TheStory.ie

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”

This is the letter of resignation of Willie O’Dea, along with Brian Cowen’s reply.

Willy O’Dea interviewed by Mike Dwane of the Limerick Leader/Chronicle makes a number of comments about Maurice Quinlivan of Sinn Féin, which he subsequently withdrew. O’Dea then swore an affidavit to court saying he made no such comments. He categorically and emphatically denied saying such things, then the audio below emerged and he changed his story.

…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

In three parts, recorded about seven days ago. Strong interview by Stephen Sackur:

Note: At 4.40 of the above clip Mary Coughlan repeats the mistruth she has told the Dáil previously. She says performance-related bonuses of senior civil servants were judged by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector to be “intrinsically” part of their salary.

This is not the truth. It is false. It’s a beyond misleading statement.

In no way, “intrinsically”, “implicitly”, “explicitly” or otherwise did the Review Body see bonuses as part of salary. Once again I have to wonder, is the Tánaiste stupid, out of her depth or lying? A disgrace.

“When we had the economic where-with-all we invested it in health, we invested it in education, we invested it in skills training.”

Eh. The HSE. Third level institutes. FÁS.

[h/t The Property Pin]