Citizen Simon

A hard one to write - David Norris, Nien Danke

2011-10-05T18:19:00.002+01:00

I have always liked David Norris as a person, but as a candidate there are questions that public officials need to answer - And watching the Prime Time interview, I was not happy with the way he deflected and avoided valid questions on correspondence to do with the letters written in support of Ezra Nawi, a former boyfriend of David Norris - and let us not forget this - convicted of statutory rape.

Deflection on the grounds of disclosure or a trial being held in camera are no excuse.
Names, dates and locations can be excised and redacted, but details and context are valid questions.

Its not the first time that he has tried to intervene in a similar case.
In 2008, Norris called for a documentary, Fairytale of Kathmandu, to be postponed. The film documented visits to Nepal by poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh, during which he is alleged to have had sex with young men - about 16 years of age.

It questioned whether he was sexually exploiting the boys.

I have always felt very uncomfortable about the case, its not really clear - but clearly a charity worker having sex with 16 year olds (regardless of gender) is failing in duty of care, and remember here in Ireland the legal definition of a child is someone under the age of 17 for the purpose of the sexual offences (juristiction) act 1996

The sexuality of a person does not matter, but abuse of a minor does.

As an atheist I have to say for all the senators protestations about strong christian values, he would do well to remember Matthew 18:6

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea

Certain crimes should not and cannot be forgiven.
An adult who abuses a minor through violation of trust, position etc. is a criminal.
It is especially important to point out both cases involved poor, dependent persons of a foreign culture.

Various bleating by Norris about the pederasty in classical Greece with such echoes to a trial like this is both unwise, and I feel sinister.

We need more transparency in our body politic, not more cover-ups.

On that note from the Irish Independent on the 5th we learned that David Norris received a disability payment for 16 years while out of work as a Trinity College lecturer -- even though he was well enough to be a "full-time" senator for the entire period.

Mr Norris confirmed to the Irish Independent he received the payment, but could not specify exactly how much it was worth. He also initially refused to say what his disability was.

The payment began in 1994 and ended in 2010.

Over the period, while claiming disability he also received a senator's salary of about €61,073 and an annual leader's allowance -- the €23,383 Independent senators receive in unvouched expenses every year -- for his Seanad work.

However, he initially would not say what the disability was, and insisted it did not stand in his way of being president, insisting he is in "perfect health".

So at first, Senator Norris refused to comment on the disability payments - this is the clarification (?) recently released.

At his official campaign launch this morning, he has revealed the payment is currently around €2,500 a month. It is non- A, B or C Hepatitis, contracted from drinking water in Central Europe in 1994......left him so tired he was unable to do his job lecturing in Trinity

“I was medically advised it was not possible for me to undertake the stress of the very intensive lecturing and tutorial duties that I had,”
Mr Norris said it was the university authorities who decided to place him on permanent disability and replace him with another academic, giving him time to focus on the Seanad.

So well enough to lecture in the Senate, but not the School?

He did concede that if it were now he may think differently about taking the payment while having another job: He insisted his health would not be an issue for him to become President

Thats nice to know, so he can work then - even though it seems he may still receive disability payments!

“For three years I did not take any alcohol at all, which you’re advised, with the small exception every Sunday at St Patrick’s Cathedral.” What is it with religion again??

Further in that interview in relation to the abuse case Mr Norris again stressed he was acting on legal advice from Israeli and Irish lawyers .......which stops him disclosing controversial clemency letters he wrote for an ex-partner convicted of statutory rape.

“This case involved real people,” he said.
“It changed their lives and left deep scars.

Real people, real scars?? No Shit Sherlock!!!
Letters can always be released after censorship - and it seems all the correspondence related to gaining clemency for the abuser - so far as we can tell, not having seen the correspondence.

But, as with the disability payments - this was done on advice - as were the disability payments but when asked to comment initially he asked not to go into the disability payment, saying there "was a whole story about that".

Im sure there is!

For the second time in a Presidential campaign we see that this may involve (another) rapid verbal u-turning change of tune - perhaps after "mature recollection"

GUBU speak is alive and well in Joyces Dublin

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Privatising Ireland

2011-10-05T13:06:00.000+01:00

Well, we know they want to privatize water, which is not a commodity but a human right.
But other state assets are being sold to create a short term solution to bail out banks - in an effort that will fail, that is, the bank bailout.

Already our natural resources have been sold, as with gas and oil resources - or with coillte, will be sold.
We as a country do not have the best track record with privatization. Our Eircom flotation was a failure, Sugar and Steel went to the wall. Sugar in particular was a very bad deal, very short sighted and caused real loss.
Aerlingus shares fell from over 2 euro to just over 60 cents. Aerlingus landing slots are worth more than flight revenue - this is a service, not a business.
Now the ESB- the very foundation of our socio-economic structure is now up for sale. The ESB is a strategic company. The plan is not to retain any of the ESB but flog it.
Control of the network grid is where the money is, and with our shabby history of regulation, better a public than private monopoly.

It is a bad time to sell, the buyers know we are in a bind, it's like going to the pawn shop instead of the antique stores.

Pat Rabbite talks about giving an assurance to the potential buyers that we could sell in the future. This neglects the point that this will hamstring future governments.

The ESB and rural electrification was the jewel in the crown of the early free state. We need to think in creative terms, as they did - ambition on behalf of the nation, rather than assisting the private debts of banks.

We need to look at visionary projects like Spirit of Ireland , keeping control of distribution, improving the grid and generating jobs and income - rather than that the current Government want to sell off an asset that has the real potential to really do something radical and creative and create work, improving the lives of the majority.

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Icelandic Indications, Forestry and Fracking

2011-10-01T16:46:00.000+01:00

Iceland is dealing with the financial crisis, and part of that is holding people responsible.
Of those responsible in Ireland, a small select group of bankers, politicians and senior civil servants, they are not being charged, they have been moved into NAMA.

People say that the establishment link between politicians and property developers is a conspiracy theory, but the connections are clearly there.

Bertie Ahearn has instead of facing an investigation about links with property developers and banks has become a paid advisor to Parker Green International, a multi-national property developer.

We will not benefit enough from natural resources like the Corrib gas field, but we are also in danger of losing other resources like our state forestry, Coilte, in a drive to privatize state assets to bail out the banks.

Now Bertie Ahearn is working for the International Forestry Fund, financed by Hevetica Wealth AG - their intention is to take over Coilte, and get an area twice the size of County Meath at a bargain price from the new coalition Government.

Neil Ginty has written at length about this issue. Its not just trees and land though, this is state owned property, minerals will lie under the earth, but we do not know what is there because the survey done is not subject to the freedom of information act.

"Pat Carey’s signing off of the Corrib gas line on Election Day marked what many considered one last act of treason in giving the go ahead for Shell to build infrastructure that will pump gas from the west coast to their interconnectors in Britain."

Bertie is being paid by a foreign company who want to purchase an area twice the size of County Meath!! Is it just me or is there something wrong about this?

The driving force behind the planned sale of state assets is Colm McCarthy.
His report wants to sell pretty much everything to the highest bidder.
As well as being a lecturer in UCD, Mr McCarthy also works with the ERSI and DKM Economic consultants.

Also on the board of DKM is Annette Hughes - a former BP employee. Ms Huges is an expert on energy, with particular focus on interactions with demographics and regional development - one sees what that means in Mayo.
She is also on the board of FÁS as well as being a Director of DKM.

This takes us back to the issue of resources, and the looming threat of fracking, a very destructive means of extracting minerals, and the ownership of vast tracts of land, that when privatized means we the people if we protest can be done for trespass.

We need to stop this happening. We need to hold those responsible for the financial crisis responsible, and certainly not put them into new positions of power to do further damage.

If default happens, so be it. If we need to revert to our own controllable currency so be it.

Iceland was warned that it would never borrow again if it failed to honour the debts of its financial sector.

But the country already seems to have been forgiven by the markets.

The Icelandic government issued $1bn in sovereign debt in June at an interest rate of around 6 per cent.

This was twice oversubscribed by investors. The contrast with Ireland, which assumed responsibility for all the liabilities of its bust banking sector, is stark.

Thanks to Dublin's blanket bailout, total government debt is now more than 100 per cent of GDP, four times pre-crisis levels.

And Ireland's reward from the markets has been a rise in the cost of insuring its sovereign bonds. Iceland's currency depreciation also looks good by international comparisons.

Latvia doggedly kept its peg with euro after the 2008 crash and has experienced a catastrophic 25 per cent decline in GDP and seen unemployment reach 22 per cent.

The economic policy orthodoxy through this crisis supported by McCarthy and others – sale of national assets and pushed by ratings agencies and European politicians alike – has demanded that the national governments honour the private debts of their banking sectors, protect their exchange rates, eschew capital movement restrictions, and impose massive austerity to earn back the confidence of bond markets.

Much of that wisdom was ignored by Reykjavik. And the early signs are that Iceland is doing quite well - it is a model that has been working, and it should be this model we adopt. Part of that is accountability, which again in Ireland is failing badly.

Also, our media is failing to address these issues. McCarthy is a commentator on RTE, but no-one elected him - why does an unelected person get to decide to sell of national assets?

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UK riots, Irish lessons

2011-08-10T08:12:00.010+01:00

In the UK and in Ireland hope for many young people has been taken away, yet at the same time the materialist celebrity culture is fed to them 24 hours a day through advertising by any means necessary.
As Shaun Bailey, a conservative said, these kids, in the last 15 years, know all about their rights but do not realize their responsibilities.
He also said on newsnight in the UK that although some may feel genuine grievances, the majority feel a sense of entitlement, that they can take what they want - I put that attitude down to our crass celebrity culture.

We no longer judge by color of skin or content of character, we do so by consumerism– you are what you have. The mixed ethnic nature of the looting youth gangs is a pretty good demonstration of this.

One can also understand the simmering anger, in actual fact a huge anger, but also a huge feeling of frustration - and it is justifiable. What is right and wrong! One law for the rich and one for everyone else.

No corrupt bankers or politicians have gone to jail, people who caused the cutbacks and who get away with it. No one seems accountable.
The hacking scandal in the UK has caused huge anger, the media behaving in such a callous manner.

Celebs who openly use drugs are not hassled in the same way as kids on the street.

We see bankers bailed out, corrupt politicians and a compliant, saccharine media who concentrate on the unimportant and there is little we can do to change that.

In Ireland we see cuts to public health, policing, the things now required but reduced, and the very rich or influential, banks, clerics and politicos, being unrepentant and untouchable.

Senator Calley in Ireland for example shows no shame, former Green politicians show no regret for supporting FF, Labour now support FG. Bankers still lead lives of privilege, they own their houses.

With this comes a parallel society that has little hope. City centre youths have few opportunities economically, never own a house, have menial un-improving employment - if they are lucky.
But the one areas they can access money is via drugs and criminality.
This is a parallel economy, run by criminals who deal with competition in an increasingly violent way - as we see in Ireland.
The Netherlands has many of the same problems at the margins as the UK with some young males from ethnic or economically hopeless groups, in many cases less integrated, but their access to the drugs business has been reduced through decriminalization and control.
Many youths are drawn to gangs not by the need for protection but by the supposed glamour of a lifestyle that is celebrated in many areas of modern culture.

Recently the death of Amy Winehouse was given equal status and weight in the red top media as the Norwegian mass murder, and will continue to do so. Growing acceptance of this trivial culture has helped create these riots.

At the same time dispossession, hopelessness- you will never own a house, you will live as the state wishes - and shops crammed full of goods is brought together, who can be surprised that, with a little co-ordination via social networking sites, a peaceful demonstration in Tottenham should have turned into rioting and looting.
We see a reaction of a distant economic and political system as well as dumbed down celeb culture.

A system that stresses materialist wealth, which constantly exposes us to increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous advertising, yet which oversees the breakdown of communities and the impoverishment of millions in order to increase the wealth of a minority.

We do not need to argue that these people are explicitly politicised, or fighting for some sort of social justice.
They attack shops and business outlets, not police stations or political structures - this is about greed and envy, not politics. The shops are specific, fashion outlets - the marks of modern culture.
Many of these people appear to have been acting selfishly, competitively, and without thought for the consequences of their actions.
But these reactions have been conditioned, when consumerism and celebrity are the primary driving forces for peer endorsement, then envy and hatred, resentment and a sense of entitlement are the instinctive reactions of a dumbed down and greedy bunch of thuggish opportunists who lash out at their own communities and areas.
But it is also apparent that there is a simmering rage, and a demand for attention expressed through mindless destruction aimed at what they have been told they need. Whatever ones perceived or real resentments and grievances are, turning on ones own communities and economy solves nothing.

