10 posts tagged “fianna fail”
Show us something crooked.
RTÉ are reporting that new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, is already making friends in the Dail:
A spokesman for the Taoiseach has said Brian Cowen regrets any offence caused by remarks picked up on the Dáil microphones after Leaders Questions this morning.
Mr Cowen was heard using a profanity in what the spokesman said was a casual exchange between working colleagues that was not a reference to any member of the house.
After angry exchanges over health Mr Cowen had been questioned by Labour's Eamon Gilmore on price increases and what he said had been the failure of the National Consumer Agency and other bodies to act.
RTÉ News understands that what the Taoiseach said to Ms Coughlan was: 'We need to get a handle on this, will you ring those f***ers.'
That was a reference to the relevant officials rather than the opposition.
Fine Gael criticised the Taoiseach for using unparliamentary language towards the Opposition, but RTÉ News understands Mr Cowen was not referring to Fine Gael.
The party had just been involved in angry exchanges over health spending.
Fine Gael's Dan Neville cited the remarks in a statement, claiming Mr Cowen had displayed his intolerance for the difficult questions which his party had been putting to him on health spending.
He claimed the Taoiseach had lost it and his use of the f-word referred to Fine Gael.
A Government spokesman earlier confirmed the microphones had picked up what he said was 'a private exchange that was not on the Dáil record.'
Cowen threatens Dail hecklers
At one point in the exchanges over health, Mr Cowen told the Fine Gael spokesman on Health, Dr James Reilly, that if the heckling continued, he could arrange that Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny would not be heard in the chamber again.
The row erupted after Mr Kenny questioned the Taoiseach about health expenditure.
A charge that Fine Gael had not backed a single initiative aimed at improving health services drew instant howls from Mr Kenny's front bench.
Dr Reilly was the most vocal, bellowing across the chamber that Mr Cowen was playing the man not the ball.
Amid continued noisy exchanges, the Taoiseach warned that he could organise similar behaviour from his own benches, before bluntly threatening Dr Reilly.
Mr Kenny protested, the Ceann Comhairle intervened and calm was restored.
Bertie Ahern frequently had to endure barracking from the Opposition during Leaders' Questions, sometimes complaining to the Ceann Comhairle.
But Mr Cowen signalled today he would not be taking it from Fine Gael and Labour, even if he has left himself open to a charge of conduct unbecoming of a Government leader.
Dr. Patrick Hillery died earlier today at the age of 84. From the Irish Times:
Dr Hillery, originally from Co Clare, served two seven-year terms as President of Ireland from 1976 to 1990.
His long and distinguished career in public life began in 1951 when he was elected alongside Éamon de Valera as a Fianna Fáil TD for Clare.
He held a number of ministerial posts (Education, Industry and Commerce, Labour and Foreign Affairs) prior to being appointed Ireland's first EEC Commissioner in 1973.
He held the post of vice president of the then Commission of the European Communities, with special responsibility for social affairs until 1976, when he was elected President of Ireland.
Patrick Hillery was born on May 2nd, 1923, at Miltown Malbay, Co Clare. He received his secondary education at Rockwell College, Co Tipperary. He went on to study medicine at UCD where he qualified as a doctor in 1947.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1951 and was to remain a TD for Clare until taking the post in Brussels 21 years later.
He had the unusual distinction of being elected president twice unopposed. The first time, in 1976, the post was virtually imposed on him by his own party at a time of crisis following the resignation of President Cearbhall O Dalaigh.
Despite letting it be known privately that he did not wish to stand for a second term, he was prevailed upon to do so by the leaders of the three main parties and was again elected unopposed in 1983.
He was inaugurated for a second term on December 4th, 1983 at a low-key ceremony in Dublin Castle.
During the 1990 presidential campaign, which was evenutally won by Mary Robinson, controversy erupted over an incident during Dr Hillery’s first term in office in 1982 when the Fine Gael-led government of Dr Garret FitzGerald collapsed after losing a Dail vote.
At the time several Fianna Fáil ministers were alleged to have telephoned Áras an Uachtaráin in an attempt to persuade president Hillery not to dissolve the Dail at the request of Dr Fitzgerald but to call on the then Fianna Fail leader, Charles Haughey, to form the next government.
