Greedy, dishonest politicians

Brennan also strongly defended the scandalous pay rise that politicians have awarded themselves.
Brennan:

We had a discussion and made a decision and then we followed the public debate, very clearly we followed what guys like you had to say, what thundering went on in editorials, what statements were made by union leaders, what statements were made by other people in the queue for pay rises and we did what intelligent people do, we took account of all that.

Rice:

Couldn’t you have done that before if you’ve been in power for so long?

Brennan:

They hadn’t made the statements before that.

Rice:

I know, but you knew what people were going to say.

Brennan:

Well, did you? Because this system has been in place since 1969, I mean this is 2007, isn’t it?

We can be criticised for being weak or admired for taking the message but after weeks and weeks of debate we listened carefully to what was said and we said, ok pay talks coming up, the November figures that came in were not as good as expected and it’s a good thing to show example, to make a gesture.

The following is my interpretation of what the Minister said.

We greedily awarded ourselves a massive pay rise but miscalculated the extent of public anger.

To get ourselves out of the mess we are dishonestly claiming that the decision to defer the pay hike for a year was made in the interests of the Irish people.

We are hoping that our ‘gesture’ will be enough to fool the people and in a years time we can continue to stuff our wallets with taxpayers hard earned money.

Copy to:
Seamus Brennan

New website

In an effort to put together at least some of the complex material coming from the Mahon Tribunal, I have established a wiki. It is available at Mahon Tribunal.

I hope to use wiki software to organise information relating to the work of the tribunal, and provide context and data to help people better understand it. I have also added Google Maps features so people have a better understanding of the lands involved in rezoning, that are at the centre of the most recent investigations. I hope to identify the exact lands in question in due course.

Transcripts will also be made more easily available, and easier to find.

It is a mammoth task, but work will continue slowly and methodically.

The (non) Regulators

The Government is to hire consultants to review economic regulators including the financial watchdog (Irish Examiner). I presume financial watchdog here means the Financial Regulator. The consultants should start by asking the so called regulators to actually regulate.

We know, for example, that the Financial Regulator has yet to impose even a small fine on any financial institution or official. This is despite the fact that theft and fraud is rampant throughout the sector.

We also know that the Financial Regulator’s claim of always acting in the interests of consumers is questionable to say the least. Secrecy laws, strictly enforced by the regulator, have the effect of protecting the thieves and exposing consumers to serious risk of financial loss.

A recent operation by the regulator proves the point. Apparently, ‘undercover financial watchdogs visited a number of financial institutions and were overcharged by up to €15,000 on transactions.

Instead of cracking down on these institutions with heavy fines the regulator merely asked them to pay back the money ‘overcharged’.

This strategy is in keeping with the regulator’s unofficial but widely used ‘pay back’ policy. When banks or other financial institutions are caught robbing or ‘overcharging’ consumers they are merely asked to pay back the sums involved with appropriate interest – no fines, no police, no regulation.

Copy to:

IFSRA
Dept. of Finance

King Bertie

This letter in today’s Irish Independent gets it just about right

Never one to choose his words carefully, our Great Leader has announced that deferring the Government pay rises is “a good example of our goodwill” (Irish Independent, December 12).

Goodwill? Is it me or does this language suggest the actions of a kindly monarch who deigns to bestow favours, unasked and undeserved, on his lowly subjects?

Like Marie Antoinette’s people who might eat cake, we are a fortunate lot of peasants that Bertie would stoop to bless us with such signs of his goodwill.

I wonder was that the royal “we” he used?

Newsflash, Bertie — you were chosen by (some of) the Irish people to serve your country, and they would expect more from such a person than “goodwill”. On a salary of €270,000, the Taoiseach is no more a man of the people than was the Sun King. Not since the excesses of Versailles has so much been paid to so few for doing so little for so many.

DAVID ROBINSON
MAIN STREET, COLLON, CO LOUTH

Rock hard necks

Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, when asked about (2nd item) the heavy burden of water charges on schools said he would be encouraging them to save water and thus reduce their bills.

Unfortunately, it was an EU law and had nothing to do with him.

When it was suggested that perhaps he could ease the burden on schools by persuading his cabinet colleagues to increase capitation grants he replied.

That’s a matter for the Dept. of Education, nothing to do with me.

The Minister was in Bali preaching to the entire Western world about their gross dereliction of duty in failing to reduce greenhouse gases.

Only Irish politicians are born with such rock hard necks

A nation blighted by lying and cowardly politicians

The Minister for Education Mary Hanafin was on the Six One News (1st item) spewing out total bullshit in defence of the latest cowardly u turn by her fellow greedy incompetents.

Her performance shows that she is either a very stupid person or a cynical liar; I believe she’s a liar. Brian Dobson did a demolition job on her pathetic defence of the pay rise scandal.

She started off her lying by claiming that the deferral of the pay rise was a show of political leadership due to the downturn in the economy.

This is a lie, if there had been no strong public reaction to the pay rise the greedy politicians would have taken it. If our ethically compromised and greedy Taoiseach had insisted on taking the money no member of his party would have the balls to stand up to him, including the cowardly and subservient Hanafin.

She carried on her lying by asserting that the pay rise amounted to only about 2% over ten years.

Dobson quickly demolished this pathetic lie by putting it to her that she and her greedy, incompetent and cowardly colleagues had awarded themselves pays increases of 145% over ten years up to 2010.