A major issue I believe is the erosion of civil rights, abuse of stop and search laws written by Tony Blair to 'combat terrorism' in 2005 have been used many thousand times by the police, not to catch mindless murderers but target male youths from the poorer areas, particularly those from the Caribbean community - the humiliation, harassment and obvious misuse of these powers leads to resentment and anger.

In Northern Ireland internment fueled the same emotions as did the army check points.

One thing of note was how often one heard that baton rounds and water cannon have never been used in 'mainland UK' because of their effectiveness, yet it seems using them with reckless abandon in Northern Ireland was OK.

I have written before about the importance of civil rights, and this is never more important than when including the dis-enfranchised into society, as with Dr King in the 60's in the US, or Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia, or John Hume in Northern Ireland, or the German Jews in the 30's, or the Palestinian people today.

For that reason I believe the embedded film is one of the most important made.

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Vatican Relations

2011-07-26T02:27:00.001+01:00

Well, looks like finally an Irish Government has taken a realistic stand. As much as I dont agree with FG as a party, I need to say fair play to the Taoiseach.

I have not followed events closely in Ireland recently, but the withdrawl of the Papal Nuncio from Ireland seems to be a logical result to the revalations of past years.

In relation to the states relationship to the church, if there is one particular part of the civil service who are almost out of government control it is the DFA, their questionable indirect funding of the the Lisbon II yes vote being a good example.

The DFA has a tendency to do as it wants, rather than reflect the stance of the elected Government.
The last Taoiseach that reined them in properly was CJH in his dealing with Sean Donlon, in essence firing the fucker from his Washington post.
Mr.Donlon is now of course assisting John Bruton in saying in the eircom licence fiasco that he saw no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Micahel Lowry; or indeed on the part of anyone else.

In a time of austerity measures and cutbacks, it is - in my opinion - time to close down the Irish Embassy to the Vatican, and move its functions 10 miles down the road to the Irish Embassy to Italy, if the Irish Embassy in Madrid can cover Morocco - then surely Rome can cover the city state.
However, will the DFA allow the loss of such a plum position for itself?

I am not one for jumping on the band wagon, in recent years it has become popular for some sections of the media to tirade against the church as a whole when there are a great many priests and nuns who have always done and continue to do great work.

My problem has always been, and remains with, the hierarchy and their role in covering up crimes- particularly what one could refer to as the Roman college group, those bishops who are very close to the power base in Rome.

This is best demonstrated in the distinct difference between the way Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has dealt with the situation in comparison with the high flying Roman gang.
In their response to the Taoiseachs criticism the Vatican has, among other things said the “main reason” for the recall was so the nuncio could “consult” with those people at the Vatican involved in preparation of the formal response to the Cloyne report, requested by the Government.
e.g. get the story straight.

Msgr Gianfranco Girotti, number two at the apostolic penitentiary, when he told Il Foglio newspaper the Holy See would never accept Irish legislation that might attempt to break the seal of confession. “Ireland can pass all the laws it likes but it should understand that the church will never accept the obligation on a confessor to report to civil authorities . . .”

The investigations to the best of my knowledge do not cover the confessional seal, they deal with the cover-ups by people like Cardinal Sean Brady.
Taking affidavits and then forcing people to sign an oath of secrecy is not part of the confessional sacrament, nor is it legally binding.

I feel is quite clear that in doing this to protect the institution of the church, he helped cover up a crime and pervert the course of justice.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-recalls-ambassador-after-irish-pms-attack-on-church-2325947.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0726/1224301384626.html

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Iceland and Ireland

2011-06-16T12:19:00.000+01:00

One of, if not the best political blogs in Ireland - www.publicinquiry.eu/ recently posted on the Ireland vs Iceland situation.
A few months back, it was drummed into us by politicians that we did not want to be Iceland, that being Iceland was to be a financial leper.

Well, lets look at the results of people power in Iceland. We keep being told about being on the Bond markets - Iceland returned to international debt markets for the first time since its banking meltdown more than two years ago as investors offered to buy twice the amount the government offered in dollar-denominated bonds.

Iceland averted a sovereign default by refusing to let the Government bail out bondholders when its banks failed in October 2008.
Iceland will enjoy economic growth of 2.2 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2012 as its budget deficit narrows to 1.4 per cent of GDP, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The island’s approach to resurrecting itself from financial ruin has won the praise of Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, who says Iceland is now better off than euro member Ireland.

On the other hand we elected FG and Labour who continue with failing FF policies, our services are being cut back, our hospitals sold, we are allowing development of frac drilling all at the behest of the EU/IMF.
At the end of May, the banks’ total borrowings from the Central Bank in Ireland and the ECB stood at €156 billion, down from €160 billion in April.

The gradual loss of deposits at the Irish banks over the past year has led to a surge in borrowing from the ECB which reached a peak last November, when banks here were in receipt of €136.4 billion in funding.
The dramatic rise in Irish financial institutions’ dependence on ECB funding, at a time when other countries were reducing their reliance, is believed to have been one of the key triggers behind the IMF-EU bailout.

What galls me most is yesterday, listening to Brendan Howlin, a Labour politician, talking about burden sharing in the country.
Lets get this straight - the vast majority of people in this country were not involved in the banking sector or property speculation - Why do we need to share the burden for the speculation of others? I have an overdraft, why dont the banks pay back some of that?
Instead, I am faced with stealth taxes like road tolls on top of road tax, and future additional costs with water metering and property tax on family homes.

Paycuts and levies are applied to the lower and middle ranks of the civil service, not those in senior positions on whose watch the crisis developed.

The citizen should come first, a wider range of the people, not just the bankers and speculators should be bailed out.
I do not understand why banks could not be re-capitalised from the bottom up - i.e. subject to criteria, that people could not have transferred a mortgague from private banks to the state, in essence becoming council houses. As an addition to the National Solidarity bond, they could be regarded as assets for the state. The banks would have got their money and family houses would have been secured.

The long running joke that tells us the only difference between Ireland and Iceland is one letter and six months is true, they are better off after 6 months, their economy is stronger and better than ours and they are not burdened with debts on the public purse for the private sector.

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Water, A Human Right or an IMF cash cow

2011-06-08T18:33:00.003+01:00

Well, water metering and charges are coming - another soft stealth tax.

If Ireland is famous for anything other than bankruptcy, it's soft rain.

What I mean by a soft tax is that it is something that cannot be avoided. We need certain things to survive; they are basic, food, water and shelter. Those are the fundamentals of life, and are not easy to move or source elsewhere.

Air can be covered by a carbon tax, shelter can be covered by a property tax, and water can be covered by metering.

The main aim of metering is of course to raise cash and in my opinion to eventually privatize in order to raise money in the short term to bail out the banks, and to avoid long term issues like pensions and of course, taking responsibility for failings in the system.

In Ireland, the main thing it seems to me is the abrogation of responsibility, where failure can be covered up by bureaucracy and being as obtuse as possible, and it seems impossible to hold people to account for failure in public services and banking.

So, why charge for water - to get money that will be used to service IMF loans that were taken to bail out the banks. I doubt very much that any water charge, be it flat rate or metered, will be ring fenced for improved infrastructure or treatment.

Let’s briefly look at one part of Ireland first – Galway where €21.5 million has been available since 2002 for dealing with the cryptosporidium issue, yet there still are major problems with water supply in one of Ireland’s major residential areas and a premier tourist destination.

It’s now 2011 and still according to the Connacht Tribune there is still ‘Inadequate treatment’ of drinking water for 44,000 people.

Despite the €21m in 2002 and an additional €18.4 million this year from the EPA a total of 32 water sources in Galway are “at risk” of contamination – almost half of these having “inadequate treatment” for the cryptosporidium bug.

This leads to the situation where one part of the government (the EPA) using public funds to prosecute another government agency (Galway CoCo) whose legal fees and fines will be paid for from the public purse!!

With all that money provided, one would think that Galway CoCo would sort things out.

But because of the current situation one can only say the Council is ill equipped to run public water systems efficiently.

Typically for Ireland, no one in Galway CoCo has been held responsible, no questions have been asked, and the county manager with all the other people who should be looking after this are still in place.

With the IMF and World Bank if water services are sold off there is a precedent. It is not the first time that aid or assistance has been made conditional to the privatization - or rather the profitisation - of a substance as essential as water.

The Bolivian Government turned to the World Bank for help against an economic meltdown – much like us bailing out the banks. The World Bank declared it would not "renew" a $ 25 million to Bolivia unless it privatized its water services.

It seems the World Bank believed that "poor governments are often too plagued by local corruption and too ill equipped to run public water systems efficiently.[and that the use of private corporations] opens the door to needed investment and skilled management"

A 1999 Public Expenditure Review, the World Bank stated that “no subsidies should be given to ameliorate the increase in water tariffs” in Bolivia, i.e. no breaks for elderly or the poor.

Bolivia privatized its water services, giving control to a subsidiary of a multinational.

The multinational demanded, and won, a provision guaranteeing the company an average 16% annual return on its investment, leaving Bolivia's poor to bear all the financial risk – much like our public services are suffering cuts and a risk of privatisation to service the interest on the IMF/EU loans.

To ensure the legality of the privatization law 2029 was passed, which verified the contract and gave a virtual monopoly over ALL water resources.

This included water used for irrigation by peasant farmers, and community-based resources that had previously been independent of regulation and state run water supply.

The law was seen as the sale of water resources that had never really been a part of public service system in the first place, much like our community water systems.

This also included rainwater harvesting – but more about that later.

The corporation could not only install meters and begin charging at independently built communal water systems, but it could also charge residents for the installation of those meters.

This has - in an obtuse way - already happened in Ireland, our taxes are paying for the meter installation program – so a publicly funded metering system is already in place adding value to the product offered if, or rather when, the system is sold to investors.

Between January 1999 and April 2000 parts of Bolivia were placed under martial law following protests against public water systems being sold off to foreign investors and the sheer scale of cost increase.

This needs to be put into context. Bolivian families earning a wage of less than $100 per month were charged $20 for water - an increase at times of 300% - and threatened with having the water shut off.

When thousands tried to march in peaceful protest, then President Banzer - who ruled Bolivia as a dictator from 1971-78 - had police and army hammer protesters.

Those who opposed the water privatization scheme had their homes ransacked and some were flown off to a remote rainforest jail in an effort to silence them.

175 people were injured, two youths blinded and 17-year-old Victor Hugo Daza was shot thorough the face and killed: The ultimate penalty for challenging multinational corporate control of local water supplies

The company who had taken over the water system was a subsidiary of US based Bechtel. Bechtel is a global giant, posting more than $12.6 billion in revenue in 1998 - $2.4 billion on Latin American projects alone

Bechtel sought to pin the blame elsewhere released a statement claiming that "a number of other water, social and political issues are the root causes of this civil unrest."

Moving to shift the blame, a Bolivian government spokesman told reporters the "subversive" protest was "absolutely politically financed by narcotraffickers."

Such labeling is done much in the same way that Shell to Sea protestors in Ireland have been labeled as provo sympathizers by parts of the media.

The But the uprising had nothing to do with drugs: It was all about water, the coalition against the water charges was in fact led by a union representing minimum wage factory workers and including peasant farmers, environmentalists and youth.

The contract made with Bolivia's government was bad from the very beginning, a virtual guarantee that thousands of poor families would be hit with water rates they could not afford - as we are hit with cuts in Ireland.
Bechtel now complains bitterly about that contract, but the fact remains that they negotiated it, signed it and implemented it.

Bechtel workers removed the water company computers and financial and personnel records. Bechtel administrators left behind emptied bank accounts and more than $150,000 in unpaid bills. On top of all this suffering and damage, Bechtel now has the audacity to demand a compensation payment of $12 million from Bolivia.

RAIN WATER TAX

You might think that a charge, tariff or license to collect rain water is nuts, but its not just in Bolivia that attempts have been made for a such a charge.

Elected public servants in the Washington State Legislature introduced a bill that will require an individual to obtain a permit to collect rainwater on their own property for their own use.

In Ghana someone as supposedly caring as the UK’s Claire Short's true commitment - to a globalised economy run by powerful, mostly western capital - is exemplified by her "development" enterprise in Ghana.
Her department told the Ghanaian government that it would get aid money only if it effectively privatizes the water supply, allowing British and other multinational corporations to make a killing.
Making a killing can be taken literally in Ghana, where more than half the people lack a regular, safe water supply and children die from water-borne diseases. Since a "private-public partnership" was announced, water bills for the poor have begun to rise sharply in order to make the water industry "competitive" so that it can be sold off. The Christian Council of Ghana says that "to privatize water is like handing down death sentences to the urban and rural poor in Ghana, because they cannot afford to pay".