The late Brian Lenihan who was the Fianna Fáil candidate to succeed Dr Hillery in 1990 first denied that he had been one of those who telephoned the Áras but was later forced to change his initial claim after the tape of an interview with a research student in which he said he had telephoned was then released.
Many believe the incident cost Mr Lenihan the election.
Dr Hillery is survived by his wife Maeve, his son John and his grandchildren. He and his wife also had a daughter Vivienne, who died in 1985.
President Mary McAleese led tributes to Dr Hillery and said she had learned of his death "with deepest sadness".
"Dr Hillery made an enormous contribution to this country at key times in the vital and necessary development of this state.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said Dr Hillery had served two terms as president “with great dignity, skill and generosity.
“In volatile political times, he was a cool head, who exercised his powers wisely, and assiduously protected the independence of Ireland’s highest office.”
He said an offer of a state funeral has been accepted by the Hillery family and the details will be announced later.
Former president Mary Robinson said her predecessor was supportive of the ways she wanted to change the presidency, and funny, warn and generous when they met before she was inaugurated.
Compared to the shower in Leinster House these days, this guy was a gentleman. He will be missed.
As predicted, Brian Cowen is going to become leader of Fianna Fail and thus Taoiseach. Bertie indicated Cowen was his preferred choice and so it came to pass.
Cowen (or 'Biffo' as he's also known) is widely regarded as intelligent, but something of a bruiser. He also has an awful habit of pulling unusual faces while in front of the press. The tongue. Always with the tongue.
Not the most delicate of God's creatures or terribly photogenic. However, the Irish electorate seems happy enough with him. For the moment.
From the BBC (and I'm so frustrated I was too busy at work today to blog even a single line about this before now!)
Ahern to resign as Irish premier
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has announced he is to resign on 6 May.
Mr Ahern, 56, has been taoiseach since June 1997 and has been a member of the Irish Parliament for 31 years.
The announcement comes a day after Mr Ahern began a court challenge to limit the work of a public inquiry probing planning corruption in the 1990s.
The tribunal is probing Mr Ahern's personal finances. Mr Ahern has been leader of Fianna Fáil since 1994 and heads the coalition government.
Mr Ahern told a news conference he would tender his resignation as both taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader on 6 May.
He said: "The priority I put above all others was to work for peace on this island, and I have given all to that cause.
"I know in my heart of hearts I have done no wrong and wronged no-one.
"My decision is motivated by what is best for the people. It is a personal decision.
"I will not allow issues related to my own person to dominate the people and the body politic."
Mr Ahern said he had nothing to fear from on-going inquiries about his finances at the tribunal into planning corruption.
"While I will be the first to admit that I've made mistakes in my life and in my career, one mistake I've never made was to enrich myself by misusing the trust of the people.
"I have never received a corrupt payment and I've never done anything to dishonour any office that I've ever held."
Mr Ahern will be remembered for his role in the negotiations leading up to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. When the talks at Stormont were in their crucial final stages, he returned from his mother's funeral to rejoin the negotiations.
He said on Wednesday: "The Good Friday Agreement now provides the political framework for the island to meet its full political potential."
Mr Ahern has been the most successful politician in the Republic of Ireland since Eamon De Valera, winning three elections. He is Ireland's second-longest serving taoiseach.
BBC Northern Ireland political editor Mark Devenport described Mr Ahern's impending departure as "death by a thousand cuts".
"Bertie Ahern was coming under increasing pressure from the Mahon Tribunal," he said. "I think he felt this wouldn't go away, and, if he didn't give a date for his departure, the Dublin media, in particular, would be relentless."
Following on from my earlier posting regarding Bertie Ahern's dickensian poverty, it appears things have taken a turn for the worse.
Indeed, despite earlier protests to the contrary, the cabinet are going to postpone their pay rise this year (how will they clothe and edumacate their childers??) and this includes Bertie himself.
From this morning's Irish Independent:
"TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern's leadership was further undermined yesterday as a public backlash forced ministers into a dramatic u-turn on their exorbitant pay hikes.
