Author: Anthony

National Consumer Agency – No power but great bonuses

Recently I had cause to ask some questions regarding property management companies on behalf of someone who is being ripped off by one of these mafia outfits.

I first checked out the website of the National Consumer Agency and came across the following on a question and answer pamphlet.

Are property management companies regulated?

No, property management companies are not regulated. However, the Government plans to introduce a law to set up a national property services regulatory authority in late 2007

(Yes, that’s 2007).

I next rang the NCA to make further enquiries and spoke to an obviously embarrassed spokesperson.

“Does the NCA have power to act against the mafia management companies?”

“No.”

“Has the Government introduced that legislation yet?”

“No, it’s still under consideration.”

“What government agency can a citizen approach to get action on these people?”

“The nearest you would get to a regulatory body would be the Private Residential Tenancies Board.”

“Do they have power over management companies?”

“I don’t think they do.” (So, he may just as well have recommended the Boy Scouts or The Legion of Mary).

“So, in effect, there’s no authority in the land with power to act against mafia management companies.”

“No.”

“What advice do you have for the many thousands of citizens being ripped off by these people?”

“Well, they could contact the Free Legal Aid Centre to check the legal situation.”

With immense self control I managed to politely thank the spokesperson and hung up.

But hey, it’s not all bad news. The head of NCA, Ann Fitzgerald, has just been paid a performance related bonus of €24,300 on top of her grotesque salary €186,891.

I say grotesque because, clearly, Ms. Fitzgerald has little interest in the welfare of those she is charged to protect.

For example, her organisation has a policy of not prosecuting car dealers found to be clocking cars. Despite the fact that this practice puts the lives of consumers at risk the NCA is of the opinion that such prosecutions would be too protracted.

(Cynical consumers could be forgiven for thinking that such prosecutions are avoided in order to keep the ‘performance related bonuses’ kitty in a healthy state).

Instead, criminal car dealers are politely asked to sign a formal undertaking not to clock cars again.

I can just see it now, ruthless car dealers all over the country throwing darts at their formal undertaking as they continue, with impunity, to put the lives of consumers at risk.

Copy to:
NCA

Fuck off LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne is some sort of a singer but, apparently, doesn’t like interviews, he finds them quite boring. This intolerance of facilitating his fan(s) had a very nervous Ryan Tubridy in all kinds of knots yesterday.

Tubridy: “You’re quite chatty, I mean, you will talk if you’re marginally engaged.”

LaMontagne: “If it’s interesting.”

Tubridy: “Ok, I’ve nothing else interesting to say to you now. Who are these heads (band members?) here with you today?”

Tubridy: “You’re all welcome. Anyway Ray LaMontagne, you’re going to sing a song for us now, I really love this song. I’m not just saying that to make you feel better about yourself.” (oooops).

Realising that he had made a dreadful faux pas, that the great LaMontagne, whoever he is, was not amused, Tubridy desperately added – “No, I really love it.” But it was too late.

LaMontagne: (In a very disapproving tone) “I feel pretty good about myself. I don’t need anybody to make me feel good about myself.”

Tubridy: (Increasingly desperate) I know, but, but…I’m trying to give you…(Then, an even more desperate attempt to save himself) – “You look good, you’re brimming with confidence”

But the great LaMontagne, whoever he is, wasn’t to be placated so Tubridy decided to go for the ultimate in desperation – the Fr. Ted option.

“But I’m just trying to pay you a compliment because we don’t do that in Ireland very much, we normally say something like, fuck off, not quite, but not far off.”

Of course, Tubridy got his interview all backwards. The moment this LaMontagne guy, whoever he is, opened his conceited mouth he should actually have been told to – fuck off.

Copy to:
Poor Ryan Tubridy

Media and officialdom

I see Moira Creedon (Irish Times) is agreement with me on the pathetic media reaction to Brian Cowen’s (in) famous speech.

Madam,

I cannot believe the media in this country are so pathetic.

National debt is about to go through the roof — assuming we can actually borrow the money. The private sector is indebted well beyond sustainability. Personal and corporate bankruptcy is forecast to escalate. Bank workers take a pay rise not because they are worth it but because they can. Unemployment is galloping towards the 400,000 mark. Discredited bank directors and regulators retire to play golf on massive pensions.

And the media seem impressed because an incompetent prime minister made a 17-minute speech in recognisable English? No wonder the country is in the current morass. – Yours, etc,

MOIRA CREEDON,

Inchicore Road,
Kilmainham,
Dublin 8.

It really is interesting to observe the extent to which the media, and especially RTE, have seamlessly merged with officialdom.