Again in the US Colorado water law holds that every raindrop that falls on the state is already claimed by a water-rights holder.

It is claimed that capturing rainwater could hurt stream flows and thus is akin to stealing.

You see, once water collection and distribution is commercialized, it becomes the intellectual property of the water distributor.

In the UK we have even seen an attempt at a derivitive of a rainwater collection charge - privatised utilities services billed churches and charities like the Scouts for draining away rainwater that fell on their roofs. Protests by the Church and the Scouts Association, which said hundreds of its groups are having to choose whether they organise youth activities or pay their water bills.

Essentially, if the Politicians are pushed, whether you were to collect rainwater or not - you could end up paying companies with a profit motive for - rainfall !!!

In Ireland we have all the right elements, corrupt or inefficient public officials, inept public services, a financial crisis caused by an elite that is used as leverage to create monetary advantage for multinational corporations and a political/media caste who don’t give a damn.

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What went wrong, and what else - the bailout.

2011-06-02T16:39:00.001+01:00

OK - we have been bamboozled by bullshit, that is the first point.
Using multi layer words that we are vague about is a means of control, ignorance leads to apathy.

Bondholders, bail outs, front loading etc. are all terms used to confuse and divert questions.

A bondholder is an individual or entity that is the bearer of a currently outstanding and active bond.

A bond is a type of debt capital instrument that is used to generate funds for the issuer.

Debt capital is the capital, usually money, raised through issuing bonds.

A debt instrument is any type of documented financial obligation (i.e. an IOU note) that describes a debt that is assumed by the issuer of the document (i.e the bank)

Our banks wanted money to loan out to speculators, so they issued bonds to raise money.

Other banks and investors saw the bonds on offer with their return rates and bought them as a way to make money in the long to medium term, so they gave our banks cash for IOU's and became bond holders.
Lets call this cash Block Ai

The Banks then took Block Ai and broke it up to give to individuals who speculated on returns - i.e. both parties gambled. Lets call this Block Aii
In Ireland, this was in reality a very small circle of people.

The banks also loaned money to people to buy the houses built by the speculators.
Lets call this Block Aiii

The banks gambled 3 times on Bloc A
- 1: that they would get it back and repay Block Ai
- 2: that the speculators who took Block Aii would pay them back to fund Block Ai and
- 3: that they would get a secondary return from same property through private mortgage debt, Block Aiii

When issuing block Aiii we have seen that quite often this was done in a very slipshod fashion with Government Ministers like Charlie McCreevey getting very large loans with little or no oversight.

To add to the risk factor loans were not really secure. When you borrow a large amount of money you generally are asked for collateral, something you own of value, as a guarantee against the loan in case things go wrong.

In the case of the speculators, they were allowed to use property they did not actually own outright as collateral. They were taking loans on the back of property that was already subject to repayment of another loan.
This is called leverage.

Then part of this precarious system, Block Aii, went pear shaped when repayments stopped and this had a domino effect on the unsecured leveraged loans.

The Government, or more correctly, Brian Lenehan and Brian Cowen, overnight took possetion of the banks IOU notes, this was the deposit garuantee - promising to provide money for loans they did not have.

To cover this potential cost they borrowed more money from the same investors who had supplied the initial speculative capital to the banks.

The investors could then deposit those IOU's in the guaranteed banks, and withdraw the money so the Government gave them back the 2nd loan, and still have to pay off the initial loan with interest.

The Green/FF government borrowed money to pay off a loan.

This was the bailout.

It is clear that when the bond holder loans money to the issuer (us, the tax payer represented by the Government) to cover the initial loan, it is to the benefit of the bond holder as they get a bigger return on the loan.

When they are loaning a secondary amount to get their initial capital and interest rate back, they increase their income by adding to the 2nd loan at higher rates.

In essence, they are loaning us our own money at interest.

Since 2008 there has been an international campaign to socialise debt, i.e. to cover the risks of speculators by penalising the general population.

In order to cover the banks exposure, the IMF and EU made us take out a further loan of €85 Billion.
Among the conditions attached to this are exploitation of national natural assets like minerals, resources and public services by the corporate sector.

We are told that if we do not accept these conditions and provisions the world will collapse around us.

The word default is being used as a scare tactic. Default does not mean we do not pay, it means a negotiated settlement to ride out this economic crisis, and repayments in a sustainable and equitable manner.

This is what the people of Iceland did.

But we the Irish, all 4 million of us, are faced with a per person debt burden that is off the radar, we are dragged by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour, independents like Lowry and Healy Rae and the Greens into paying for a debt that is not, and never was, our responsibility.

It is an outrageous scam and an unjust act. On the 85Bn loan we each need to pay something like €44K through increased taxes and levies, loss of services and loss of proper revenue from resources - this without the consideration of interest.
In 2013 our annual repayments will be around 9Bn per year - we are per capita the most indebted nation in the EU, with a deficit of 32% i.e. we will need to borrow a further 2.88 Bn per year just to pay a debt caused by a small group of bankers - put into context, that's about twice the amount we spend on the defence forces annually.

If this state of affairs is allowed to persist, we and the next two generations have three choices.
1-Stay here impoverished subsisting on inadequete social welfare
2-If lucky enough to have a job, pay huge taxes for crap services or
3- Get the fuck out of dodge.

If you are reading this, my advice on savings and investments is to move them to an overseas bank, or use an independent bank like Triodos.

The IMF deal will be bad for Ireland, in the Asian economic crisis of the 90's those countries that bought into the IMF policies faced tremendous disruption, those that refused did quite well.
The IMF is a private venture company, supported by multi national corporations who covet resources and income, things like health insurance, oil and gas.

I am not saying that as a conspiracy nut, UNICEF calculates that over half a million children every year under the age of five die due to IMF policies.
As countries are diverting resources away from social provisions like health care and pensions to repay debt, those most affected are the poor, especially women, children and the elderly. UNICEF’s 2000 report says 30,000 children die each day due to poverty.This poverty is generally caused by corruption AND debt servicing at an unsustainable level.

What can we do - well - start here
http://enoughcampaign.org/
We need to say No to a conjob - We need to say enough is enough, we need to educate ourselves, empower ourselves and take back our country, our future and that of future generations.

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A New wave of Nepotism

2011-03-07T12:15:00.001Z

Keep an eye on your local councils. Lets see how many family members are appointed to council seats now vacated by elected TDs moving to the Dail.

In fairness it has been pointed out to me that Labour want to avoid this -
The Labour Party alledgedly are trying to stop nepotism in the party, but after the FG deal we will have to wait and see.

" LABOUR FAMILY dynasties are at risk following an edict from head office that relatives of TDs will not be considered for vacated local authority seats. "

Already the Michael Healy Rae seat on Kerry coco seems to be going to retired TD, and father, Jackie.

Some of these are double whammys, in that the newly elected TD's sometimes have two seats, one at county and one in town.

The other appointments now coming are the Taoseachs appointments to the Senate, a 60K per year job not including expenses.
It is astounding that the caretaker Taoiseach, a man who is no longer an elected official, has the gall let alone the right to appoint a failed Fianna Fáil election candidate - Darragh O Brien - to the Senate

They have no remorse.
The media are even worse -Terry Prone (Irish Examiner)

Toughest of all, of course, is the situation, today, of those who lost their seats, their livelihood, and in some cases, their self-respect. We have become so furious and cruel a society that the general reaction to their loss is “serves them right”.

It is deeply insulting to the millions of Irish people who are victims of our corrupt political system to witness self-righteous journalists like Prone accuse them of being cruel because they are furious and want justice.
his is especially the case when failed politicians get massive pay-outs having instigated policies that saddle the tax payer with massive debt.

And of course, the most sycophantic of the lot - RTE's Marian Finucane:

This must be a terrible personal tragedy for him (Brian Cowen’s fall). I mean to see the party he loves so much, to be at the head of Government of a party that you’re so proud of that brings in the IMF, I mean on a personal level that has to be very difficult.

Isn’t it amazing that a politician who has led a privileged life, who won a seat on the basis that daddy died and he got the by-election - who has never wanted for anything, who was among the best paid politicians in the world, who is retiring with a fortune at the expense of the people he betrayed can be described as a tragic figure?

It is for these reasons of corruption, of unwarranted influence, this unacceptable cost that I helped start Amhran Nua

LIST OF COUNCILLORS ELECTED TO DAIL EIREANN 2011

Ann Phelan (LAB) - Carlow/Kilkenny
Kilkenny County Council (Thomastown)

Pat Deering (FG) - Carlow/Kilkenny
Carlow County Council (Tullow)

Sean Conlan (FG) - Cavan/Monaghan
Ballybay Town Council, Co. Monaghan

Heather Humphreys (FG) - Cavan/Monaghan
Monaghan County Council (Clones)

Tom Barry (FG) - Cork East
Cork County Council (Mallow)

Sandra McLellan (SF) - Cork East
Cork County Council (Midleton) & Youghal Town Council, Co. Cork

Jonathan O’Brien (SF) - Cork North Central
Cork City Council (Cork North West)

Dara Murphy (FG) - Cork North Central
Cork City Council (Cork North East)

Jim Daly (FG) – Cork South West
Cork County Council (Skibbereen)

Noel Harrington (FG) – Cork South West
Cork County Council (Bantry)

Padraig MacLochlainn (SF) – Donegal North East
Donegal County Council (Inishowen) & Buncrana Town Council, Co. Donegal

Charlie McConalogue (FF) – Donegal North East
Donegal County Council (Inishowen)

Thomas Pringle (IND) – Donegal South West
Donegal County Council (Donegal)
Pringle replacement: 31 year old teacher John Campbell, Glenties, Deputy Pringle’s Director of Elections.

Robert Dowds (LAB) – Dublin Mid-West
South Dublin County Council (Clondalkin)

Derek Keating (FG) – Dublin Mid-West
South Dublin County Council (Lucan)

Clare Daly (SP) – Dublin North
Fingal County Council (Swords)

Alan Farrell (FG) – Dublin North
Fingal County Council (Howth/Malahide)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (LAB) – Dublin North Central
Dublin City Council (Clontarf)

Sean Kenny (LAB) – Dublin North East
Dublin City Council (Donaghmede)

Dessie Ellis (SF) – Dublin North West
Dublin City Council (Ballymun/Finglas)

John Lyons (LAB) – Dublin North West
Dublin City Council (Ballymun/Finglas)

Michael Conaghan (LAB) – Dublin South Central
Dublin City Council (Ballyfermot/Drimnagh)

Eric Byrne (LAB) – Dublin South Central
Dublin City Council (Crumlin/Kimmage)

Joan Collins (PBP) – Dublin South Central
Dublin City Council (Crumlin/Kimmage)

Eoghan Murphy (FG) – Dublin South East
Dublin City Council (Pembroke/Rathmines)

Kevin Humphreys (LAB) – Dublin South East
Dublin City Council (South East Inner City)

Sean Crowe (SF) – Dublin South West
South Dublin County Council (Tallaght Central)

Eamonn Maloney (LAB) – Dublin South West
South Dublin County Council (Tallaght South)

Mary Mitchell O’Connor (FG) – Dun Laoghaire
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (Dun Laoghaire)

Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP) – Dun Laoghaire
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (Dun Laoghaire)

Paul Connaughton (FG) – Galway East
Galway County Council (Ballinasloe)

Colm Keaveney (LAB) – Galway East
Galway County Council (Tuam)

Derek Nolan (LAB) – Galway West
Galway City Council (Galway East)

Brian Walsh (FG) – Galway West
Galway City Council (Galway East)

Sean Kyne (FG) – Galway West
Galway County Council (Conamara)

Arthur Spring (LAB) – Kerry North/West Limerick
Kerry County Council (Tralee) & Tralee Town Council, Co. Kerry

Brendan Griffin (FG) – Kerry South
Kerry County Council (Dingle)

Tom Fleming (IND) – Kerry South
Kerry County Council (Killarney)

Michael Healy Rae (IND) – Kerry South
Kerry County Council (Killorglin)

Catherine Murphy (IND) – Kildare North
Kildare County Council (Celbridge)

Anthony Lawlor (FG) – Kildare North
Kildare County Council (Naas)

Martin Heydon (FG) – Kildare South
Kildare County Council (Athy)

Barry Cowen (FF) – Laois/Offaly
Offaly County Council (Tullamore)

Brian Stanley (SF) – Laois/Offaly
Laois County Council (Portlaoise)
&
Portlaoise Town Council, Co. Laois

Patrick O’Donovan (FG) – Limerick
Limerick County Council (Newcastle)

Robert Troy (FF) – Longford/Westmeath
Westmeath County Council (Mullingar West)

Gerald Nash (LAB) – Louth
Louth County Council (Drogheda East) & Drogheda Borough Council, Co. Louth

Michelle Mulherin (FG) – Mayo
Mayo County Council (Ballina) & Ballina Town Council, Co. Mayo

Regina Doherty (FG) – Meath East
Meath County Council (Dunshaughlin)

Peadar Tóibín (SF) – Meath West
Navan Town Council, Co. Meath

Ray Butler (FG) – Meath West
Meath County Council (Trim) & Trim Town Council, Co. Meath

Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan (IND) – Roscommon/South Leitrim
Roscommon County Council (Castlerea)

Tony McLoughlin (FG) – Sligo/North Leitrim
Sligo County Council (Sligo Strandhill) & Sligo Borough Council

Michael Colreavy (SF) – Sligo/North Leitrim
Leitrim County Council (Manorhamilton)

Seamus Healy (WUAG) – Tipperary South
Tipperary South Riding County Council (Clonmel) & Clonmel Borough Council

Ciara Conway (LAB) – Waterford
Dungarvan Town Council, Co. Waterford

John Halligan (IND) – Waterford
Waterford City Council (Waterford South)

Simon Harris (FG) – Wicklow
Wicklow County Council (Greystones) & Greystones Town Council, Co. Wicklow

There are also two MEP positions, Joe Higgins in Dublin and Alan Kelly from Tipperary.

