Madam,
May we now assume that perjury is politically correct and that we are officially The Banana Republic of Ireland?
Yours, etc,
GEAROID KILGALLEN,
Crosthwaite Park South,
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
No choice but to emigrate
Madam,
I am disgusted at the the recent comments on emigration by the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan (“Tánaiste’s comments on emigration unacceptable, says Donohoe”, Seanad Report, February 17th). I, a young person of 23, have recently moved to London to take up a job. And despite Ms Coughlan’s assertions about my generation, I did not move to enjoy myself. I left my family, my friends and all that I hold dear behind because I had to.
I moved because my native country has nothing to offer me because of the self-interest, the naked greed, the croneyism of those in positions of power in Government and in financial institutions. These are the people who robbed a whole generation of a future in Ireland and they are still making the decisions about our country.
Are we the most compliant nation on Earth, or what?
I worked hard to get good results in university. When I couldn’t get a job I studied for a further year, hoping a higher diploma in nursing would open doors to employment in Ireland. But to no avail. Attitudes to my applications were dismissive at times. In contrast, hospitals in England are so appreciative of my skills and my obvious interest in my profession (as indicated by my further studies) that several of them made offers to me.
Thus I plucked up the courage to say a painful goodbye to my parents and friends. And next year it is highly likely that my brother will have to do the same.
It’s one thing for a young person to choose to travel, and I’m all for that. But it’s quite another to feel forced out of your country in order to find work. I feel every taxpayer has a stake in this exodus of highly trained, hard-working and bright young people and I want us all to be angry enough to ensure this never happens again to a generation of Irish people.
The arrogance of Ms Coughlan’s comments just go to show how this Government knows nothing of the struggles of ordinary people to make ends meet. It is time they had a wake-up call. – Yours, etc,
SARAH MOORE,
Mitcham Road,
West Croydon,
London, England.
At last, someone has spotted the elephant in the room.
Green Party councilor Brian Meaney has called for a Garda investigation into the actions of Willie O’Dea (Newstalk, Lunchtime).
Green Party TD Paul Gogarty on the Willie O’Dea scandal.
The collective opinion is that while we’re not happy with the situation at this moment in time it is not a resigning matter and you cannot put pressure on someone to resign if you genuinely feel that they shouldn’t resign.
Have the Greens been taking advice from Cardinal Connell on the concept of mental reservation?
Listening to developments on Today with Pat Kenny this morning I think Willie O’Dea’s time as a minister is nearing an end.
According to Sunday Times columnist, Justine McCarthy, Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea perjured himself in court.
O’Dea had denied in an affidavit that he had accused Maurice Quinlivan, a Sinn Fein local-election candidate, of owning a brothel.
He only admitted that his remarks were false and defamatory after a tape recording of his comments was produced.
This is very similar to the tactics employed by Bertie Ahern while giving evidence to the Tribunal regarding his dealings in Sterling.
Right up to the moment that documentary evidence was produced, Ahern consistently denied under oath that he had ever had any significant dealings in Sterling.
Let’s immediately cut to the chase here. In a functional democracy perjury is treated as a very serious crime. In a dysfunctional democracy, like Ireland, perjury is only treated as a serious crime for the little people.
People in power and influence are rarely, if ever, even accused of the crime never mind actually charged.
In a functional democracy like the UK, for example, allegations or suspicions of perjury by any citizen are immediately investigated by the police.
There’s no convenient ignoring of the crime by a judge, court or tribunal, there’s no talk about requesting the Prime Minister to ‘advise’ a politician who is under suspicion of committing perjury. There’s no changing the discussion to any other subject that comes to mind so long as it doesn’t focus on the reality of the situation.
No, in real democracies like the UK, when evidence emerges that the crime of perjury may have been committed the police investigate and prosecutions are taken as necessary.
The first thing that happens in a dysfunctional democracy like Ireland is – nothing. The powers that be simply pretend that nothing of significance has happened and hope that nobody notices.
We witnessed the same reaction in other cases like Jim Flavin of DCC or the Neary case. No action was taken by any Irish authority in these cases until somebody from outside the country acted.
O’Dea is alleged to have lied under oath last December and yet it was only when Justine McCarthy wrote her article nearly two months later that anything was done, once again everybody ignored the raging elephant until an outside source pointed it out.
The media and political reaction since the ‘expose’ has also been typical of a country that is incapable of facing reality when it doesn’t suit.
It must be kept in mind when reading the following examples that in a functional democracy there is only one reaction – an immediate investigation by police followed by prosecution if necessary.
The legal system
Nobody involved in the case seemed to take a blind bit of notice when a government minister made a false statement in a sworn affidavit. Compare this to Amanda McNamara who perjured herself because she was in absolute fear of her life about giving evidence in a brutal murder trial.
The judge in this case had no problem in identifying perjury saying that it was a very serious matter that undermined Ireland’s system of criminal justice. McNamara was given 100 hours community service and will have a criminal record for the rest of her life.