But the sting in the tail for taxpayers is that Mr Ahern will still pick up his enormous €38,000 wage rise -- just a year later than planned.
Mr Ahern was the most vocal defender of the pay rises, even going so far as to claim that he was "poverty stricken" compared to other world leaders and that deferring the payments would be "playing smokes and daggers with it".
Yet in a highly embarrassing move for him, the Cabinet decided yesterday to postpone their lavish wage hikes for a year.
The Taoiseach's salary will still rise to €310,000 in less than three years, rather than being phased in over two years.
The initial chunk of the wage rise was worth €13,635 to Mr Ahern.
The rest of the pay awards from an independent review body's report will go through as planned, including the €58,000 extra for Julie O'Neill, the Department of Transport secretary general who failed to inform Transport Minister Noel Dempsey about the Aer Lingus pullout of Shannon.
Mr Ahern's handling of the pay awards controversy was immediately called into question as opposition parties said it showed he was "out of touch".
The decision was taken to set the tone on the economy and in response to negative public feedback, a government spokesman said.
"They were cognisant of the deterioration in economic factors and were cognisant hearing it on the doorsteps," the spokesman said.
"The decision not to accept the award wasn't based on criticism alone. They felt they had to give certain leadership," the spokesman added.
The Government is claiming its move will result in substantial savings.
In fact, it just means the taxpayer won't be paying out €362,749 between now and next September, as this is the total amount by which the Ministers, junior ministers and other political office holders' salaries would have gone up by.
The ministers were getting 5pc from mid-September of this year with half the balance to come in September 2008 and the remainder in March 2009.
This timeframe is now changed to 4pc from September 2008, half the balance in September 2009 and the remainder in September 2010. When the full-pay award is implemented, it will still cost an extra €884,829 per annum. .
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the entire handling of the controversy illustrated the extent to which Mr Ahern and the Cabinet are out of touch with the public mood. "Some of the Taoiseach's attempts to defend the rise have been particularly pathetic, including his attempts toput on the 'beal bocht', because he does not have a White House or an Elysee Palace," he said.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny described the decision to defer the pay hikes as "a sham".
Mr Ahern said the Government was putting back the pay rises because the Exchequer figures in November were not as good as had been hoped and the public finances were tighter.
"Never has a Government since 1969 rejected it. They have phased it and delayed it but not rejected it. This Government will not do so either," Mr Ahern said. "It is a good example of our goodwill." "
And your fear of an angry electorate. You greasy little tosser.
Bertie Ahern, Irish Taoiseach (PM) and leader of Fianna Fail is experiencing hard times. Dickensian poverty, if we are to believe him. As a result of awarding himself (and other government ministers) a whopping payrise, and because of the resultant the public backlash against this, Bertie's getting grief from the opposition. This, from this morning's Irish Examiner:
TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern remarkably claimed yesterday he was “poverty-stricken” compared with other world leaders as he lacked a yacht, a butler and a summer palace.
In an extraordinary and strident defence of his salary of €310,000 per annum, Mr Ahern claimed it did not make him the best paid leader in Europe because other leaders like French President Nicholas Sarkozy benefited from opaque tax arrangements, prolonged holidays, yachts and homes.
“I would like somebody to put all their arrangements up front. Not only do most of these people have permanent and weekend residences but they have holiday residences,” he said.“They are the beneficiaries of prolonged holidays, yachts and homes.”
He was responding to a question from Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny comparing Mr Ahern’s salary with Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Mr Sarkozy and George W Bush.
“Most of the people mentioned by the deputy would not pay for a cup of tea because they have catering staff in their homes and can use jets for social and other occasions,” said Mr Ahern.
Fine Gael front-bencher Brian Hayes claimed Mr Ahern was losing the plot.
“The Taoiseach’s defence of his huge salary increase is getting ridiculous.
“And other European leaders are certainly not in the habit of taking cash loans from friends, cash gifts from strangers and having valuable houses left to them in wills,” he said.
The Government has been criticised for taking pay hikes at a time when it is preaching restraint in wage increase demands. Mr Ahern was accused of hypocrisy by political opponents and of lacking credibility by union leaders.