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New Indie's and Labour - the coalition options

2011-03-06T13:32:00.001Z

Looking at the independents elected in Ireland, they are now in a position to form a technical group.

As I said in a previous posting, I was delighted to see Luke Flannigan returned.

However, the group must be careful. To enter into any arrangement with a discredited politician like Michael Lowry, Tipp North, a dynastic spawn like Michael 'son of jackie' Healy Rae from Kerry or rats off a sinking ship like Mattie McGrath in Tipp South would be a major error.

These three are career political opportunist's.

As for FG and Labour, the Labour parlamentary party should listen carefully, very carefully, to their grass roots.

Yes, it is important to be in Government and affect positive change, but Labour should not help FG to sell off or privatise public services.
Ireland is not the UK, and as we saw with the Eircom debacle, privitisation in such a small country has a high rate of failure, and room for corruption.

It is quite possible to support legislation that is to the benefit of the country while in opposition, but retain the independence that the Greens and PDs lost as junior coalition partners.

But then again, the main leadership of the party is ex democratic left and workers party, having gone from perhaps 5 seats to taking over the labour party and now having 37 seats, the attraction of weilding power for people like Gilmore and Rabbite may be too much to resist.

As well as that it seems Labour are falling further into dynastic habits with Sean Sherlock and Arthur Spring being returned.

With 20 seats and little in the way of policy or moral difference, it could be quite possible for FG to do a deal with FF, a recipricol Tallaght accord if you will

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Election

2011-02-28T13:10:00.000Z

Well, FG had a huge win - we will see how they go and I wish them well.
I really do not see the difference between FF and FG, and I am worried about utilities like our ESB, funding of the health service and stagnation in politics, I do not think FG will deliver real political reform.

On other fronts there has been mixed news.

Shane Ross in Dublin, Luke Ming Flannigan and Thomas Pringle in Donegal South are great steps forward, independent, honest and forward thinking people may help to change our flawed system.

Personally, seeing Pringle and Flannigan elected is great, these two candidates were pointedly ignored by RTE.

But there have been dissappointments, people like Michael Healy Rae and the FF 'independent' Tom Flemming been returned in Kerry south is bad, dynastic and opportunistic politcos getting back in to milk the system.
Lowry being returned in North Tipp is also bad, the man is a prime example of pothole politics.

The Greens were wiped out, this may allow the grass roots of the party regain control and refocus their ethos in the right direction, rather than holding on to power for the sake of power itself.

Galway West returned Eamon O Cuiv, but got rid of Frank Fahy. FG's straetgy failed here as they were beaten by 'independent' Noel Grealish and a real socialist independent Catherine Connolly. Labour did well here with Mr Nolan, a replacement for the formidable Michael D Higgins - a man I hope will be our next President.

In Dublin Central, FF were wiped out - and Mary Lou McDonald got in despite the blegarding she faced from the press while an MEP

Although I dont like negative politics I was delighted to see Paul Gogarty lose in Dublin Mid West, his were the first election posters I saw, about 12 hours after the election was called, on the other hand it was a bit sad to see Trevor Sargent lose in North Dublin, a good public servant who, unlike FF deputies, did not need to beforced to resign on principle.

Dublin North Central saw the end, for now, of the Haughy/Lemass dynasty - although one has to say that Sean Haughy is a very decent man.

Chris Andrews from Dublin SE who failed in his brief and his first cousin Barry in Dunlaoire are more dynastic politicians gone as are Connor Lenihan in Dublin SW and Mary Hanafin also in Dunlaoire.

It was dissappointing to see Ivana Bacik lose out in Dunlaoire as she has been a great champion of womens rights.

Connors big brother Brian Lenihan survived the Dublin cull in Dublin West, the man who as minister for finance made decisions that led us to the brink of disaster, a precipice on which we still teeter, but another of the Lenihans - 'Aunty' - Mary O Rourke went to the wall in Longford/Westmeath - very badly with only 3046 first choices out of 57,525 valid votes.

In Galway East, Labour had a major victory with Colm Keaveney from my Alma Mater being returned to the Dail, although seeing adynastic FG candidate also elected is a bit hard.

More thoughts later

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Where Next??

2011-02-21T21:22:00.001Z

Well, we have an election in a few days, and it looks like FG may even form a single party government.
FG, like FF, are a throwback to the foundation of the state, a party that came into existance as a result of a civil war almost a century ago.

Einstein I believe once said that lunacy could be defined as repeatingthe same action again and again and expect a different result.

FG and FF have dominated Irish politics since the foundation of the state, voting for either will make no difference, as I have said before our political system is outdated, dynastic and not fit for purpose.
Essentially FF and FG are two cheeks of the one arse, quite happy to give the illusion of choice to a disillusioned public.

What we need is real change, and FG, a party with internal rifts, will not achieve that.
Their proposals at political reform are window dressing, their leader is the son of a former politician as is the current Taoiseach.

I think the worst aspect of FG is that they wish to privitize state assets like the ESB in order to continue the bank bailout.
It is hard to get an actual accurate picture of how much it will cost, upwards of 40Bn Euro, and that is not our debt. The tax payer should not be expected to pay for the gambling debts of reckless bankers and speculators.

If there is to be real change, to break from the perpetuation of a two party system and all their vested interests, we need to go to a list system, reducing the amount of constituancy politicians and electing people for national office on a national basis, not select people by accident of address and their standing within a particular political party.

The only long term solution to our current problems is to adopt Amhran Nua policies on electoral reform.

In the short term, to deal with our incredible debt the next Government has to take immediate steps.

1 - Publically refuse to use the ECB/EU credit card facility of Nov 2010 on the grounds of it being self defeating.
2 - Take emergency steps to balance the budget, immediately: The government has spend 2-3 years looking at potential cuts so there should'nt be a mystery of where to find them. Lead from the top: bonfire of the quangos and luxuries. It wont save all the money but it will set the example.

3 - Resolve the banks immediately with a take it or leave it offer to creditors to take equity or nothing. Not as a bluff. As a reality. The only government interest should be maintenance of a payment system. Cite EU commitment to competitive markets free of state support.

4 - Reverse NAMA: Write off the "NAMA" bonds in exchange for giving the banks full ownership of the NAMA SPV in proportional ownership.
In refinancing the banks, a mechanism must be developed to re-finance from the bottom up - i.e. within certain perameters, the family home, the primary residence, must be secure - given that, mortgauges could be partially bought by the Government and the % of the residence would in essence become a council house.

5 - Having finished up with the bank crisis and removed the uncertainty over the states contingent liabilities, start concentrating on growing the economy by tackling the sheltered sectors and vested interests that act as a drag on real economic activity.
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Quangocracy Ireland

2011-02-09T13:42:00.002Z

In 1961 Eisenhower in his farewell address warned against unwarranted influence, and we in Ireland should be warned by this due to our current situation, because forewarned is forearmed.

We the People failed in our democratic process to guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by a media, financial and political complex.

The potential for failure due to the rise of misplaced power exists, and as we have seen in Ireland, has had direct and dire effects, with 150% of our current tax collecting ability tied up in a dysfunctional banking system.

This danger as we have seen exists, and it persists, and has had a direct effect on our sovereignty with the IMF/ECB control of our financial independence.

We have had in Ireland, in the past ten years a confluence of these interests, bankers, developers, speculators, an utterly corrupt political establishment and an utterly incompetent, unaccountable civil service.

The situation is that while relatively few people really benefited from the boom - we had the biggest gap between the rich and middle classes after the USA - the ruthless greed of the few has caused the situation to become strange in that private debt has become a public burden.

Our schools, hospitals and people will suffer due to the greed of the few for decades.

As I have said before, a disproportionate amount of Irish politicians come from dynastic political families.
Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are really two cheeks of the one arse in that they go to the same schools and colleges, the same restaurants, the same social events, take the same vacations, own holiday homes in the same areas and as we saw recently belong to the same golf clubs.

Politicos rely on developers, business and bankers for political funding.
Politicos rely on control or collusion with the media for political support.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the influence of Tony O Reilly

As I have said before, You don't need a formal conspiracy when interests converge.
They don't need a meeting, they have like interests and know what is good for them and their ilk - and they are getting it.

We seem to have an unseen, unelected government on this Island - a Quango state.

Legislation is not determined by elected officials, it is now determined by private meetings, Quangos whose appointee's are not subject to approval by parliamentary oversight.

These quango decisions are made in private, in secret.

No official should be able to withhold from a free press and public the facts they have a right to know, as these decisions and facts affect peoples lives.

Fianna Fail, with their abuse of the Freedom of Information act, have stifled a great deal of information - in particular with unvouched expenses, undisclosed earnings and details of meetings that have been supressed.

The concept of secrecy should, as JFK said, be repugnant to a free and open society.

For a fuller disclosure on quangos I would advise you visit this excellent thread at politicalworld.org - but this is a list of the quangos you pay for, whose decisions form government policy, and many of whom you may never have heard of.
The other thing you will find is that a great many people have multiple appointments, due to nothing more than political affiliation, so this system of patronage ensures they have additional income for their loyalty.

Advisory Board for Irish Aid
Advisory Council for English Language Schools
Affordable Homes Partnership
Agriculture and Food
An Bord Bia
An Bord Pleanála:

An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta
An Daingean Education Support Centre
An Post (ta Total Mayhem)
Office of the Appeal Commissioners for the purposes of the Tax Acts
Aquacultural Licensing Appeals Board
Army Pensions Board
Arts Council, The
Athlone Education Support Centre
Athlone Institute of Technology (ta Total Mayhem)
Attorney General, Office of the
Beaumont Hospital Board (ta Total Mayhem)
Blackrock Education Support Centre
Board of Trinity College Bord Altranais
Bord Gais (ta Total Mayhem)
Bord Iascaigh Mhara
Bord na gCon
Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge
Bord na Mona (ta Total Mayhem)
BreastCheck The National Cancer Screening Service
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (ta Total Mayhem)
Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (ta Total Mayhem)
Building Regulations Advisory Board (ta Total Mayhem)
Carlow County Enterprise Board
Carlow Education Support Centre
Carrick-on-Shannon Education Support Centre
Cavan County Enterprise Board
Cavan Education Support Centre
Censorship of Publications Appeal Board
Censorship of Publications Board
Central Statistics Office
Chester Beatty Library
Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Service
Chief State Solicitor, Office of the
Children Acts Advisory Board
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
Citizens Information Board
Civil Defence Board
Clare County Enterprise Board
Clare Education Support Centre
Classification of Films Appeal Board
Coimisiún Logainmneacha, An
Coiste an Asgard
Combat Poverty Agency
Comhairle na Nimheanna
Commission for Aviation Regulation
Commission for Communications Regulation
Commission for Energy Regulation
Commission for Public Service Appointments, Office of the
Commission for Taxi Regulation
Office of the Commissioner of Valuation and Boundary Survey of Ireland
Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests
Companies Registration Office
Company Law Review Group
Competition Authority
Comptroller and Auditor General, Office of
Connemara & Árann Education Support Centre
Córas Iompair Eireann (ta Total Mayhem)
Cork City Enterprise Board
Cork Education Support Centre
Cork North Enterprise Board
Courts Service
Crafts Council of Ireland
Dental Council
Dental Health Foundation
Digital Hub Development Agency
Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Donegal County Enterprise Board
Donegal Education Centre
Drug Treatment Centre Board
Drumcondra Education Centre
Dublin Airport Authority
Dublin City Enterprise Board
Dublin Docklands Development Authority
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Dublin Port Authority
Dublin Transportation Office
Dublin West Education Support Centre
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FF/FG and associates - same old crap

2011-02-08T19:18:00.004Z

What we need to look at is politics as a business. And business means profits, and profits means you look at who benefits.