Seanad Eireann
Fine Gael spokesman on Justice Eugene Regan demanded to know from Seanad Leader, Donnie Cassidy, if Minister O’Dea was being held to account for lying under oath (Irish Times).
Cassidy ignored the question, simply stating that O’Dea was an excellent public representative and the people of Limerick were very fortunate to have such a capable person. He, (Cassidy) then proceeded to talk about another matter altogether.
This is a typical – if I ignore reality, it will go away – reaction.
Dail Eireann
Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister O’Dea said it was a private and personal matter. This is despite the fact that O’Dea said in his sworn affidavit that he was fully entitled to raise the issue and make the allegations as a public representative.
Obviously there’s nothing private about this matter whatsoever. O’Dea, a government minister, defamed another politician in response to questions about his (O’Dea’s) large and expensive staff paid for by the taxpayer – and we’re asked to believe that it’s a private matter?
Even if it was a private matter, is the Prime Minister of our country suggesting that it’s ok for a government minister to make a false statement in a sworn affidavit so long as it relates to a private matter?
RTE, The Week in Politics (34 min)
Sean O’Rourke and Brian Dowling. (One RTE journalist interviewing another RTE journalist).
The fact that very serious allegations of perjury are facing a government minister was completely ignored by the journalists.
The entire discussion focused on the possible political implications for O’Dea if the matter became controversial. Brian Dowling suggested that because O’Dea was a huge vote getter there was unlikely to be any impact on his career.
The following points were made in this editorial.
The Taoiseach was in an invidious position because of the relaxed attitude adopted by his predecessors to ethical issues.
This is just silly logic suggesting that low standards in the past could act as a block to taking action in the present.
Because public confidence in authority had waned there was a need to promote high standards and ensure political accountability.
In real democracies such standards are the expected norm and not something that needs promoting.
The matter may create friction between the Coalition parties.
This is an irrelevant point unless the editor feels that government unity is more important than political, legal and ethical accountability.
This scandal and how it is being dealt with once again confirms that Ireland is nothing more than a dysfunctional, backwater state pretending to be a first world democracy.
There is very little difference between the economies of Ireland and Greece: both are on a slippery slope to disaster.
Neither is there much difference between the principal causes of these disasters – Political corruption and incompetence, massive tax evasion by the rich without consequences and the squeezing of ordinary citizens to pay for the whole rotten system.
There is, however, a huge difference between the reactions of ordinary citizens. A Channel 4 news report on Greek protests makes the point.
This is Greece, not Ireland. We the workers will resist.
We will fight; we will not accept the measures and that can only happen if we protest against them, not if we sit in our houses.
The Irish are still sitting in their houses – like sheep.
In a posting last June after the Greens were wiped out in local elections I wrote about Senator Deirdre De Burca.
And although it may not be very charitable I was also delighted that Senator De Burca of the Green Party did not get enough votes to qualify for a refund. De Burca may be a Green in name but in attitude and action she is pure Fianna Fail.
My views on this politician have not changed. She claims to have resigned because the Green Party has abandoned its political values and integrity. Perhaps she’s genuine, we’ll see as events unfold
Madam,
As a one-time alcoholic and an inmate of St Ita’s, Portrane may I offer my observations of the Irish psyche.
As a nation we are inherently incapable of changing either ourselves or our nature of government, of which our leaders are only too well aware.
They realise that the only thing we are likely to do as a people is to go the pub, get drunk and bitch until incoherent about the situation, instead of doing something, anything, to change it. Some of us don’t even have to go to the local to do this.
As a result of this knowledge, they are not only quite prepared to take atrociously bad decisions, such as on Nama, in order to preserve their status quo, but to flaunt their dominance, and our powerlessness to do anything about them, as we regularly witness.
Our mindset is still the same as it was under 700 years of foreign rule, when, incidentally, we were really treated no worse than we are today, by our present generation of Irish political masters.
Yours, etc,
Liam Power,
Bangor Erris,
Ballina, Co Mayo.
Madam,
The circumstances under which I will row in with the Government (February 8th) are very simple.
1. When the Minister for Education Science insists that his office is located in a 12- year-old secondhand Portakabin and he refuses to be relocated until no school children have to receive their education in a Portakabin.
2. When the Minister for Health insists on sleeping on a hospital trolley every night until no overnight medical patients in a public hospital have to receive treatment on trolleys.
3. When the Minister for Transport insists on only travelling by public transport until all Government ministers car-pool their chauffeurs and black Mercedes.
4. When the Minister for Justice has to spend one day a week holding a speed camera on the M7 for as many years as his department took to approve and sign the contract for the provision and operation of a network of safety cameras.
5. When the Government closes the gap between their world and the Ireland that I live in.
Then, and only then, will I row in with the current Government.
Yours, etc,
Dermot O’Rourke
Westbury Drive,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
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