However, the Taoiseach has been unapologetic. Yesterday, he defended his €38,000, or 15%, increase on the basis it was the first award from the independent body for seven years (besides a 7.5% interim award from the same body two years ago). In all, the Taoiseach’s salary has gone up by more than 130% since he entered office in 1997.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Ahern also attacked the media: “It would not be hard for a member of the media to write a glowing article about how poverty-stricken we are compared to other countries. I suppose I will have to wait for that.
“I would gladly forego the increase to a future date if I believed it would make a whit of difference but it would probably be reported on page 99 of the newspaper.”
The Taoiseach also asserted his comparators in the private sector earned upwards of €1 million but added he was not looking for pay of that scale.
I truly feel sorry for the man, and wonder indeed what sort of sacrifices he has to make merely to survive in Dublin on just 300,000 a year. Maybe I should start a "Bertie Appeal"?
I'd be more annoyed if this wasn't so predictable. He was, after all, taught everything he knows by one Charles J. Haughey (may he burn in hell). History repeating, etc....
Snakes alive! After a recent question in the Dail (Irish Parliament) about Government Ministers snorting the marching powder, another Minister (and I'm wondering why I chose to capitilise that word...) has been accused of verbally abusing members of the public. In a pub. In Limerick.
Simon Coveney, A Fine Gael TD, challenged Bertie Ahern to respond to allegations that a serving minister regularly enjoyed coke. (And not out of a bottle...). He quoted the minister:
'Yes, I take drugs, only coke, and I am not the only one'.
Obviously, this question was swept aside my Bertie's monkey-in-a-suit, Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue (you can see Johnny-boy in action here) and went unanswered. Frankly, I wasn't surprised at Coveney's question at all, considering some of the reprobates Bertie has in his party.
Which brings me to the one and only Willie O'Dea. Ah Willie. The Irish Examiner is reporting he got into a bit of a kerfuffle in a pub in Limerick, when challenged on his inability to turn up for votes in the Dail. Specifically, the vote concerning Aer Lingus pulling out of Shannon, an area O'Dea represents in the Dail.
"DEFENCE Minister Willie O’Dea verbally abused two people during a pub row over Shannon Airport and offered to fight one of them, it was claimed last night.
John Fahey, chief executive of the Meet Limerick/Shannon conferencing promotion group, and Geraldine Morrissey, spokeswoman for Aer Lingus workers at the airport, are demanding an apology from the minister over the remarks they say he made.However, Mr O’Dea claimed last night it was he who had been abused and denied he offered to fight.
People asked him to explain himself on Shannon. When he tried to speak, Mr Fahey interrupted him only for Ms Morrissey to say, “Let him make his petty point”. Mr O’Dea admitted telling Ms Morrissey to “get lost”, but denied using stronger language or challenging anybody to a fight.The row happened after Mr O’Dea called to South’s pub in Limerick last Saturday night with Tánaiste Brian Cowen. Mr Fahey, a prominent hotelier in the mid-west, was there with his wife and Ms Morrissey.
Ms Morrissey said she was stunned at Mr O’Dea’s behaviour. However, Mr O’Dea insisted the allegations were “rubbish”. He said he returned to the pub to collect his wife only to be “roundly abused”.
“Mr O’Dea was there with the Tánaiste,” said Mr Fahey. “Then they both left together. As they did, a number of people said, ‘What about Shannon, what about Shannon?’”
A short time later, Mr O’Dea returned. Mr Fahey said when Mr O’Dea approached their group, Ms Morrissey challenged him over not being present in the Dáil for a vote on the Shannon issue.
“She asked him why he did not take part in the Dáil debate,” Mr Fahey said. “He said he was the minister for defence and I said, ‘You did not defend the interests of Shannon very well’. At that, he turned around and said, ‘Who is that big p***k?’ and asked me out saying he would like to hit me. I told him, if he was any bigger I might. He then turned to Geraldine Morrissey and said, ‘I don’t give a f**k about you’.”
Some might argue his first mistake was to go out for a drink in Limerick at all, never mind with Brian Cowen, a man whose face invites abuse from the general public. I would argue it was Willie's moustache that got people riled up. It's incredibly ridiculous, potentially stuck on with glue, and is obviously a feeble attempt from a small man to appear more important. I think we'd all agree that he has failed in that attempt.
