who thinks this way).

“Nobody believes it will be easy to successfully prosecute some of the extremely wealthy individuals involved. But, if a determined attempt is not made, the consequences will do lasting damage to our democracy. The belief that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor will grow and flourish.”

(Only the corrupt or the very ignorant would claim that there isn’t, in fact, one law for the rich and another for the poor).

“The Government will face strong opposition demands today for assurances that prosecutions will follow arising from the publication of the Ansbacher report.”

The public must be shown that such behaviour will not be tolerated. The most obvious and public penalty is a jail sentence for the guilty.”

(Nobody went to jail; corruption in the business and political sectors is still rampant).

The following is a statement from the Paul Appleby, Director of Corporate Enforcement, on 6th July 2002, in response to the publication of the Ansbacher report.

It is worth reproducing in full to give an indication of what action we can expect from this toothless tiger regarding the Anglo Irish Bank scandal

6TH JULY 2002

I am determined that action will follow.

Speaking at a press briefing in Dublin on Saturday morning, Mr. Paul Appleby, Director of Corporate Enforcement, said:

“The company, now known as Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd., secretly operated in this jurisdiction for over twenty years and conducted business which, the Inspectors have found, amounts to evidence tending to show that it contravened prevailing banking, tax, company and other legislation. When its activities came to light in 1997, the nation was shocked that such activity had occurred and had remained effectively hidden from official authorities for so long.

In a sense, these revelations infected our collective psyche in subsequent years, creating suspicions that it was possible to evade legal or other obligations without effective sanction and thereby undermining respect for the rule of law and damaging public confidence in the State’s institutions.

The conclusion of the Ansbacher inquiry and the publication of this Report represent, in my view, the first phase in purging these doubts and regaining lost ground. In defining publicly for the first time the company’s Irish business, the High Court Inspectors (past and present) have done a remarkable public service.

Indeed, the Companies Act 1990, and particularly the company investigation provisions of that Act, have again proved their worth and highlighted the importance of these legal provisions in investigating circumstances suggesting unlawful corporate conduct.

As this important phase of fact-finding investigation concludes, the relevant State Authorities, including my Office, will now examine what remedies are available to address the findings in the Inspectors’ Report.

My staff and I have commenced identifying the matters which fall within our statutory remit. Every line of potentially valuable inquiry will be examined thoroughly, and I am determined that appropriate action will follow. I am mindful, however, of the Inspectors’ comment (at page 18 of their Report) that they foresee some difficulty in bringing prosecutions arising from the matters investigated by them.

(Damn, there’s that Michael McDowell message to the corrupt again)

As early as next Monday, I will be seeking the approval of the High Court to gain access to certain of the Inspectors’ papers, in order to allow us to follow up on a number of issues in the Report. We will also be supporting in due course an application for the recovery of the costs of this Inquiry, in order that the taxpayer does not bear further financial loss as a result of the events described in the Report.

In the coming weeks, I will be considering what further action is warranted to remedy or sanction the conduct which is indicated in the Report and is relevant to my responsibilities under the Companies Acts.

I have no doubt that other relevant State Authorities, such as the Central Bank, the Revenue Commissioners and the Director of Public Prosecutions, will closely evaluate their own legal options in the light of the information contained in this Report.”

(They did indeed evaluate their legal options and, as is the norm in Ireland, did nothing).

Here are some comments on the Regulators in the report. (Note: The Central Bank was the so called financial regulator at the time).

“Failures by the Central Bank meant the Ansbacher scheme went undetected for years”

The bank’s failure to test, appraise and gather information “available to it” resulted in the true nature of the activities going undetected for longer than ought to have been the case.”

“The bank had reservations at all times about the loan-book, but took at face value assurances by the scheme’s mastermind, the late Mr. Des Traynor, that the amount of loans extended to Irish residents was being run down.”

(Just as the present so called financial regulator took the word of Anglo Irish Bank lawyers that its controversial €300 million share deal last summer was above board. This is no accident, it has nothing to do with incompetence, it is, effectively, an official policy).