Letter in today’s Irish Examiner.

Haughey’s legacy

AT the presentation of Charles Haughey’s private papers to Dublin City University, it was reported he left a note claiming he never made a decision or took any action that was not motivated totally by the public good (Irish Examiner, February 4).

I eagerly look forward, therefore, to learning how the public good was served by just the following three activities of Haughey as uncovered by the tribunals:

1. The theft of millions from the State through tax evasion.

2. The embezzlement of large sums of money from the party Leader’s Fund.

3. The misappropriation of £200,000 from the Brian Lenihan (senior) liver transplant fund.

Yours etc.

Anthony Sheridan

The Messiah has landed

The eagle has landed, the Messiah has returned, the cavalry has arrived – Brian Cowen made a speech that has, apparently, changed the universe.

Well, not really but he did get the media all excited. I suspect this is because many in the media predicted that Cowen was indeed the long awaited Messiah and now, apparently, he was delivering on their over rated predictions.

On Morning Ireland (5th report, 2nd item) Aine Lawlor and Harry Magee, political journalist with the Irish Times and the only media person present at the ‘historic’ event were overwhelmed with admiration for the Great Leader.

A ‘tsunami of extemporaneous prose’, he didn’t pull his punches, there was a pulse, a tempo and a passion that some said Cowen had lost, gushed Magee.

Lawlor, (In a reverential and hushed tone) “Almost – Yes, we can?”

Magee immediately agreed. “I think there are a couple of lines in there that Obama would not have thrown away lightly – some of his speech was almost poetic for an Irish politician.”

The media excitement continued on Today with Pat Kenny (Friday).

He’s a man, who, this time, eyeballed you all, said Pat (in an awed tone) to businessman Martin Murphy who was actually at the great event. (Will Cowen’s speech morph into a GPO type phenomenon where every mother and her son will claim to have been present?).

Yes, said Martin. He’s a man who’s on top of his job, a man who has his finger on the pulse, bringing people with him, it was all about leadership, he stepped up to the plate.

Gina Quin, CEO of Dublin Chamber of Commerce, was beside herself with excitement.

“He was absolutely dynamic on the night – People were saying two words – Barack Obama.”

(We remember that this is the same Gina who described Sean Fitzpatrick’s dodgy ‘loan transfers’ as ‘one small unfortunate incident.’).

Sadly, for the media and business world, ordinary Irish citizens did not agree. There was a massive response from the general public and with the exception of one or two callers the reaction to Cowen’s speech was negative and very, very angry. It was clear that Pat Kenny was genuinely puzzled at the level of anger being expressed by ordinary citizens.

One caller, a plumber, who had just lost his job.

“I’m paying €1,200 per month mortgage and €1,600 per year to a management fees company that I can’t even contact. I lost my job over a month ago and I’m still waiting for benefit. Brian Cowen’s call to arms means nothing to me.”

Other callers thought the speech was nauseating, vacuous and full of empty rhetoric. A speech made in front of and for the benefit of rich people who weren’t being asked to take any of the pain.

The Great Man granted an interview to Marian Finucane on Saturday. Here’s some of what he had to say.

Throughout the interview he maintained that the crisis was international. Marian never made any serious challenge to this dishonest stance.

He said people were wrong to say there was any connection between Fianna Fail and developers. Marion made no serious challenge to this dishonest claim.

Governance issues in relation to banks are now being investigated by ODCE., he said. This is a joke. It’s an absolute certainty that ODCE will never bring a single banker to account.

On remuneration for bankers – “we’ve set up a committee to look into it.”

On the spontaneity of his speech.

“I knew the Dublin Chamber of Commerce had arrangements to tape my speech.”

On getting angry when criticised in Dail Eireann.

“Listen, the Dail has its own little realty, thing’s are very serious. We all have to cop ourselves on to be honest.”

Are they having a laugh?

Letter in today’s Irish Independent.

I NEED to express my concerns at the proposed pension levy for public service workers. I am a member of An Garda Siochana.

This morning, Sunday, February 8 2009, I read a report that Bank of Ireland Staff were to receive a 3.5pc pay increase.

Are they having a laugh?

Are the banks not getting a state bailout of €8bn from the state pension fund? And now they want us to pay an extra 6pc into this state pension fund to make up for money guaranteed to the banks, while the banks give their staff pay increases?

Again, I ask, are they having a laugh?

ESB, too, are to give their staff a pay increase. The Government owns ESB’s shares, yet they do not face a pension levy. And ESB rates have gone up. So recently I have faced more costs through larger ESB bills and now I am going to have less income.

