Author: Mark Coughlan

Oftentimes posts on the Irish Times Politics blog are about the theatrics, minutiae, of politics. Such theatrics and details, while sometimes making for interesting reads for politics obsessives, are often fairly meaningless in a wider context. Dermot Ahern slagged off who? Which Green minister of state doesn’t get along with which minister? The wider public doesn’t really care.

This post by Harry McGee is about politics and governence in a broader context.

What really scares me is that all the mantras that we all bought into were wrong. Low taxes were a myth. Perhaps low corporation tax was the only exception to that. The only reason we got away with them for so long was because of the property boom and the temporary bonanza in once-off transactional taxes like stamps, VAT, capital gains tax, and capital acquisition tax. As long as we continued to build record numbers of houses and scored obscene loans securitised on obscene valuations of properties we didn’t own, we could continue on our journey into never-never land.

…

What worries me about the situation we are in is the dearth of ideas and the dearth of policies. We’ve had a couple of announcements about job creation that are more fluffy than solid. The green and smart economy initiative looks all very well until you realise that some of the jobs (tidal energy) are still a long way off. Moreover, some of the jobs are merely replacements for existing jobs (alternative energy replacing conventional energy). And then you find out that the Government hasn’t actually put its money where its mouth is in terms of stumping up the money for its ‘ambitious’ (yeah!) national home retrofitting project (the one that’s supposed to provide gazillions of jobs in the construction sector). […]

It’s headed ‘The mess we’re in and the meaningless speculation about a reshuffle’ (though ‘…and the speculation about a meaningless reshuffle’ may describe the content slightly better) and it’s definitely worth a read.

Disclosure: As a freelance one of a number of companies which chips in to pay my bills is Irish Times Ltd.

NOTE 14.11 Feb 26: Spokesman for Batt O’Keeffe has told a national newspaper that the car in the photograph is not his vehicle. Right. Report below remains unedited.

I’ve been doing some research on homelessness in Dublin for a piece I’m planning. The last person I met told me he was born in eastern Europe but moved to the the US in his twenties. He lived there for more than ten years, during which time he lost touch with his family, and moved to Ireland eight years ago. These days he speaks with a Dublin accent.

Until summer 2008 he was the assistant manager of a gastro-pub in one of the more affluent suburbs. Then the owner told him he was cutting staff and, apologetically said the assistant manager’s role would be the first to go. He kept up with the rent for a few months but gradually fell behind. No jobs. He lived on friends’ couches for a while, until he felt like a burden.

Eight months ago he started spending his days in the City, usually between Nassau Street and Templebar. He sleeps in a 24 hour internet cafe because it’s only €5 a night and “there’s no drugs or screamers in them”. He’s in a strange situation with his welfare entitlements; getting rent allowance of €35 a week but unable to the dole. He was due to meet a welfare officer a week after we spoke to sort it out, a meeting he’s been waiting six weeks to happen. The last time he met her, a few months ago, she said she was going to get his paperwork readied, so he was hopeful. Continue reading “Cars and people”

So he’s resigned. Sure isn’t it all the rage these days up in Leinster House.

He’s gone from department. Rightly. Doing so speedily and with dignity appears to have kept damage to the coalition to a minimum. Thus, unless the Greens gather some more evidence to put foundations beneath their suspicions of the identity of The Leaker [maybe ‘The Leeker’, would better in this instance?], this ‘scandal’ looks set to peter out by mid-day tomorrow.

Kevin Doyle of the Herald “wouldn’t confirm either way” where the leak came from when asked if it was Fianna Fáil by Prime Time. You’d have to wonder. Sargent was done in by someone.

Really, the revealations do more to illustrate Sargent’s stupidity and naivety than expose some massive hidden trait of corruption.

I doubt more than half the TDs in the House can honestly claim not to have contacted a Garda to “enquire” about a constituent’s case at some time. Prehaps not so many done so in a tone similar to Sargent’s, but he is certainly not alone. Of course, I can’t back this up with more than what I’ve heard, in the main because An Garda can’t be FOI’d.

Usually the politicians are a little more “street-wise”. They call the relevent senior local officer instead of (deep breath) sending multiple letters by registered post on department-headed paper to low-ranking Gardas who are obviously going to bring it to their superiors to ensure their own backs are safe in case someone gets word of the correspondence in the future. It’s particularly bizarre when considering Sargent was most critical of Bobby Molloy back in the day for similar ‘transgressions’.

However, the above is in no way to be read that it’d be acceptable to for Sargent to have claimed “everybody does it, I was just caught, it’s no biggie”. I’m glad Sargent was caught. I’m glad he resigned. It was a corrupting act, an unlawful act. He has stained his reputation and will have to live with that. What’s really unfortunate is that we’re unlikely to catch the rest of them.

It’s worth noting that he’ll remain in his seat despite admiting commiting an unlawful act. I wonder if he’d have resigned had he’d been simply a TD, as opposed to minister of state. It does seem a position is something that can be lost, but a vote in the House? “Nah… keepin’ dah’.”

Still, I did raise an eyebrow when I heard some Opposition TDs moralising today. They’re not all at it, but he’s far from alone.