The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, on the failures of the Central Bank.

“It seems extraordinary that we lived in a time where the culture, even amongst State organisations, was one of ‘let’s pretend we don’t know’ because clearly in some cases where organisations knew or should have known they seemed to take the view that they didn’t want to know.”

(The exact same attitude and practices are still dominant in the Irish regulatory system today).

Writing in the Irish Times 8th July 2002 Mark Brennock made the following comments and observations.

The Government must now reassure the scandal-weary public that this can never happen again.”

(Corruption within the financial sector never stopped, never even waned. That situation will continue for so long as Ireland remains a corrupt entity in itself),

“Governments are responsible for the level of regulation, and there was clearly a massive regulatory failure. This systematic evasion went on for over two decades, unhindered by the Central Bank, the Revenue Commissioners, company law regulators or prosecuting authorities.”

(Hardly an hour passes without some politician, journalist or banker telling the Irish people ‘there was clearly a massive regulatory failure’ regarding Anglo Irish Bank. We will continue to hear this into the future until somebody actually establishes a proper regulatory systems that puts people in jail rather than, effectively, facilitating their crimes)

“The Tánaiste yesterday pointed to a new system for regulating the accountancy profession, new legislation to encourage “whistle-blowers” and enhanced powers which have been given to the Revenue Commissioners.”

(None of this was done and politicians are still waffling on about the ‘urgent’ need for such reform as a result of the Anglo Irish scandal).

“The powers of a new financial services authority are detailed in a Bill currently before the Dáil.”

(This ‘new’ financial services authority was finally established in 2003. It was hailed as a powerful and hard hitting agency that would forever rid Ireland of the corrupt vermin that infects the financial sector – it was a complete failure.

Today this failed ‘authority’ is investigating itself for its part in the Anglo Irish Bank scandal. It will clear itself of all charges and continue to implement policy and secrecy laws that, effectively, protect fraudsters).

Then Tanaiste, Mary Harney on the Ansbacher report.

“The report is a watershed in Irish life” for the clarity of the insight it gives us of how a section of the political and business class in this State used to operate. The political task is to demonstrate to a scandal-weary public that it can’t happen again.”

(Harney is still in power and a scandal-weary public is still waiting).

And finally.

The report showed that there was now the capacity in Ireland to “lift the veil of secrecy” over such activity. The Government had already begun the process of ensuring there was a coherent and comprehensive body of law to ensure “that our society is a fair and just place in which to live and do business“.

There is virtually no prospect that our corrupt system will suddenly decide to reform itself and therefore the only hope we have of ridding ourselves of the rampant corruption that infects our political, business and bureaucratic sectors lies with EU intervention.

I fervently hope, for all our sakes; that we see such an intervention before very long.

Copy to:
Financial Regulator
ODCE
Government

Politicians – Watch your backs

“We share the same concerns as the ordinary members of the public. We see a few people who are in receipt of huge salaries who have mismanaged and driven our economy and our country almost to the edge of bankruptcy and they seem to be getting off scot-free.

Our colleagues and the ordinary workers out there will for years have to pay for this incompetence through pay cuts and levies and we can’t understand how these people have been allowed to get away scot-free

They receive huge salaries that you couldn’t even dream about and huge bonuses and they are motivated by one thing – greed. And we feel this should be dealt with.”

(Morning Ireland, 3rd report).

Is this Joe Higgins talking, is it a radical union leader, is it a revolutionary student?

No, it’s Joe Dirwan, General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors talking about his members participation in the anti government protest march at the weekend and expressing his deep anger towards that same government for allowing greedy bankers to walk away with the loot.

The message? Politicians, watch your backs.

Nothing has changed

1999, September 27th. Tanaiste, Mary Harney, on the Ansbacher scandal names.

“If the Government were to break the law and publish the names, everybody on the list would walk free and prosecutions would not be brought.”

