Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
According to a report in the Sunday Tribune President Obama is about to crack down on overseas tax havens.
This is very bad news for Ireland which has, effectively, acted as a money laundering state for US multinationals. (See previous post on this matter).
The Department of Finance said the issue was being oversimplified but international tax expert Richard Murphy said the Irish government was “in a state of denial.”
So what’s new?
I received the following email from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in response to my inquiries regarding the new, and much vaunted, system of allowances and expenses for TDs and Senators.
Anthony,
The new system of Members expenses, adopted by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, has yet to be agreed by the Minister for Finance so unfortunately there are no further details of the expense system available just yet. When we have been advised further by the Department of Finance we will be happy to answer all of your submitted questions.
In relation to questions being submitted to our office in writing, the only reason that we ask queries to be submitted in this manner is for administrative ease. Usually queries with multiple parts require coordination from many different sections so if we have it in writing we can direct it by email which speeds up the process of response. In the event that citizens seeking information do not have ‘access or ability to make a written submission’ then we are more than happy to deal with their query by phone.
Hope this helps but if you need any further information please feel free to contact me here in the office.
Liam O’Brien
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
My reply:
Liam,
“This is a significant action. It represents a real break with long-standing tradition and is a clear demonstration of how members of the Oireachtas are not only transparent and accountable, but will now be seen to be to a greater degree.” John O’Donoghue, TD.
Before I lifted the phone to make inquiries I knew, from long experience, that I was wasting my time.
Could you give me an estimate, say within the timeframe of the next decade, of when citizens can expect the Minister for Finance to adopt the new system?
“To bring greater transparency and accountability to the way members of the Houses of the Oireachtas receive expenses and allowances.” John O’Donoghue, TD.
Yours sincerely
Anthony Sheridan
Received the following email from the Union of Students of Ireland in response to my post on wimpish students.
Hi Anthony
I would like to advise you that the Health and Safety of students expected to attend the march is of prime importance to USI and given the weather warnings from the Met Office and the fact that marchers would be coming from all corners of the country it was incumbent on USI to take heed of weather conditions and if it appeared that conditions would be hazardous, both for travel and underfoot at the march, it would have been irresponsible for the march to proceed. I hope you understand this view.
Regards
David Byrne
GM
My reply:
Consider the following David.
Padraig Pearse is making final plans on the night before the Rising when, suddenly, the door bursts open and a fellow revolutionary declares. The weather forecast is terrible Padraig; we’ll have to cancel the rebellion on health and safety grounds.
OR
The mob has just completed its siege of the Bastille when they receive news that storm clouds are gathering. The leaders declare; everybody go home, it’s too dangerous to revolt in the rain.
For feck sake, what hope for (corrupt) Mother Ireland if the students are too delicate to kick ‘ass?
On 21st Jan last (2nd report), the chairman of the Financial Regulator, Jim Farrell, appeared before the Oireachtas Finance Committee to answer questions on the banking crisis. Here’s what he had to say about the Anglo Irish Bank debacle.
“The action that was taken was in the context of the environment of the time…The Financial Regulator has relied on appropriate management and controls in firms ethical behaviour and true and fair reporting by firms and their auditors as well as on site inspections by supervision actions by the regulator. It is clear that in the case of Anglo Irish Bank this did not happen. We are committed to putting in place measures to try and ensure nothing of this sort can happen again including if necessary requesting government to introduce new legislation.”
This is a standard reflex response employed by politicians and bureaucrats in defence of light touch regulation that has allowed financial institutions to rob countless millions from customers and the State.
As I write, the ‘environment of the time’ that Farrell speaks of is still with us and his promise to introduce new measures to rein in the vermin that infest the Irish financial sector is, at best, dishonest. It is an absolute certainty that no effective action will be taken to deal with these people.
The following day, On Morning Ireland (3rd report, 2nd item) , Jack Fitzpatrick of the Professional Insurance Brokers Association responded to Farrell’s comments.
“We represent almost a thousand member firms in every county in Ireland. Regulation seems to be for the small guy, the regulator already has the power to fine any individual up to €500,000 and any company up to €5 million so the legislation is there. Sanctions have been imposed on small and intermediary some have been put out of business. No sanctions have been applied to banks, nobody in the banks has been fined and we’ve had various things ranging from the NIB tax evasion, overcharging by banks to customers, all that happens is refunds, nobody resigned, nobody was fined.”
Fitzpatrick went on to say that there was no reason why current legislation cannot be used against former Anglo Irish chairman, Sean Fitzpatrick and that there was a far too cosy relationship between the regulator, the Central Bank and the banks.
These comments prompted Jim Farrell to ring Morning Ireland (3rd report, 3rd item) (He didn’t have the courage to go live on air) to dispute Fitzpatrick’s claims that the regulator enjoyed a cosy relationship with the banks. Mr. Farrell said the authority did not have powers to impose fines when the overcharging emerged but it later recovered €167 million on behalf of customers.
