Author: Anthony

Living in a theocracy

Letter in yesterday’s Irish Examiner.

Legal contradiction

ARTICLE 48 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights says: “Everyone who has been charged shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.”

Part 7, Section 99 (2) of the Charities Bill 2009, recently signed into law here, makes it a criminal offence to sell a mass card without the permission of a Catholic bishop. The act states:

“In proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities, that the sale of the Mass card to which the alleged offence relates was not done pursuant to an arrangement with a recognised person.

The clear contradiction begs the question: are we living in a liberal democratic republic or a theocracy?

Anthony Sheridan
Cobh
Co Cork

Ivan's nag not at the races

Boss of Celtic Bookmakers, Ivan Yates, only got five golden minutes on Today with Pat Kenny (Friday) but, still, that must be worth at least €5,000 in commercial advertising rates. That’s a potential grand total of €35,000 for Ivan over the four day festival.

“What are you doing to me Pat? I’ll be ending up in Alice Leahy’s homeless list.” Ivan joked as he declared that the Alice Leahy Trust charity was “now up a whopping €1431” from his charity bets.

A listener called in to thank Ivan for winning tips and said he had taken a ‘right few bob’ from Ivan’s opposition. I’ll bet that opposition wouldn’t mind such losses in exchange for exclusive access to Pat’s show.

Here’s a suggestion to RTE for next year’s Cheltenham racing festival.

Send out a note to all bookmakers in Ireland inviting them to bid for a ten minute exclusive spot on Pat’s show for each day of the four day festival. A minimum bid of, say, €5,000 could be set but I’d be surprised if €10,000 couldn’t be raised for a deserving charity.

Either way, it would easily beat Ivan’s nag ‘Whopping €1431’ by a good number of lengths.

(Previous posts: Here, here and here).

Copy to:
Pat Kenny

No accountability, no justice, no hope.

On 11th December last Bernard Madoff was arrested by police on allegations of major fraud. Yesterday, (three months later) he was taken away to jail in handcuffs from a court of law and will receive a jail sentence in June of up to 150 years. He is likely to spend the rest of his life in jail. While waiting for his trial Madoff was kept under house arrest.

On 18th December last Sean Fitzpatrick, then chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, resigned when it was revealed that he had engaged in some very suspect financial transactions. No investigation by the police took place and no arrests were made.

Mr Fitzpatrick is still walking around and can even head off to sunny climes when the Irish weather gets him down, despite the suspicious nature of the transactions. The Financial Regulator and the Government appear to have made an immediate judgement that Fitzpatrick had done nothing illegal. Surely that is for a properly resourced fraud squad to decide?

As Madoff rots in jail the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement is still considering his options on the Fitzpatrick case. Judging from past experience we can expect, at some point in the distant future, that a High Court inspector will be appointed to investigate.

That investigation will take anything up to six years before the matter returns to the ODCE who will then consider, for an unspecified period, his next move.

He may refer the matter to the DPP, but that is highly unusual but even if he does the DPP will also ponder his options for at least three or four years.

The most likely choice for the ODCE will be to try and get Fitzpatrick barred from acting as company director; this is the absolute minimum punishment for corporate crime.

It’s difficult to say how many years this will take as the ODCE has never successfully completed a major case. He has been on the National Irish Bank case since 1998, the Bailey brothers for about six years and Jim Flavin of DCC is still only at the High Court inspector stage. Very conservatively, we are looking at ten to fifteen years before even minimum justice is imposed.

Conclusion:

America – Police, arrest, courts, jail – all within three months.

Ireland – No police, no arrests, no courts – No accountability, no justice, no hope.

Copy to:
ODCE

Politicians and bureaucrats – Over inflated sense of own importance

Letter in today’s Irish Examiner. (Incredible figures)

Central Bank chief paid far more than US equivalent.

WHEN the governor of the Central Bank, John Hurley, appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs on March 10 he explained that the public exhortations of the Central Bank that highlighted risks to financial stability from August 2007 were “not as effective as they might have been and they did not lead to a sufficient or timely change in behaviour”.