There is a slight nuance to the Trevor Sargent story on the front of today’s Evening Herald not immediately apparent – to me at least – on first reading.

The constituent on whose behalf Sargent wrote to the Garda Siochana, it is claimed, was subject of a malicious prosecution, if the talk on News At One is to be interpreted correctly.  The question therefore is whether Sargent in his correspondence, was referring specifically to a case and attempting to influence it, or simply informing the Garda Siochana that a constituent was concerned about a matter.

If the former, can Sargent stay? I doubt it. The letters – if the politicians don’t – will tell all, but the Herald have not printed them in full [yet]. So we await.

In the meantime, the fact the Green Party statement has confirmed that Sargent communicated with a Garda is important. Furthermore, the quotes used in the Evening Herald article don’t shine Sargent in a good light.

All in all, right now, it’s not looking great for the deputy.

Unless he can pull out a surprising (and rock solid explanation) – and the malicious-complaint claim doesn’t cut it as the tecnicalities of the case are largely irrelevant – or this story has been hugely misreported, this looks like the end of his career.

The ball is in the Green Party’s court. Do they cut Sargent, arguably their most “ethically conscious” of all deputies, over this apparently extremely serious matter? Those insterested in seeing ethics upheld and political accountability imposed, would say they should.

Or do they try to make an excuse for Sargent and cling to power? Surely not?

Last week the Irish Times editorial finished with “[for the Green Party, the handling of the O’Dea ethics issue is] a hard lesson learned”. I doubted, [in Footnote IV] whether or not they’d learned any such lessons. I suppose we’ll see in the next few hours.

Might be worth keeping an eye on Dan Boyle’s Twitterstream.

The Bizarre Green Timeline pre-O’Dea’s Resignation: On Wednesday Minister Eamon Ryan was in in the Dáil saying… eh… well see for yourself.

[Thanks to Alexia for the clip.]

And it that, I suppose, that is the crucial issue. That when there was a mistake [noted] in that affidavit, when there was something [noted] that was not true, it was acknowledged in Court, dealt with in Court, and accepted by the other party.“

As shown above, Minister Ryan, “speaking on behalf of the Green Party” defended Mr O’Dea in the Dáil. Minister John Gormley also stood behind Mr O’Dea. As did the rest of the party when they voted confidence in the then defence minister on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Minister Gormley around the same time he had been assured by Mr O’Dea that an article in the Limerick Leader the following morning would “vindicate” him. However, at this point various unchallenged reports (not to mention the court settlement) showing that Mr O’Dea had falsely claimed an electoral opponent ran a brothel (and then denied doing so in a sworn affidavit to court) were already in the public domain. What exactly could vindicate a minister in this situation is unclear.

Despite this, Minister Gormley said he was waiting for the next edition of the Leader before considering whether or not he had confidence in Mr O’Dea. He did so so0n after, or just before… erm… voting confidence in Mr O’Dea. Continue reading “From Green to red in less than 48 hours”

…as the O’Leary-bullying-the-State-story seems to have become known, Gerard Cunningham says it best.

…Then imagine that another company comes along, and decides it wants some of the plant the OPW has already leased.

Imagine that this latercomer calls in a few political favours, and the Minister in charge instructs the OPW to break the leasing contracts it has set up, take back the plant and machinery it has already leased, and give it to the latecomer, a competitor of the company which took out the lease in good faith….

Read the rest, it’s only a short post. And subscribe to that blog too, it’s on my ‘Check First Thing in the Morning’ list.

I’m with the Government on this one. Michael O’Leary could with remembering he’s just a taxpayer, not matter how much of it he may pay. Also some seem to be forgetting there are occupied, already operational, currently-people-are-being-paid-to-do-it Aer Lingus roles involved too.

O’Leary is a master communicator (self-promoter and spinner), he does make Coughlan look even more incompetent than she is, but he’s wrong and being facetious in this case.

Now, getting back to Willie O’Dea and that resignation thing. Harry McGee outlines the details in a good post on the Irish Times Politics blog for those looking for a recap.

Green Party, where’s all that rule-of-law and ethics talk from back in the Planet Bertie days gone?… Did I see you lot curling up in a ball again there earlier?

Irish Times lead editorial today is on Willie O’Dea’s… ehem… ‘false statement’ in a sworn affidavit to court.

In other jurisdictions, prominent people have been sent to jail for incorrect statements. Here, Fianna Fáil closed ranks. Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern ignored the substantive issue and described Fine Gael’s behaviour in pursuing the matter as “despicable”. Earlier, leader of the Seanad Donie Cassidy declared that the people of Limerick were fortunate to have such a capable representative. There is no question about Mr O’Dea’s political or ministerial abilities. What is at issue is his behaviour in maligning a political opponent during an election campaign and the legal and political consequences that have flowed from that action. As a solicitor, Mr O’Dea must realise the seriousness of the situation. If he does not, then Mr Cowen, who is also a solicitor, should be able to advise him.

Good piece. The pressure rightly builds. Fair play to the Limerick Chronicle.

Willie is loving the attention. This is him laughing as Fine Gael deputies shout at the Ceann Comhairle demanding a time for his statement on the matter be set…

– Screengrab via Christine Bohan