For starters a disproportionate amount of Irish politicians come from dynastic political families.
They go to the same schools and colleges, the same restaurants, the same social events, take the same vacations, own holiday homes in the same areas and as we saw recently belong to the same golf clubs.

Politicos rely on developers, business and bankers for political funding.
Politicos rely on control or collusion with the media for political support.

You don't need a formal conspiracy when interests converge. They don't need a meeting, they have like interests and know what is good for them and their ilk - and they are getting it.

The bank bail-out took care of reckless bank speculators who were pals with politicians - Charlie McCreevey and Celia Larkin never had to go through the formal channels at Nationwide, and CJ was afforded special treatment at several banks.

The choices that really matter in this country have been reduced, there are two main political parties, a handful of banks and insurance companies.

Dep. Creighton - who did not cow-tow to Kenny after the failure of the so called heave, and has maintained her integrity at least. However, one feels she is bound for the back benches.

"It is not a good image for any political party to be in receipt of donations from developers who are associated with NAMA"
She insisted that there could be no room in Fine Gael for "cute-hoor" politics, which she said had "defined and tainted Irish public life like an incurable cancer"

She was right in one respect, and to go further, the strains of clienism, gombeenism, dynastic politics and the appointment of utterly incompetent but politically loyal people to government bodies are an incurable disease that has long infected FG as well as FF.

Media coverage and convergence of interests is also an issue.

I have written before about Paul Williams 'reporting' on the Shell to Sea protesters. After his incredible biased reporting for TV3 and a tabloid he has been a corporate guest of Shell at the 2007 England Rugby match at Croke Park, part of what Shell told the Phoenix was their “stakeholder engagement list.”

Shell spends huge amount of money on PR, in 1998 “Shell spent US$30 million on contracts with PR company Fishburn & Hedges alone.”

The article “Irish Times Shell PR” in the May 22 issue of the Phoenix looks at how in Ireland Shell have successfully changed the line of the Irish Times over the last two years to the point where now the Irish Times now frequently send their crime correspondent to cover protests in Erris.

What I did not write about Paul Williams boss.

Protesters are attacked and marginalized in the press, yet no questions are asked about Ray Burke - who is one of the few politicians in this country that went to jail for corruption - and his role in the deal.
Bertie Ahern, whose personal finances have never been fully explained, also further did favors for the big oil companies.

Exxon Mobil was awarded licenses for exploratory drilling in the Porcupine Basin, which is in the Atlantic roughly parallel with Clare and Kerry.
For the exploratory bid Exxon Mobil combined in a consortium with Providence Resources.

Providence Resources are also engaged in exploration off the south east coast of Ireland.

If the Shell deal goes through, that sets a precedent to increase profits to other companies, like Providence Resources.

Forty five per cent of Providence Resources is held by Sir Anthony O’Reilly, and his son is the company’s CEO.

Tony is also, of course, CEO of, and owner of a large shareholding in, the Independent News and Media group.
IN&M owns the Sunday World, the Sunday Independent, the Star, the Irish Independent, the Evening Herald, part of the Sunday Tribune, and many local papers in Ireland.

There are clear grounds for linking the commercial interests of the O’Reilly empire, and the political influence it wields through its major media holdings.
A politician attacked in such a wide range of press is looking at electoral failure.

To look at this in the context of oil and gas consider the wild unsubstantiated slanders which have been directed at the Shell to Sea campaign in Mayo by O’Reilly papers.

Something which they engaged in earlier, and to a much greater extent, than the rest of the national media.
This reached a crescendo of almost parody in August 2007 when one columnist opined “Shell has been scandalously remiss in not employing someone to bump off a few of these fellows” as ““the rule of law has to be enforced, by apparently harsh measures if need be”.

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Julian Assange

2010-12-24T16:20:00.000Z

Assange founded the WikiLeaks website in 2006. He has published material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya, toxic waste dumping in Africa, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and banks such as Kaupthing.

Most notoriously-he published classified details about US involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For his work with WikiLeaks, Assange received a number of awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award for publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya and Readers' Choice for Time magazine's 2010 Person of the Year.
He has recently been targeted, with a major attempt made to supress Wikileaks, and to sideline and smear him with what remain allegations of rape

In relation to Ireland Wikileaks has shown that our politicians caved in to Vatican pressure to grant immunity to church officials in the investigation of decades of sex abuse by its clergy.
The Irish government politicians were reluctant to insist Vatican officials answer investigators' questions, the leaked cables indicate.
The Vatican did not any investigators questions - Files detailing abuse requested by the police were not handed over. That is obstruction of justice.

One thing about the Lisbon II treaty I worried about was the EU extradition warrant.
Ireland has not taken this action with people who ordered or were involved in the cover-up of child rape even though we have evidence that happened.

You and I can be now sent to another EU country with no presentation of evidence, as has happened with Assange. It requires only the filling out of a form requesting that a person be detained and sent to another EU state with no evidence or reason.

The primary golden thread that runs through Irish and British law is the presumption of innocence, that we are all innocent until proven guilty. He is entitled to that presumption.

Assange has offered to be interviewed in the UK by Swedish investigators - but does not wish to go to Sweden as he is worried that the US then may try to have him extradited.

He has good reason to worry.

The U.S. is set to bring spying charges against Julian Assange.

Prosecutors are said to be finalising their case against the whistleblowing website.
A lawyer for Assange, Jennifer Robinson said she understands U.S. charges are ‘imminent’.

Assange, who is on bail in the UK fighting extradition hearing over rape accusations in Sweden, is likely to be prosecuted under the U.S.’s Espionage Act.

This law makes it a crime to receive national defence information if it is known to have been obtained illegally and could be used ‘to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation’.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.

Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed however that he had ordered ‘a very serious, active, ongoing investigation that is criminal in nature’.

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More bad news

2010-11-29T11:11:00.002Z

Well, lie after lie - mistruth after mistruth and the usual bending of words have gone on, and there is still no general outcry in Ireland.

The banks will be saved, but the state is in financial trouble due to this.

Fianna Fail, in dealing with the ECB and the IMF have created a scorched earth policy to ensure that any succesive administration will be forced into at least 5 years of unpopular decisions over which they will have little or no control.

Mass privitisation of semistate services look like they will be pushed through, and with our history in the Eircom privitisation, one can be fairly sure that it will be a mess.

Further dependency

2010-11-11T00:32:00.002Z

Well, we have now a decision on the Donegal by-election, if we get that far without a general election.
However, the FF/Green machine will appeal at the cost of about half a million euro of tax payers money.

There are other elections that are needed for vacant seats, and the working majority will be reduced.
Already, FF are at each others throats.

Mary Coughlan and North West MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher became embroiled in a row about whether or not he was approached to contest the Donegal South West byelection.

Mr Gallagher who was given something like 24 hours notice to run as an MEP has said an approach was made to him by senior figures in Fianna Fáil to contest the Dáil seat he himself vacated in June 2009 when he was elected to the European Parliament.

With MEP income and perks for so little work outside the spotlight of the Irish media, I dont blame him for telling FF to F Off
After all, it was his slipping off to Europe that created the vacancy way back in 2009 I believe, abandoning those constituants who had voted for him in what can only be called a palenesqe deriliction, putting party before his own people.

Ms Coughlan told local radio station Ocean FM yesterday she did not believe the cope was approached but Mr Gallagher responded by saying the Tánaiste, the Irish deputy prime minister was “not in the loop” about the behind-the-scenes moves.
Though no opinion poll has been taken, in the Green corner Sinn Féin candidate Senator Pearse Doherty has been installed by bookmakers as the clear favourite.
It was his successful High Court challenge against the 16-month delay in holding the byelection that has bought it on stream.
With the December budget coming on about the 7th, and 14Bn Euro in cuts proposed FF and the Greens will have a hard sell, although Green party members in Donegal broke away from the Dublin leadership quite some time ago.

In the red corner Labour is expected to run Frank McBrearty Jnr, the victim of Garda corruption, who surprisingly won a seat on the county council.

In the blue corner the Fine Gael candidate is sports journalist Barry O’Neill.

And in other bad news from Donegal for FF, Jim McDaid has resigned his seat - the same guy who was stopped driving drunk the wrong way down a main road - guess his sense of direction has improved and its good to get while the gettings good.

However, one thing I would think is that FF will run the byelection in Donegal mid-week, when students and workers may not be able to get to the polls - it gives them a higher turnout among the older population who tend to vote for them, when the cope ran up there they did not count votes - they weighed them.

But in terms of dependency, if FF lose this one, their majority will be further reduces, forcing them to depend more on Lowry and Healy Rae types.

Most dissappointing is the Greens support for the government.

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Independent dependency 1 - Lowry

2010-09-10T15:48:00.001+01:00

Partially due to an out of date electoral system, in the Irish republic we have a situation where Independents frequently hold the balance of power.
Quite often, independents like the late Tony Gregory are honourable people, with no blemish on their record and who really want to make things better for their constituency.
But other independents are frequently those who have lost a party whip, and as we saw in the case of Beverly Flynn, get back to base eventually.
Our constituency based system means local clientism is what is important, far more important than national issues. One current TD worth mentioning, who supports the current Government is Michael Lowry from Tipperary North.

Lowry had started his working life as an apprentice at Thurles based Butler Refrigeration in 1971.
He worked his way up to sales manager, a position that bought him into contact with Ben Dunne, as Butler Refrigeration installed and maintained refrigeration systems for one of Ireland's largest retailers, Dunnes Stores.
DUNNES DEVICES
Ben Dunne, a well known Irish business man saw his family business increase turnover from IR£300M to IR£850M between 1983 and 1993.
He devised a method of gaining influence and control over companies that supplied goods and services to the supermarket chain, a system that created a series of companies which were, in effect, subsidiaries of Dunnes.

One such company was run by a Minister in the Fine Gael led government at the time, Michael Lowry, first elected to the Dail in 1987.
His contact with Ben Dunne and the financial donations he secured for Fine Gael played a critical role in his rapid rise in the parliamentary party, so much so that he was from 1994 to 1996 Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications.
Lowry left his job at Butler Refrigeration soon after his election, and in addition to his work as a TD he also started up a consultancy work for Dunne's.
He then set up a company, Garuda Ltd, that traded under a different name - Streamline Enterprises - and started to conduct work for Dunnes, after Ben Dunne had told the TD he was no longer going to use Butler Refrigeration, and offered Lowry the work.

The auditors to Streamline would be Dunnes own inhouse team of Oliver Freaney and Co.
Dunnes chief accountant, Michael Irwin - on secondment from Oliver Freaney would have full access to Streamlines accounts.
An arrangement was reached whereby Streamline would work for Dunnes and be paid in a way that a modest profit would be returned annually.

The second part of the arrangement - and the most lucrative - was that Dunne would give Lowry a personal bonus.
This payment was essentially based on how pleased Dunne was with the services Lowry provided.
Lowry told the McCracken tribunal that Dunne had told him "The bottom line is, if you are good for Dunnes Stores....I will certainly make it worth your while and your company will be successful and you will be a wealthy man"

In addition to his TD salary, provided by the tax payer, he received a number of large payments from Dunne amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
These payments were given to him in such a way that allowed tax evasion, much of the money was lodged in offshore accounts.

The McCracken tribunal ruled that by accepting payments and evading tax in the way that he did, Lowry made himself vulnerable to all kinds of pressures from Dunnes Stores had they chosen to apply them.

Regardless of Mr. Dunnes actual intentions, the threat of disclosure about the offshore accounts or indeed the threat to cut off a lucrative source of income could have been used to apply pressure on a senior government politician to obtain favours.