The committee was reminded that the governor is paid an annual salary of €348,000, a figure that reflects the voluntary reduction taken by him last October from the €368,000 that he had hitherto been paid.

It is interesting to compare the salary for this position with those whose influence on global economic affairs is absolutely pivotal and whose utterances and nuances hugely impact the world investment climate and the effectiveness of economic recovery initiatives.

The US Federal Reserve system consists of 12 federal reserve banks located in major cities throughout the US supported by the Federal Reserve Board based in Washington DC.

The system as a whole employs almost 20,000 people and the board employs 2,053. The annual salary of the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Ber Bernanke, is $191,300 (€150,000).

It was approved by the US Congress in February 2008.

The president of the European Central Bank, M Jean-Claude Trichet, oversees a staff of 1,499 and was paid €351,816 last year. He is also provided with a residence, in lieu of a residential allowance, but his salary is subject to EU tax, pension, medical and accident insurance deductions.

The Oireachtas committee observed that the Canadian banking system “had operated quite well with prudential supervision of a high standard”.

The Bank of Canada governor, David Dodge, whose seven-year term concluded on January 31, was paid a salary scale the maximum point of which was $407.900 (€250,000).

The Central Bank was founded in 1943 and Mr Hurley is the ninth governor. He and seven of his predecessors formerly held the position of secretary general of the Department of Finance. The exception was Maurice Moynihan, co-drafter of the 1937 constitution and formerly secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach.

The salary of the governor is therefore influenced by the salary of the secretary general of the Department of Finance. This was set at €303,000 in September 2007 by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector, a figure that may have been reduced voluntarily by the current incumbent.

Myles Duffy
14 Bellevue Avenue
Glenageary
Co Dublin

It is the norm in corrupt jurisdictions for puffed up politicians to award themselves massive salaries, drive around in expensive cars and fly to ‘very important meetings’ in jets and helicopters. It is also inevitable that bureaucrats in such corrupt jurisdictions will also develop an over inflated sense of self importance.

Ireland's international reputation – the can of worms is open

Bob Semple, partner in the Risk Management Services department of PricewaterhouseCoopers was talking about corporate governance on Today with Pat Kenny (Thursday).

Asked about the damage done to Ireland’s international reputation from recent scandals he said;

“I think we’re very badly damaged. A colleague over at a meeting in Amsterdam just last week with PwC colleagues from all around the world and every second joke was a crack against Ireland. It really makes me so sad and mad and we really must do something about this.” We have to get directors to stop and reassess where they’re at.”

Pat’s next question was curiously worded;

“Do people have to go to, I wont say go to jail because that would probably be a first time for white collar crime in Ireland, do people need to be punished.”

Semple.

“I think they do and I’m surprised at the number of people who are saying to me that handcuffs and prison bars is the only answer to restoring our reputation internationally.”

Clearly, Semple and Pat would be amazed if someone actually ended up in jail. This is an indication of how far away we are from reality.

Isn’t it also amazing to see people like Semple coming out of the woodwork screaming that something will have to be done about white collar crime in Ireland – only after the international community has rumbled us?

None of these people had the slightest concern for the massive damage done to Ireland and its people by white collar criminals so long as so called Irish regulatory agencies were able to keep a lid on the tin of worms.

Pride in your country – Irish style

In a debate on the relevance of Seanad Eireann on Today with Pat Kenny yesterday Joe Higgins and John Drennan were very critical of the institution and called for its abolition.

Fianna Fail senator John Hanafin was not happy with the views expressed and accused the two gentlemen of being cynics. “Have they no pride in their country at all”, he thundered on today’s show (Thursday).

A Councillor from Limerick called to say how a senator had told her that the Senate was ‘the best club in Dublin’. Subsidised Restaurants and bars, free parking in the city centre, all the perks.