Just after the lying minister said the figure was 2% Dobson asked her was it 2% or 145%, she replied that it was 12%, another lie.

She went on to insult the intelligence of every honest Irish citizen by claiming politicians were worth the increase because of their responsibilities in running the country and using taxpayers’ money well.

Irish politicians do not know the meaning of the word responsibility; we only have to look at our Third World health system where people are actually dying because of political cowardice and incompetence.

Again, in a desperate attempt to avoid Dobson’s searching questions she said;

“I think the general public accept that it is very important that the people who lead this country are paid good salaries so that they are not in any way susceptible to outside interference. That’s very important in any democracy.”

This is pure unadulterated bullshit.

Although this lying Minister seems to believe the fantasy tales of our ethically compromised Prime Minister, polls indicate that the majority of Irish citizens do not.

They have legitimate doubts about Ahern’s acceptance of vast amounts of cash from so called friends when he was one of the highest paid politicians in the country, so much for not being susceptible to outside interference.

Ahern also seems to revel in the putrid stench left by his corrupt hero Haughey; a politician who had no scruples whatsoever about robbing millions from taxpayers while in receipt of a massive state salary. Again, no worries about accepting enrichment through ‘outside interference’.

Meantime, over on Drivetime, we listened to the weasel words of another greedy and double talking politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.

Once again we heard the lie that the pay rise was deferred because of a downturn in the economy when everybody knows the truth is that cowardly politicians ran for cover when they realised the extent of public anger.

Ahern got himself into all kinds of trouble when questioned by journalists. Apparently, this dishonest politician claimed that he and his greedy colleagues only got one pay increase in the last eleven years.

When the journalists pointed out that they had actually got 22 pay increases since 2000, amounting to a staggering total of 143% Ahern casually lied that everybody in society got the same increases.

When he was challenged on an interim pay rise of 7.5% awarded two years ago he asserted that that particular windfall wasn’t awarded by the independent pay review group while simultaneously, and stupidly, claiming that he had no memory of the award..

The journalists reminded him that it was awarded by the review group.

Copy to:
Fianna Fail
Hanafin
Ahern

GAA slippery slope

The grants scheme for inter county players in the GAA continues to be divisive.

I tend to agree with the purists who feel that the move will undermine the amateur status of the games. The decision to pay the players but call it a grant is a typically Irish solution to an Irish problem.

Another point that hasn’t been mentioned is that, in effect, the players are been paid directly by the taxpayer. Now that’s a slippery slope.

Progressive Democrats are history

The most positive political event of 2007 was the implosion of the Progressive Democrats. Mary Harney is still in power, still busily building a two tier health system but at least Michael McDowell, the most dangerous right wing politician in Irish history is – history.

And judging from a report in today’s Irish Examiner, it looks like the party is well and truly over.

Fiona O’Malley, the only remaining high profile name in the ring as a potential leader, was running a mini-marathon in Milan when the party was meeting to change the rules that would have allowed her to assume the mantle. So, not much interest there.

Ms. O’Malley was unavailable for comment because she’s in Bali for the UN climate change conference – Guess who’s paying for that trip?

Pathe News memories

RTE broadcast a very interesting Budget Day programme last Wednesday. The programme took a look at some of the more controversial budgets from the past.

Included was, what is now; a very funny and cuttingly sarcastic 1930s broadcast by the BBC Pathe News service. Against a backdrop of dramatic music and a very posh accent the announcer reports on the imposition by Ireland of tariffs on English imports.

According to Wikepedia the Pathe News service ended in 1956 but I remember it as a regular feature in the cinema from the late 1950s and into the 60s.

As I remember it the evening began with a short film then a break for advertisements and Pathe News followed by the main feature film.

The cinema was divided into three levels of ‘luxury’. Nearest to the screen was the ‘flea pit’, just a series of long wooden benches with an admission price of 6p (Old money).

The middle area had upholstered seats and cost 10p but the top, which I think had some double seats, was the ultimate for those who could afford the outrageous price of one shilling (12p).

This area was ideal for couples more interested in a bit of courtin’ rather than watching the daring deeds of Batman and Robin or the Lone Ranger.

Here’s a transcription of the BBC report but for a full appreciation I would recommend listening to the piece (8th minute).

“In many ways the Irish peasants sharing their cottage with the pig, living on potatoes, are freer than the English artisan.

The Irish outlook is always less material. Characteristically, when De Valera told the farmers that because he had stopped payment of the English annuities Britain had raised a tariff against their produce, they cheered

He had given them back their cherished grievance, England as the villain of the piece. England was the chief market for Irish produce, without English custom they might starve

But what was that against the fact that De Valera had revived the old hostility between two countries which had seemed in danger of drifting towards peace.

The Irishman is little interested in what the rest of the world calls progress. Offer him the material things of life and you may leave him unmoved. Appeal to his imagination, his soul, his sense of injustice and he is your man.”

What the Minister really thinks?

This morning Minister for Finance Brian Cowen was answering budget questions on Today with Pat Kenny.

A number of listeners called in to criticise his amendments on stamp duty claiming that the changes were designed to help Fianna Fail buddies in the building industry.

Cowen began his reply:

“Unfortunately, there are some people entitled to espouse those views.”

A Freudian slip? perhaps.