At the McCracken Tribunal it was also revealed that Dunne had paid IR£395,000 for an extension to Lowry's home. This allegation prompted Lowry's resignation from the Cabinet in November 1996.
He also resigned from FG to run as an independent.

It is an appalling situation that a Minister benefited from the black economy starting shortly after his election - if such a person can behave in such a way without serious sanctions, it is very difficult to condemn others who similarly flout the law.

TELEPHONE TROUBLES

The circumstances surrounding the awarding of the second GSM mobile phone licence to the Esat Digifone consortium in 1996 (the biggest contract ever awarded by the State to a private company) by the FG led government has been the focus of the work of the tribunal since 2007.

The tribunal is still investigating whether money changed hands prior to the awarding of the licence to Esat Digifone by then Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications Michael Lowry TD.

Denis O'Brien of Esat Digiphone has claimed preliminary findings by the tribunal effectively state that the Esat consortium was “illegally” issued with the state’s second mobile-phone licence because he had a “corrupt” relationship with Michael Lowry.

THE COST OF CORRUPTION
Lowry, as a TD has a current salary of €106,000 and Independents allowance of €41,000 provided by the tax payer - and this does not account for the pension rights he is entitled to.
In March 2010, it was estimated the McCracken tribunal had cost the state approximately €39 million, with final costs expected to exceed €100 million. Up to February 2010, the biggest earners are (including VAT):
John Coughlan SC: €9,046,499, Jerry Healy SC: €8,861,924 and Jacqueline O'Brien SC: €6,334,134

To date, Michael Lowry has not been charged with any offence like tax evasion.

Due to the questions about the phone licence, a number of failed bidders are suing the state over the handling of the competition process.

Payback has been limited. In early 2007, Lowry announced that he had made a full and final settlement of all outstanding payments with the Revenue Commissioners. His company Garuda had to pay €1.2 million after a Revenue audit. He also paid almost €200,000 to settle his personal taxes

TRUE BLUE
However, it is clear that the ties to FG still remain. In 2009 1,400 people gathered to celebrate the political career of Michael Lowry. Prominent among them were two important public figures associated with FG. Ivan Yates, a former Fine Gael minister for agriculture and a successful businessman and Seán Kelly, a highly distinguished former president of the GAA, then a Fine Gael candidate and now FG MEP for Ireland South.

The Tipperary politician is a self-pitying cheat and a liar – yet still his career is deemed worth celebrating.
At the 1997, 2002 and 2007 general elections, Lowry topped the poll in his constituency.

Clearly, as Dunnes would say, better value politicians beat them all.
And Clearly, we have learned nothing.

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Political Funding and more expenses

2010-08-28T12:37:00.003+01:00

It is all very well and good to talk about limiting registered contributions by companies and individuals to political parties but there is a reason the old parties agreed to this system.

Now the Irish tax payer is to fund political parties on the basis of how well they did in the last election, that makes it a lot harder for new, small parties and to a lesser extent sitting independents.

Bear in mind that Beverley Flynn had to be forced to give up her independents allowance despite rejoining the FF party.

I have seen Amhran Nua ideas being lifted by FF, FG and Labour, so not only do they have a lack of new ideas, they also have an unfair advantage in funding - and it is money and media exposure that win most elections.

Why should the tax payer fund a political party, particularly when one would have profound disagreement with what they stand for, e.g. FF's NAMA support, as well as problems with FG and SF policies

That is creating a further democratic deficit, copper fastening the bottom planks of the established caste and crew on the ship of state from the people whom they are meant to serve.

They really do not want change on this Island, and unless people vote for alternative, protest, parties - there is the probability that the caste will ride out this squall

Political parties received a total of €13,603,264 in state funding for 2009, according to figures released today by the Standards Commission.

The money was paid to the parties under the Electoral Acts and under the Party Leaders Allowance legislation.

Five parties (Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and the Green Party) received funding of €5,438,385 under the Electoral Acts and those five parties along with the Progressive Democrats received €8,164,879 under the Party Leaders Allowance legislation.
The funding is not subject to income tax and may not be used for electoral or referendum purposes.
The level of funding is linked to pay increases in the civil service; however, the legislation which governs the funding is silent on pay decreases.
Qualified political parties must furnish to the Standards Commission Statements of Expenditure of the funding received.

Non-party members of Dáil and Seanad Éireann also receive funding under the Party Leaders Allowance legislation.
The amount payable to each non-party member of Dáil Éireann during 2009 was €41,152 and the amount payable to each non-party member of Seanad Éireann during the same period was €23,383.

The total paid to non-party members was €306,000. Non-party members are not required, however, to provide a Statement of Expenditure of the allowance to the Standards Commission, or to any other authority.

The Healy Rae Clan have done quite well out of expenses. The Healy Rae brothers are defending one hundred thousand euro in expenses they claimed from Kerry County council.
An Irish Independent investigation reveals Danny and Michael Healy-Rae, were paid a total of €196,000 for 2008/2009.
In the meantime TD Dad Jackie Healy Rae claims he does not have a travel pass.
This is despite the fact that Deputy Healy Rae is entitled to apply for a free pass for public transport as he is over the age of 66.
Everyone aged 66 and over living permanently in Ireland, is entitled to the free travel scheme.
Deputy Healy Rae travels to Dublin on average once a week while the Dáil sits, incurring a fee of up to 72 euro per return train journey.
Deputy Healy Rae is then claim's expenses for these journeys.

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Ivor Calley

2010-08-25T17:44:00.000+01:00

Ivor Calley has been caught out on expenses, and yet he still clings on to the senate seat gifted to him by none other than Bertie Ahearn.
The only apt quote I can think of is from Oliver Cromwell
"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go! "

Not only has he caused himself grief, he has also given Paul Gogarty a chance to give himself a bit of positive veneer work to save his skin, even though he continues to prop up the Fianna Fail party.

Dan Boyle of the Green Party, another Senate Apointee, called on Ivor Calley to resign from the Seánad.
One unelected Senator calls for another unelected Taoiseach nominee to resign

Another person jumping on the bandwagon is Fianna Fail TD Mary O'Rourke who said the controversial Senator should step down from the Seanad and stop looking for a way out of his problems.

Funny how Boyle, Gogarty and O'Rourke jump on the easy target while totally silent on the by-elections.

This follows his resignation from Fianna Fail following a Seanad Committee investigation into his expenses claims.

The Committee found him guilty of "conduct unbecoming".
There are others who sould be examined as to their expenses, Beverly Flynn in particular. RTE has failed in this regad, but at least TG4 had the guts to start looking into things.

The corruption allegations in the Calley case also draw attention away from the far more serious cuts in public services, NAMA and the fact that the people of Donegal South West do not have proper representation.

Calley is just one example of a corrupted and broken system.
Another quote from Vince Cable MP worth mentioning is that "Sometimes the best thing a government can do is simply get out of the way" i.e. let the Gardai look into fraud and corruption - like falsified reciepts

The stroke shafts the shower

2010-08-10T22:53:00.001+01:00

Despite his closeness to Mary Hanafin, the Stroke has struck FF in recent times. In what was called a gentlemans agreement, it was arranged to 'divvy up' the chairmanship of various comittees on Galway County Council.

There are 5 Strategic Policy Committees (SPC's). The chairpersons position is worth more than 5000 Euro per annum.

FG and independents elected chairpersons to three, FF and former FF member Stroke cut a deal to secure one chairpersons position.

For continuity it is normal for a chairperson to remain in situ for 3 years, and normally forthe full 5 year term.
But the deal was they would rotate the position between them, share the spoils so to speak.
The handover over of power, but Stokes renaged on the deal.
Of course, as it seems in every public position on this Island there is no legal mechanism in place to remove a chairperson from their position, and Fahy was reported to have said that "there's nothing in writing"
"Im not in the Fianna Fail party...I did'nt go running after them , they came after me to vote.
They said I should give after a year - but I'm not giving it up now"

His reasoning was that it is Dept of Environment and Local Government guidelines that the chairperson should remain at least two and a half years.
Who knows, maybe Michael is considering joining the Green party - if they can put up with GoGo maybe Stroke might be a change for the better.

He is also miffed that in his 32 years in the Council FF have never nominated him to the positon of Mayor of County Galway.

The FF Councillors are said to be furious , but had to admit they left themselves in a position where the Stroke could shaft, and not share.

The fact that Stroke was FF for the majority of his political life, and is closley associated with the Hanafin dynasty makes one wonder how foolsh were the FF councillors to put themselves in such a position where they could get shafted.

Not just FF, but I think nearly all councilors agreed to a request by Fahy, who was serving his sentence at Castlerea Prison, to accept that his absence from meetings of the local authority was ‘due to illness and his attendance in Dublin’ even though he was in Jail for the period.

Under current legislation, a councillor is deemed to have resigned if they are absent from meetings of the local authority for a continuous period of six months.

However, there is provision in the of Local Government Act 2001 for the local authority to take into account if a councillor has been ill, or has missed meeting ‘in good faith for another reason’.

Councillors can pass a resolution allowing an absent colleague up to 18 months before the councillor is deemed to have resigned.

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Shell and the Corrib field

2010-07-23T13:26:00.006+01:00

The Shell Corrib field situation is unacceptable. The states natural resources are being siphoned off with little real benefit to the economy.
The Irish government claims that the favourable terms are worth it to ensure Ireland’s energy security, but there is no necessity for Shell to sell the gas to Irish consumers.
These are the economic realities.

Shell are not obliged to hire any Irish staff, or base support vessels in Ireland, Irish job creation prospects will be based in places like Aberdeen.
If Shell do sell back our own resources, we will be paying the full market price for them, the same price we currently pay for gas from the North Sea or further afield.

Shell can choose to pump oil or gas directly onto tankers and ship it to the highest bidder. The Irish Republic will be competing with China and the UK for its own resources.
The same will apply to any future discoveries, such as the Dooish project off the coast of Donegal on which Shell is willing to spend more than €100 million – on the basis that it can reap enormous profits by selling it back to us (the people who are its rightful owners in the first place).

The vast majority of countries demand that multinational oil and gas companies pay the state proportionately twice the amount that the Irish government is extracting from the Shell-led consortium that is exploiting the Corrib gas field.

Only Cameroon takes a lower share of the revenues from its own oil or gas resources than Ireland.

Ghana, for example, insists that the state-owned Ghanaian National Petroleum Corporation has a 10 per cent ownership stake in any resource find and the multinationals are also liable to a 50 per cent profits tax. Our terms were described by economist and journalist Colm Rapple as “decidedly soft by international standards”.

Ireland demands no state shareholding in any resource finds, nor does it demand royalty payments.

A tax rate of only 25 per cent applies – this only applies after a company’s exploration and development costs (and the estimated costs of closing down the operation when the resources are depleted) have been recovered - This I believe is a recent ammendment introduced by Bertie Ahearn. The Corrib gas field will probably be half depleted before any tax is paid at all.

The state, through Bord Gáis, will also pay for the pipeline to link the proposed refinery at Bellanaboy to the national grid in Galway.
The Irish government has, in addition, given Shell and its associates 400 acres of state-owned forest for the laying of the pipeline to the refinery, and expropriated private property through compulsory purchase orders.

The state also provides security, policing Glengad on behalf of Shell the Garda overtime bill alone is approx. €14m, not to mention the deployment and use of Naval Service assets

Under the 1975 Irish government strategy for energy extraction, the state would have held a 50 per cent shareholding in any oil or gas discovery, and the extracting company would have had to pay royalties of at least 8 per cent as well as tax at a rate of 50 per cent. Those terms were progressively relaxed during the 1980s and 1990s most notably under the tenure of Ray Burke as Energy Minister.

Lets not forget Mr Burke was convicted and imprisioned for corruption in public office. This is important for the case studies looked at later.

An estimate in June 2007 put the value of Corrib gas at €14 billion - this is conservative. As gas prices have fallen somewhat since 2007, it may be that the total value is now less than that, but credible estimates suggest that the Corrib and other sites currently being explored could, taken together, yield some €50 billion in oil and gas revenues.

If the Irish government were to take a 10 per cent stake in these discoveries as Ghana does then the Irish exchequer would stand to gain €5 billion. Taking a 10 per cent stake in the Corrib gas field alone should certainly gain the exchequer at least €1 billion.

Investing funds that would arise from a 10 per cent stake in the Corrib field alone would generate a revenue stream as is done in Norway.