Are they having a laugh?

Both ESB and bank staff get to return home every evening and weekend while we sacrifice our sleep patterns, relationships and quality of life. Accepted, we receive allowances for working nights, Saturdays, Sundays and weekends, but does this compensate us for facing abuse from certain elements of the public?

Operational gardai are putting their family life, personal safety and mental health on the line every day facing verbal abuse, being assaulted and injured, being threatened, stabbed, sometimes even shot at or killed.
Unsocial hours allowances don’t compensate for this.

All of this to protect the security of the State. And it wants to return the favour by hitting us with a 6pc pension levy, or pay cut, or whatever you like to call it. Mutton dressed up as lamb is still mutton.

Again, are they having a laugh?

After my mortgage and car payments I will be left with a pittance. I face selling my car in order to have some income left every week. There is not an adequate public transport service to facilitate our working hours and I certainly will not be able to afford taxis.

I, for one, am not laughing.

I would like to also sympathise with the thousands losing their jobs every week whose pain and distress must be on a totally different level.

name and address supplied

Banker in denial

“I’m frustrated that the banking sector in Ireland has been tarnished by what has materialised in Anglo Irish”, National Irish Bank (NIB) chief executive, Andrew Healy told the ‘Sunday Business Post’ (Irish Independent).

Clearly, Mr. Healy is totally ignorant of the long and dishonourable record of Irish banking and he’s obviously ignorant of the mafia type operations indulged in by his own bank in the past.

The Anglo Irish Bank scandal is not an isolated case that has brought a previously honest banking industry into dispute. Rather, it is just the latest example of dodgy dealing by Irish bankers who have robbed countless millions from customers and state over many decades.

The Irish financial sector is a totally discredited industry awash with crooks and gangsters. That situation will only change when long jail sentences become the norm; I’m not holding my breadth.

Copy to:
Andrew Healy

Inescapable (but futile) logic

Letter in Sunday Independent.

Mansergh needs a reality check

Sir — It was with a sense of bewilderment and dismay that I listened to Minister of State at the Department of Finance Martin Mansergh state that “the government jet and ministerial cars (with two garda drivers) were necessary for ministers to do their jobs”.

As principal of a large voluntary secondary school I am now expected to manage a school in line with the recently announced cutbacks.

This in reality will mean three less teachers (seven per cent cutbacks in staffing), reduced subject choices, no funding for free books, radical adjustments in programmes for students with special education needs, a reduction in essential grants, no funding for Traveller children, reduced substitution and supervision resulting in a curtailment of school-related activities and the availability of adequate time for subject planning and curriculum development.

Set against this background the minister’s comment would seem to be most inappropriate. The implication of his statement is that the provisions that have been withdrawn from schools were not necessary for school leaders to do their jobs.

Such logic further demonstrates how removed from reality the minister is and also how unimportant equality and social justice is for this Government.

Shay Bannon, Principal,
CBS High School,
Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Pain for everybody except bankers and the ESB

Ok, just so we’re all clear on the situation. The global economy is going down the tubes, wholesale closure of industry and mass layoffs with countless millions of previously wealthy people facing a very bleak future. Some countries, like Ireland and Iceland in danger of complete meltdown. It’s a crisis on a scale never before known to humanity.

Politicians and a whole myriad of experts are agreed that everybody must feel the pain, sacrifices must be made, all bets are off; everybody must put their shoulders to the wheel – except the banks and ESB. Why?

Well the ESB had a previous agreement written in stone by god himself apparently, so that’s impossible to change and the greedy bankers who got us into the mess in the first place must be paid because, apparently, their bonuses are ‘historical.’

Now, where did I leave that sackcloth?

Golden circles and obscure data

Two articles worth reading in the Sunday Independent.

In an analysis of our financial situation Shane Ross tells us of a tiny table of numbers he came across in the Financial Times.

“The table was forbiddingly titled “Bonds — 10 year Government Spreads”. As Charlie McCreevy said about the Lisbon Treaty, “no sane mortal” would read it.

But its message was alarming.

In layman’s language it told where Mother Ireland rated as a credit risk among 21 selected countries.

Go on, guess.

All right, you are bang on. Twenty first. Out of 21 countries listed on Wednesday, we were considered a worse credit risk than the destitute Greece. In Greece there are riots on the streets.”

The second article, by Louise McBride, analyses the Irish golden circle.

It’s an amazing story of the incredibly incestuous crossbreeding within the corporate sector. It is particularly disturbing to note the number of senior civil servants who casually and without any restrictions move into the golden circle.