A Mr. Liam O’Kelly called to say how he brought five school children to the Senate to show them democracy in action but not a single senator was to be seen. He was shocked and outraged and, I’m sure, the children were more than a little puzzled.

The chairman, two ushers, a stenographer and two clerical assistants sat there twiddling their thumbs. (Waiting for democracy to show up?)

Pat Kenny, with information from a reliable source, provided the answer. They were all in the bar drinking and placing bets on the races in Cheltenham.

Now that’s having pride in your country – Irish style.

Copy to:

Senator Hanafin

Alice overwhelmed as Rangers go on alert

Ivan Yates continues in his very clever exploitation of Pat Kenny (Thursday) and RTE.

The figures today are (at minimum) €30,000 for Ivan in very valuable exposure on the national airwaves and minus €75 for Pat.

The €500 so far given to Pat to bet on horses at Cheltenham has resulted in a loss of €75, so the chosen charity is ‘up’ €425. And remember, it’s Ivan who is advising Pat on ‘best’ bets.

The lucky charity to receive such incredible munificence is the Alice Leahy Trust. It’s reported that special security arrangements have been made with the Army Ranger Wing to escort the final winnings to Alice.

Alice herself was unable to make comment as she is still overwhelmed by the sheer generosity of it all.

Copy to:
Pat Kenny

Healy Rae gravy train

Last year taxpayers gave Independent TD Jackie Healy Rae the following:

€106,000 in salary.
€89,000 in expenses. (Many, if not most, unvouched).
€40,000 for a secretary.
€41,000 Independent TD allowance.
€10,000 for acting as a committee chairman.

Total: €287,000

No TD should be paid more that €75,000 in absolute total. There should be no other payment whatsoever with the exception of expenses which should be vouched and very carefully checked.

The bookies always win

Ivan Yates got another golden ten minutes on Today with Pat Kenny (Wed).

Yesterday’s charity betting brought in a grand total of €225. Pat hasn’t yet revealed what charity is to receive the huge sum and this is very wise on his part as there is bound to be vicious competition for such a vast amount of money.

I have no idea what the going rate is for commercial advertising on such a high profile show as Pat’s but it must be at least a few thousand per minute, but let’s be conservative and say €1,000 per minute.

So, to date, the score is €20,000 for Ivan – €225 to charity. Those feck’in bookies you just can’t be up to them.

Trusting Haughey; like trusting a pickpocket

Even those who supported and bankrolled the corrupt Haughey knew that he was a gangster who couldn’t be trusted as we see from this extract of the Moriarty Tribunal report.

Clearly, Michael Smurfit knew that handing over a very valuable painting to a man of Haughey’s flawed pedigree was akin to asking a pickpocket to mind his wallet.

Moriarty Tribunal report

7-178 Dr. Smurfit also informed the Tribunal that in 1990, the Smurfit Group made a personal gift to Mr. Haughey of a painting by Jack B Yeats entitled ‘‘The Forge’’, in recognition of Mr. Haughey’s assuming office at the Council of Ministers on Ireland’s assumption of the residency of the European Union. At that time, the Smurfit Group made a presentation to Mr. Haughey of a painting by Sir John Lavery of the raising of the flag at Aras an Uachtara´ n. This latter presentation was a gift to the Irish Nation by the Smurfit Group and the Tribunal understands that it is currently hanging in the State Collection.

7-179 Dr. Smurfit recalled that on the day that he had an appointment with Mr. Haughey at Government Buildings to present the Lavery painting to him, on behalf of the State, he decided on the spur of the moment to make a personal gift in the form of the Yeats painting. The presentation was made during business hours in Government Buildings, and only Dr. Smurfit and Mr. Haughey were present. Dr. Smurfit recalled that he had made the presentation to Mr. Haughey personally, subject to the caveat that he did not expect ‘‘the painting to be sold the following day’’.

As I recall, Smurfit, who had hoped that the painting would be retained as a family heirloom, was shocked to learn that soon after receiving it Haughey did in fact sell it on for a knockdown price.