This dishonest statement is proof positive that the Financial Regulator has not changed its spots, that it remains a staunch defender of a ruthless and, for the most part, corrupt financial sector.
Farrell’s claim is dishonest because the Financial Regulator has had the power to impose fines since 1st August 2004 under the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act, 2004.
Since that time there have been numerous instances of overcharging but not a single institution or official has been fined. The effective policy of the regulator towards errant banks still remains – just pay back the monies robbed and carry on.
Copy to:
Financial Regulator
Jim Farrell
In an excellent article in today’s Irish Times Sarah Carey makes some very instructive connections between union leader David Begg’s fur coat, Eamon Dunphy’s salary, a hospital porter surviving on a meagre pension of €91 per week and Animal Farm.
I think all the talk of revolution was a bit premature.
The Union of Students of Ireland is organising a protest march in Dublin this afternoon against the possible re-introduction of third-level fees. The USI said that, weather permitting, it is expecting up to 20,000 students to march in the protest.
Weather permitting??? Feck, what would the students of ’68 make of such squeamishness? These students brought Western civilisation to the brink of collapse and daily invited the weather gods to do their worst to dampen their revolutionary passion and rage.
21st century students? – Nothing but a crowd of wimps.
Copy to:
USI
The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has adopted a new system of allowances and expenses for TDs and Senators. According to the chairman of the commission, Ceann Comhairle, John O’Donoghue, the new system will:
“Bring greater transparency and accountability to the way members of the Houses of the Oireachtas receive expenses and allowances.”
Two of the changes mentioned in the Irish Times report are:
A standard all-in monthly parliamentary allowance on a cost-neutral basis that would make the system more simple and streamlined for members and more verifiable and accountable from a public perspective and, for the first time, the attendance allowance paid to all politicians will be recorded and verified by party whips. Apparently, non attendance will result in non payment of the allowance.
I had a number of questions regarding this new system particularly regarding the standard all-in monthly allowance so I rang the Ceann Comhirle’s office for clarification and was promptly told that all queries must be made in writing.
I emailed my questions today.
Dear
In relation to our phone conversation of yesterday the following are my questions regarding the new system of allowances and expenses for TDs and Senators that was adopted by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and was welcomed by Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue as follows.
“I am pleased that my commission colleagues have adopted this progressive and important step.” (Irish Times, 21st Jan.).
Standard all-in monthly parliamentary allowance on a cost neutral basis.
What allowance/s does this new allowance replace?
How much is this new allowance?
Who monitors the payment of this allowance?
TDs attendance allowance.
According to the Irish Times report party whips will play a part in the verification of this payment.
What other department/person is involved in verification?
Will the public/media have access to verification records?
Publication of new system of allowances and expenses.
Is the new system of allowances and expenses available to the general public?
If so, how can the general public access the document?
If not, why not?
Rule that all questions to your office must be in writing.
Is this an official rule backed up by law/regulation or is it a local office rule?
What provisions does your office offer to citizens seeking information but who do not have access or ability to make a written submission?
Yours sincerely
Anthony Sheridan
The dreaded ‘R’ word has entered the public arena. Revolution was being openly discussed on Morning Ireland and Today with Pat Kenny this morning and it seems poor auld Bertie was its first victim.
He was prevented from participating in a public discussion in NUI Galway last night after being jostled by students protesting over the planned reintroduction of college fees.
Bertie, who, I assume, would claim had nothing to do with the present crisis, just wanted to talk about his life and times and accept a gong from the college’s Literary and Debating Society in appreciation of his tireless and patriotic efforts for his country.
I just hope NUI Galway coughed up Bertie’s attendance fee; after all, he’s struggling to cope on his €100,000 TDs salary, €164,000 pension, up to €100,000 in mostly unvouched expenses, and a raft of other ‘perks’ for those who have served their country so well.
People like the corrupt Ray Burke on a pension of €100,000, the disgraced Padraig Flynn on almost €100,000 and the (I’m too sick to give evidence) former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds on €103,000.
Mmm…maybe I shouldn’t be describing the word revolution as ‘dreaded.’
“There’s no impropriety in anything we’ve done in that bank.”
This is the view of Sean Quinn regarding his dealings with Anglo Irish banks.
In the same interview he also says he fully accepted that a €288m secret loan from his Quinn Insurance arm to other family companies to fund the stock market gamble on the bank’s shares was in breach of insurance regulations.
So, no impropriety but we did breach insurance regulations – Irish logic.
I see former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds continues to enjoy a hale and hearty lifestyle (Nine News,12th report) despite been deemed unfit to give evidence at the Mahon Tribunal because he, apparently, suffers from a cognitive impairment.
His political colleague, the corrupt Haughey, successfully employed the ‘medical excuse’ for years in order to avoid accounting for his crimes.
As I recall, there was one occasion when Haughey was ‘too sick’ to give evidence but as soon as the ‘danger’ had passed he embarked on a world cruise. The State was more than generous in facilitating his lies.