An alternative explanation could (emphasise could) be linked to the story above and the potential for some of Bertie's boys to be high as kites. I mean, coke is known for its ability to get people riled up, super-confident and a bit fighty. (Yes, fighty in a word). Could these two senior ministers have popped out of the pub for a few lines, and returned confident in their ability to take on the entire pub?
Just asking, that's all.
Sits back awaiting threatening letters from Leinster House...
RTE News is reporting that Fianna Fail and the Green Party have finally agreed a draft programme for government:
The Green Party and Fianna Fáil have agreed a draft programme for government.
The 90-page document is to be put to a special Green Party conference tomorrow afternoon and will also be discussed by the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party.
Speaking this evening, Minister Séamus Brennan said the draft programme covered all major policy areas but did not deal with distribution of Ministerial Portfolios.
Mr Brennan said these would be decided by Green Party leader Trevor Sargent and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern when they meet tonight or tomorrow morning.
Trevor Sargent said they believed the roadblocks which led to the collapse of talks on Friday have been worked through.
But he said it would be the party's members who will democratically decide if the party is to enter the next Government.
Mr Sargent also said members at tomorrow's convention will not be told how many ministries the party can expect if they approve the coalition.
Speaking at a news conference in Dublin, he said they would not be discussing Government formation tomorrow but only the policy platform agreed with Fianna Fáil.
He said it was recognised there would be a role for the two deputies from the Progressive Democrats and for Independents, but that was a matter for the Taoiseach.
He said he was very happy that if the deal were approved, there would be major changes in people's employment and quality of life.
The cynic in me wonders if this is the last sniff of democracy they'll get for the next five years? Anyway, from the above it seems that the PDs are definitely in, as are a smattering of former-FF Independents.
IrishElection.com has the statement from the Green Party. They also ask a number of "What now?" questions, including the crucial question: how many of the Greens' policies from their election manifesto will make it into the government programme without being watered down?
Yes, I know I know... all the news media are reporting there will be weeks and weeks of negotiations before a new government will be formed in Ireland. Between the voting the system and the number of parties, a coalition is a certainty.
However, regardless of the make-up of this new government, Bertie will be leading it. How do I know this? Not due to any deep understanding of the political system in Ireland or any personal connections in Fianna Fail. No.
It's because I just noticed that Paddy Power (bookmaker to toffs and gentry) is paying out on bets placed on Bertie being Taoiseach.
So who will be getting into bed with Bertie? According to unofficial polls, the Progressive Democrats (PDs) have been virtually wiped out. They were Bertie's pre-election coalition partners, for the past 10 years. And there are reports today that the leader of the Labour party has said he's willing to enter into negotiations with Bertie, if only to keep Sinn Fein out of government.
Hold on (I hear you cry). Didn't Bertie promise not to go into government with Sinn Fein? He did indeed, but that was before the election. And as we all know, a politician's pre-election promise isn't worth spit. So we may see another outing of the famed FF-Labour coalition of the 90s. As I recall, that one ended in Bertie's election as leader of FF (as Labour knifed then-leader Albert Reynolds in the back).
But what about Fine Gael? They and Labour were set to form a 'Rainbow' government, possibly with their good friends the Greens. I'd put this on in the same bucket as Bertie's pre-election promises. And if it weren't for the absolute lack of talent waiting in the wings, Enda Kenny would be a dead man walking.
My prediction? If Bertie increases his number of seats, he may keep the PDs close (as you do with your enemies) and maintain the present coalition.
If the PDs can't make up the numbers, Bertie will rely on Labour, form a government and after a brief period of shock, Ireland will go back to work saying that it's what we wanted/intended all along. Plus ca change.
If (and it's a big if) Bertie uses Sinn Fein votes to stay aloft and perhaps even go into government with them, I and a large number of my democratic countrymen (i.e. people who don't believe in blowing shit up to get our way) will be suitably outraged. But relatively powerless.
Suggestions welcome.
And stay tuned, because this could go in a completely different direction in the days ahead.