Reclaiming even a portion of the revenues that are rightfully ours reduces the need for the severe expenditure cut-backs now occurring and would allow the stimulation of the economy to relieve the impact of the recession and boost employment.

As for investment costs - NAMA will cost an estimated €88 bn, Doolish development will cost about €100m

The process of reclaiming oil and gas revenues from multi-nationals for the state, is exactly what other governments are doing, and case studies are included.

A recent wave of resource nationalism has seen governments around the world take back control of natural resources which were previously in the hands of foreign companies. The following case studies show how this has occurred in just three countries: Bolivia, Russia and Venezuela.

In none of the cases did the affected companies (including Shell) walk away from their investments, despite their dissatisfaction with the new regimes, because the profits are too large.

Its very simple, the people who negotiated the current contract were corrupt to the core, Ray Burke was convicted for corruption.

The only thing that stops a renegotiation of the current situation is the lack of political courage, or perhaps it is something else?

The current situation is untenable, but the media have successfully portrayed objecters as the lunatic fringe.

MEDIA CONTROL
What was particularly distasteful was the TV3 'investigative' documentary, an absolute propaganda drive by Shell. It was a joke, with snide remarks and innuendo.
We need to look at the journalist, Paul Williams.
The reporting had bias, three years before the documentary Williams had made up his mind.

Paul Williams is the son of a Garda. The Gardai have much brutality and violence to answer for in Corrib.
Williams is a crime correspondent, dependent on the Gardai for information and without whose cooperation he would be unable to function as a reporter.
He has to keep them sweet and boy, does he keep them sweet. The violent 'confronting' has all been done by the Garda - not by the residents of the area.
He has shown himself to be virulently biased in favour of Shell on several occasions. RTE's reporting of the issue has been a national disgrace and an outrageous affront to journalism since 2006 - as their recent coverage of the violent assault on Willie Corduff makes evident.

It is worth noting Mr Williams has, since his reporting started, been a corporate guest of Shell at the 2007 England Rugby match at Croke Park, part of what Shell told the Phoenix was their “stakeholder engagement list.”

Shell spends huge amount of money on PR, in 1998 “Shell spent US$30 million on contracts with PR company Fishburn & Hedges alone.”

The article “Irish Times Shell PR” in the May 22 issue of the Phoenix looks at how in Ireland Shell have successfully changed the line of the Irish Times over the last two years to the point where now the Irish Times now frequently send their crime correspondent to cover protests in Erris.
The Irish Times is not unique in this respect, media outlet after media outlet considers it suitable to send crime correspondents to cover the protests who, like Williams, depend on developing and maintaining positive relations with the Gardaí to continue to get news stories.
If they want to continue to get the scoops their jobs depend on they are not in a position to bite the hand that feeds them such stories.

Such is the success of Shell’s PR machine that when Colm Rapple, a guest on RTE’s ‘Marian Finucane’ show managed to slip in a mention of the Bolivian story that Cathal McCarthyattacked him in The Independent, threatening that “it might be unwise of RTE to allow anyone to suggest outlandish and ruinous speculative motives to what was, at the very least, the violent killing of an Irish citizen in the most dubious circumstances of which it is possible to conceive.”
The Independent is controlled by Tony O’Reilly’s, pre-crash billionaire who coincidentally holds a “40% stake in Providence Resources Plc, the Irish based oil and gas exploration and development company.”
He controls the The Independent group, the Evening Herald, Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and the Irish Daily Star, as well as 14 regional titles and two free newspapers as well as a 98% stake in the Sunday Tribune.
None of these titles have named names on the Shell – IRMS – Bolivia story although most if not all of these titles have been happy enough to throw all manner of weird and wonderful accusations at the locals who oppose the Shell pipeline and their supporters.

Even if your not a journalist currently working for an Independent title you’d want to be careful of pissing off the family who own a 40% state in an Irish oil and gas exploration company as you may well be looking for a job at one of those titles in the future.
And its not like what it left of the Irish media has been a whole lot better with the honorable exception of The Phoenix and the Irish Examiner, both of which are sadly rather small circulation niche titles.
Another consequence of Shell’s highly successful PR offensive is the routine appearance of articles in the media that seek to portray the locals and their supporters as subversives.
Sometimes this can be quite farcical, for example the Phoenix points to the Irish Time’s Peter Murtagh getting away with publishing an article in March where he links the struggle to “ ‘notorious INLA murderer’ Dominic McGlinchy” on the grounds that “his son supports the protests.”
While there have been acres of coverage in the media on that sort of basis the facts revealed in the aftermath of the killing of Dwyer have received scant coverage.
NATIONALISATION AND LEGALITY
Other than SF, no other party in the Dail has the balls to address this issue full on, corporate threats keep them in line.

We are fully within legal rights to renegotiate the Shell deal, and should do so

A recent wave of resource nationalism has seen governments around the world take back control of natural resources which were previously in the hands of foreign companies.
The following case studies show how this has occurred in just three countries: Bolivia, Russia and Venezuela.

In none of the cases did the affected companies (including Shell) walk away from their investments, despite their dissatisfaction with the new regimes, because the profits are too large.

Bolivia
In Bolivia the nationalisation was initiated during the 2003 ‘gas war’ in which thousands of citizens took to the streets to demand the state take back control of the nation’s gas reserves.

The country came to a standstill and the army was dispatched to clear the streets, leaving 60 unarmed protestors dead.

General outrage at the massacre of civilians forced President Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada out of office.

His successor, President Carlos Mesa, held a referendum which would allow citizens to express an opinion on the ownership and exploitation of the country’s natural resources.
Citizens voted in a referendum to take back control of the states national resources.
The Mesa administration dragged its feet on the issue of enacting enabling legislation, sparking further protests in 2005 which forced Mesa out of office.

It is worth noting that when Eamon O Cuiv was asked about the possibility of a referendum he answered, "We dont need to - the Government owns the resources" - I thought they belonged to the Nation??

Eventually President Morales issued the decree of nationalization.

International commentators expressed displeasure, complained the EU Commission but there was no international backlash and the Bolivian government proceeded cautiously, paying out compensation and rewarding compliant companies with fresh investment opportunities.

Foreign companies, including Shell, agreed to the new terms.

Russia
Vladimir Putin tackled the issue from a different angle, picking out breaches of regulations - including corruption legislation - to halt and review operations and ultimately retake majority ownership of key fields.

In December 2006 Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources published a 600-page dossier – prepared by environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor (RPN) – which listed alleged environmental violations by Shell and its project partners at the giant Sakhalin oil and gas field.

More significantly, the Russian government announced that in the light of Shell’s improper activities, the terms of the deal, signed ten years previously, would have to be renegotiated.

The report gave legal and political cover to what was effectively a heave against Shell in the name of energy security.

Shell took the blow well, realizing that even a lesser stake in a large field is better than no stake at all.

Gazprom agreed to pay $7.5 billion for a 50 per cent-plus-one-share stake, leaving Shell with a 27.5 per cent stake, down from 55 per cent. Shell’s chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer, described talks with Gazprom executives as “constructive” but the Russians were more direct, saying that Shell had become cooperative after the company was threatened with having its operating licence withdrawn.

The Russian government also moved on BP to surrender control over a Siberian field, again citing environmental violations, similar to what we have seen in Mayo.

With the multiple violations of planning and environmental laws by Shell - in addition to the involvement of Ray Burke, Bertie Ahearn and Frank Fahy in the current deal it is a possible model.

Venezuela
Standard Oil and Shell had seized control of 85 per cent of the industry.
Opposition to foreign control over oil resources prompted nationalization in 1976 but little changed as foreign companies enjoyed decisive influence over policy at state energy giant PDVSA.

In 1998 Hugo Chavez was elected President. The price of oil soon tripled in value and in 2001 Chavez approved the Hydrocarbons Law which reclaimed state control over PDVSA.

In March 2008 Chavez had announced a windfall tax on ‘extraordinary oil profits’ to help expand the provision of healthcare services (a similar law has been enacted in the UK I believe)
Increased health provision raised the number of doctors, rising from 20 to 60 per 1,000 people.

In May 2007 the Chavez administration nationalized the Orinoco River Belt oil reserves, insisting that the state hold a 60 per cent stake in the region’s oil projects.

Italian energy company ENI accepted compensation in return for a lesser stake in the area but Exxon rejected an offer based on the value of the company’s stake at the time of nationalization.

Exxon demanded it be given projected profits from the ‘Cerro Negro’ project, which company lawyers estimated at $5 billion.

A London Court ruled in favour of Venezuela and Exxon was ordered to pay PDVSA’s legal fees.

======

Lessons for Ireland
Could it happen here? Yes, it could, and a variety of legal reasons can be advanced as to why the terms of the Corrib gas deal should be renegotiated so as to ensure that a fairer share of the resources accrue to their rightful owners – the Irish people.

These reasons include breaches of environmental and planning law and a possible investigation into corruption by officials

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE
Namely the right to protest and the right to a private family life (art 8 sec 1 & art 11 ECHR)- European convention of Human Rights) perpetrated by Shell and its partners.

The well founded suspicion that Shell’s private security force is engaged in such illegal practices should be sufficient reason to halt work at the site pending an independent investigation.

Shell’s private security agents – Integrated Risk Management Systems (IRMS) – have engaged in surveillance operations against local people, aledgedly filming children as they undress on the beach at Glengad and aiming cameras into the kitchen of a nearby home as well as assault.
These security guards previously included Michael Dwyer, the Irishman shot dead by police in Bolivia in April. Dwyer worked for Shell at Glengad with a Hungarian colleague who invited him to visit Bolivia and connected him with Eduardo Rozsa Flores, a mercenary in Croatia with links to fascist groups.

Pseudo Paramilitary Crests issued by Shell Security staff

Flores hired Dwyer as a bodyguard and they spent several months in Bolivia. Government troops closed in on the group, alleging an imminent plot to kill the President Morales.

It is still not known exactly what happened when armed troops moved to arrest the men, but the operation left three of the five men dead, including Dwyer and Flores.

On any of these grounds, an Irish government could call a halt to the project and launch an independent review to reconsider both the wider issue of ownership of natural resources and the operation of this particular project.

ENVIRONMENTAL ABUSE
The damage is ongoing. For example, in 2007 Shell engaged in unauthorised drilling on a protected habitat in north Mayo, breaching the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 which obliges any such work in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) to be authorised in writing by the Environment Ministry.

Also, in 2007 concerned locals occupied the proposed refinery site at Bellanaboy due to the apparent contamination of local water supplies when a brown-coloured liquid seeped out of the site.

Local streams feed into Carrowmore Lake, the source of drinking water for thousands of homes in the Erris area.

Shell E&P Ireland, the subsidiary established to operate the Erris project, admitted a leak had occurred.

More recently, Shell has undertaken work at the landfall site at Glengad without the required notices of consent.

AN wants a full review of environmental, legal and economic dimensions.

The project should only be allowed resume on the following bases:
1. Local people should not be forced to live with a high-pressure pipeline carrying unrefined gas through their community – the gas should be refined offshore or at a location acceptable to the local community.

2. The Irish state must receive a substantially larger share of the revenues accruing from this project; the evidence from other countries proves that such renegotiated terms would not cause Shell or any other firm to discontinue the project or deter investment in the future.

3. Revenues gathered from a renegotiated contract should be used to develop a national investment portfolio to generate a manageable revenue stream - much in the same fashion as pension funds. AN should be very wary of allowing any future Government direct access to the funds, as FF proved, they can be squandered very quickly with no long term benefit.

LEGAL CHALENGES
Legally it is already possible to negate any existing contract rapidly within current legislation, there is no need to apply a new law retrospectivly.

Evidence from other countries proves that such renegotiated terms would not cause Shell or any other firm to discontinue the project or deter investment in the future.

The licensing terms for offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production, available on the website of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources website, state that

“The Minister may, for such period as the Minister deems necessary, require that specified exploration, exploitation, production or processing activities should cease… subject to conditions which the Minister may specify, in any case where the Minister is satisfied that it is desirable to do so in order to reduce the risk of injury to the person, waste of petroleum or damage to property or the environment. No claim for compensation may be made against the Minister on foot of any such requirement”.

This clause can be invoked to serve the needs of the Irish state and people.

Otherwise we are simply giving away our gas with little benefit to the State.

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FG - FF, same old, same as!!

2010-07-21T18:43:00.005+01:00

Well, I glanced at today's Indo to see that Dep. Lucinda Creighton TD has upset the dear leader Enda Kenny as FG took ~~bribes~~ - sorry - "donations" from NAMA backed developers

These are the same unscrupulous people who bent the rules, paid off unaccountable officials and due to their greed - and that of the banks - have led this country to the verge of collapse with NAMA, empty hotels and ghost estates.