2009 February 20th. ODCE director, Paul Appleby, on the Anglo Irish Bank scandal names (Reported).

“The State’s corporate enforcer may be unable to provide the names of the ‘golden circle’ of investors to the Government for fear of prejudicing criminal proceedings.”

Nobody was ever prosecuted as a result of the Ansbacher scandal. Nobody will be prosecuted as a result of the Anglo Irish Bank scandal.

Extras

Some advertisements are clever and funny but some are funny without meaning to be.

A current ad promoting a car suggests that ‘extras’ are now a common mechanism employed by businesses to extract more money from customers.

The ditty runs:

“These days even some of the most basic things are considered extra but when you buy a Chevrolet extras are standard.”

The ad goes on to give some humorous examples of customers being surprised when charged ‘extras’ for services provided.

But the ad then finishes with the warning. “Delivery and related charges not included.” In other words – extras.

Words and responsibilities

Last week the powerless Public Accounts Committee published its report on travel abuses within Fás (Irish Examiner).

According to this powerless committee “Fás wrongly allowed executives and board members to travel first class since 1992.”

Use of the soft word ‘wrongly’ here is always interesting. Such words are reserved for dodgy activities within government agencies and financial institutions. When ordinary citizens (peasants?) involve themselves in such activities the words (rightly) used are ‘fraud’ and ‘corruption’.

The ‘responsible’ minister, Tanaiste Mary Coughlin, did what all Irish politicians do in such cases – she abdicated responsibility.

Apparently, she won’t be taking action because the travel details “were arranged and authorised at an official level in Fás”. It is reasonable to assume from this approach that the Minister would have no problem if Fás ‘arranged and authorised’ a bank robbery at ‘official level’.

And let’s not forget that this PAC report was triggered by a report into Fás by the powerless Comptroller and Auditor General. The powerless committee has now recommended that the powerless C & AG carry out yet another investigation based on its report and when complete PAC will carry out an investigation into that report.

No, no, really, I’m not joking but I do feel the first signs of madness beginning to take hold.

Fianna Fail corruption

Irish Examiner letters.

Obviously this letter writer is a regular reader at Public Inquiry.

FF happy to blame bankers and builders.

Of course it suits the Fianna Fáil agenda to encourage the rush to blame the bankers and builders for the mess Ireland is now in. Anything to shift the blame from where it really lies.

The only reason bankers and builders got away with what they did was because the laws and regulations which would have kept them in check and held them to account are so watered down they are in effect meaningless.

The only way that happened was because FF politicians watered down those regulations. Of course they had no choice but to agree to the demands of the bankers and builders given how those same politicians’ honesty was already compromised from having accepted the “dig out”
.
It was either agree to the demands or be exposed as a fraud. For FF politicians it’s always easier to say yes than to do the right thing.

This is the 30th anniversary of FF electing Charles Haughey as its leader. The consequences of that choice have ultimately led the country to the sorry state it now finds itself in. That choice created a generation of politicians which includes Bertie Ahern and every single one of the present FF parliamentary party, of whom it is impossible to believe any has the intellectual ability, or even the moral depth, to provide the solutions Ireland now needs to clear up this mess.

It’s ironic, if not slightly tragic, that if Fine Gael were in government there would be no question of anyone asking FF to commit political hara-kiri and agree to a Tallaght Strategy. Because FF would never put the national interest above its party interest.

Wouldn’t it be easier if FF were honest in the first place rather than trying to lay a guilt trip on FG for not sacrificing itself to keep FF in power — again?

Those who have voted for FF need to grow up and face responsibility for what their vote has done. They need to make the mental link between voting for that party and the corruption which has taken root in all areas of life from corporate Ireland to the weakening of political impartiality in the civil service.

If there is any silver lining to this mess it might be that, after 80 years, the back of FF is broken on this sea of its own corruption.

A few years of recession might just be a price worth paying to come out the other side with an honest political system not compromised to any vested interest and which can use the wealth created by Irish people for the benefit of all Irish people and not just the golden circle who bankroll FF politicians.

Desmond FitzGerald
Grosvenor Court
Wharf Lane
Canary Wharf
London