As we saw in the Watson/Reingling report, the crisis was home grown - due to overly light regulation and political mismanagement rather than the credit crunch.

The only phrase that springs to mind is Avé! Duci novo, similis duci seneci! - or in modern terminology, same crap, different day

One feels rather than Allons it is actually Allors! enfants de la Patrie, and we see the constant infighting and divisions within FG still, despite the brave face and the unified front after the last headless chicken act.

Lets face facts.

1) Despite what they say about clearing house and unity FG is in disarray, fragmented and disjointed, with a built in self destruct function due to infighting

2) Despite what they say about honesty and integrity, they are accepting funds from the same crooked shower as FF. FG director of elections Phil Hogan has already said the party would oppose plans by the Government to introduce legislation banning corporate donations.

3) Despite what they say about New Era FG (most ideas lifted from Amhran Nua) is as dynastic, gombeen and post civil war as FF - and there will be little or no change.
We saw after the heav"heave" against Dep. Kenny in FG, most of the rebels were dropped from the front bench - other than those with dynastic ties.

We saw the stalwarts from FGs Old Guard like Dep. Noonan called up to the front, the Praetorians replaced the progressives, and those who have remained on the front bench are there for cynical political reasons.

In a future, probable FG government, those token few will end up on the back benches making up the votes.
In a way it is our own fault, both FF and FG depend on us, the voters, to return them to office because we look at local politics first, and party politics second. Our local TD will agree with us on our problems with the party, but have no doubt that other than an extreme case of political survival, they will tow the party line.

The so called 'rebels' who lose or drop the party whip, will in 99% of cases still vote with the Government.
They are less maverick than John McCain FFS!!!

If there is any people in FG it is Dep. Creighton - who did not cow-tow to Kenny after the failure of the so called heave, and has maintained her integrity at least.
"It is not a good image for any political party to be in receipt of donations from developers who are associated with NAMA, full stop," She insisted that there could be no room in Fine Gael for "cute-hoor" politics, which she said had "defined and tainted Irish public life like an incurable cancer".

Where I would disagree with Dep. Creighton is that it is not the cute hoor that is the worst part of Irish politics, it is what causes cute hoorism - that is the dynastic constituency driven system that we ave, perhaps suitable for the 19th century - but not the 21st

Dep. Creighton, like Dep Varadkar are a new wave for FG, they are young, non-dynastic and have been elected on their own merits.
However, by joining a party so deeply steeped in the dynastic post civil war traditions of the first 60 years of independence, she should perhaps consider - as should Dep Varadkar - looking at another way.

They need to consider their political futures, and as I have said before, they have little to loose.

This is because given the probability of an FG led government after the next election, there is no way I can see them anywhere other than the back benches.
After the heave, we have seen FG leadership go back to the Christian Democrat stalwarts.

It is for that reason, rather than accept the status quo people of their calibre should drop the party whip, leave FG and help real change by joining Amhran Nua.

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FG Deal Politik

2010-07-02T12:34:00.003+01:00

Fine Gael’s newly appointed deputy leader James Reilly insisted in the Irish Times the party had emerged “much stronger” from the recent challenge to Enda Kenny’s leadership.

He's Back

You have got to be joking, the parliamentary party heave, and its fallout show how ill-prepared for Government the FG party is.
Dr Reilly - no doubt now deputy leader as a reward for his loyalty to Enda said the new bench is a “proven performers and new energy”.
It would be truer to say it is a mass marriage of convenience based on gender and geography.

Kenny could not fire East Coast deputies, as they are at risk from Labour, and had to keep a few token women in the front rows of the FG team, even if it meant keeping those who have publicly stated they have no confidence in his ability or leadership.

Michael Noonan is the new finance spokesman while Richard Bruton, who led the recent heave against Mr Kenny, is appointed as spokesman on enterprise, jobs and economic planning.
How can he plan our economy when he plots for his brothers former job?

Two others involved in the heave, Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar, were retained on the front bench.
Coveney is a dynastic politician who is importat in the FG power struggle.
Varadkar - who on Primetime stated he had no belief that Kenny could take them over the line next time out is kept on because he is a modern, friendly face for FG - but I doubt very much either would be in a FG cabinet post election.

FG's attempt at damage limitation has been ineffective “There was always going to be a change or a freshening of the front bench,” Dr Reilly told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, suggesting the leadership struggle had merely brought the changes forward.
“We now have a new, exciting, energetic mix on our front bench that has the required qualities to bring this country back from the brink"
Well, I for one very much doubt any of those who heaved against Kenny would be in a cabinet portfolio, it will be the stalwarts in the mold of Noonan, the old reliables

Dr Reilly also said Kenny had the “decisiveness and incisiveness” to lead the country of the morass it finds itself in.
This when he could not even foresee or control his own front bench, most of whom declared no confidence in him and ran around like headless chickens after one bad poll - so much for quality leadership!

Asked if former finance spokesman Richard Bruton has lost his credibility in the recent heave against Mr Kenny’s stewardship, Reilly said: “I believe that Richard believed he was the best man for the job at the time. He went to the party, to let the party decide, and he lost"

We have seen in the past that an individuals political survival is far more important than the state of the nation. We are in crisis and should have a government that picks the best person for the job - and at a time of crisis we should perhaps look at a government of national unity.

However, as usual, loyalty to a leader is more important than competence. Horse trading is the most important part of the Irish Economy

With this in mind Phil Hogan, Alan Shatter, Jimmy Deenihan and Michael Ring along with Reilly are certainties for ministries.

Others who may well make future Ministers are Noonan, Catherine Byrne, Deirdre Clune, Andrew Doyle, Frank Feighan, John Perry, David Stanton and Paul Kehoe.

Speaking of Richard Bruton Reilly said “He understands perfectly well he has a huge important role to play in the future of this country and he will be in the next government and he will be a minister in the next government,” he said.

I really think that's a non-starter, If FG manage to become the leading party in the next election, Bruton will be on the back benches, in the good company of Charlie Flanagan, Coveney, Varadker, Bruton, Olivia Mitchell and Fergus O’Dowd.

Revenge, as they say - is a dish best served cold.

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Banking Scandal -and its not even a headline

2010-06-25T16:00:00.002+01:00

If Fianna Fail had one bit of good news in the past few weeks, it was FGs melt down. The media management has been magnificent..
The entire medias eye was off the ball, and FF will get away with the biggest failing in the political history of the Island.
The two reports dealing with a disasterous financial meltdown that lay the blame squarely on the Government.

Dermot Ahearn said the crisis was no ones fault, and the mantra is repeated.
The FF/Green manta is the crisis is outside our control - it was due entirely due to external factors.

This is a lie

The Watson/Reingling report states the crisis was home grown - and due to overly light regulation and political mismanagement.

Governor Honohan said in his report that the collapse of Lehman Brothers did not cause the Irish banking crisis.

The financial regulators were disfunctional, 'intrusive demands" from line staff were set aside when senior regulators were approached.

To quote the Watson Reingling report “internal procedures were overridden, sometimes systematically.”
The regulators did not do their jobs, and on the basis of political and business favours they were overlooked.

Having light touch regulaton is one thing, but the shelving of investigations is to me criminal, and someone needs to answer that.
The excuse that the crash was unforseen is untrue - there were some very serious people who warned of the crisis.
In April 2007 Prof. Morgan Kelly warned we were heading for a recession with a hard crash because we had a classc set up for a property bubble bust.
Bertie in response to this and other warnings said that sitting on the sidelines moaning and cribbing - and was surprised that people who warned of a potential bust did not commit scuicide.
Regling / Watson said that by the middle of the decade, the financial and property boom in Ireland presented features that should have sounded alarm bells loudly.
Domestic financial stability reporting by the Central Bank had failed in this regard.
Brian Lenihan emphasised that the reports were "preliminary, scoping reports", which would point the way to a more detailed examination by a Commission of Investigation.
One wonders who is going to be in charge of it? Perhaps a tame high court judge or Fianna Fáil Senator Ivor Callely?
It will investigate the banks, but not the government, this is pointless - the politicians were as responsible as the bankers.
In the banks already a few token heads have rolled.
But the people who have been bought in to run our banks were alreeady senior members of those boards.

We are leaving foxes in charge of the henhouse
I believe we need someone like Eva Joly, a Norwegian born French judge with an outstanding history investigating corruption by politicians and vested business interests.
She finished her work quickly in Iceland.
We need to know what senior regulators failed to investigate concerns, we need to know what politicians were involved in getting tax breaks for regulators.
We need to uncover and prosecute those guilty of corruption and incompetence - otherwise they will do it again.

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FG Dynastic squabbles

2010-06-15T12:25:00.001+01:00

Well, again we see the headless chickens running the coop, or ruining the coup perhaps, as Enda Kenny has fired one of the most popular deputies on his bench.
It also shows that FG, after a few polls not favouring Kenny, hit the panic button and head for self destruct.

At the age of 24 Enda Kenny - like Brian Cowen - was elected to the Dail to replace his father Harry died.
Kenny is currently the longest-serving TD in Dáil Éireann still in office, and is the incumbent Father of the Dáil.

He was challenged as leader by Richard Bruton, the brother of a former leader who - unlike his brother John - seems popular with people, and is very bright.

We want change in this country, we need a change in the way things work - but yet again, in the main opposition party, we see the same names and the same families and that will not deliver change.

With the set up that we have, dynastic politics are here to stay, and make no mistake about it - it wont change, as that requires legislation, so politicians voting to reform the way things are done on this Island is like turkeys voting for Christmas.

It is laughable when FG talk of reform, the same clans have been in politics since the foundation of the state.
They are as culpable as FF for the current system, which is not fit for purpose.

This jittery response also took the attention off FF and the banking reports published by Klaus Regling and Max Watson, which are far more serious issues than the internal squabbles of dynasties within FG

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Politicians Expenses - Beverly Flynn and how its done

2010-06-05T12:31:00.003+01:00

Well, can you say you were surprised! And this is just the start, and its not the first time either

With the leaking of politicians expenses, we are beginning to see a buildup of this topic, as we saw in the UK.

However, our politicians are so overpaid that corruption on expenses will not be such an issue.
I still believe that Taoiseach Cowen is a fundamentally decent and honest man, but the FF party are corrupt to the core, and that is something he cannot deal with effectively

Some politicians really do take the micky, in particular those with a dynastic sense of entitlement.

BEVERLY FLYNN
Another example of the faults in Ireland's dynastic system is the bauld Bev Flynn.
Elected to her fathers seat in 1997 she is a good example of what is wrong with our system.

And don't think this is an anti Bev rant, she is just an example of what one can get away with in constituency based politics.

Flynn has had a complex relationship with Fianna Fáil.
She resigned from the party in February 1999 because of the allegations against her but rejoined November that year.

In April 2001, she was expelled from the party but was allowed to rejoin Fianna Fáil again before the 2002 general election.

She was expelled again in May 2004 after the results of her libel case were made public.

She successfully contested the 2007 general election as an independent and was readmitted to the Fianna Fáil party April 2008, and that's an important date in relation to expenses.

On a national level she is best known for the libel case cost that the tax payer a fortune.
RTÉ journalist Charlie Bird claimed that while at National Irish Bank Bev had assisted clients of the bank in evading tax by funnelling undeclared income to schemes in the Isle of Man.

Flynn denied the claims and sued for libel in the High Court in 2001.
The jury found the allegations were found to be substantially true - that RTÉ had proved Flynn had encouraged people to avail of illegal investment schemes.

So we have a sitting TD, guilty of advising people to illegally avoid tax.

Thus, despite Flynn technically winning the case, she was awarded no damages, along with costs being awarded against her. Flynn then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Ireland, where she lost.

Flynn at first offered to settle with RTÉ for €590,000. RTÉ rejected this and moved to have her declared bankrupt in 2007.

Being bankrupt would stop her being a TD

Her lawyers were granted a postponement on proceedings to allow her to challenge the constitutionality of legislation which bars bankrupts from Dáil membership.
It was a litigious frolic in her own interest. She subsequently abandoned plans to challenge the legislation.
In June 2007, Flynn announced that she had reached a final settlement with RTÉ, with Flynn paying €1.24 million of the outstanding €2.4 million.

That leaves the tax payer with a bill of €1.16 million for RTE's legal bill as RTÉ, Ireland's public service broadcaster, is part-funded by a television License fee.

It also shows a two tier law system, a person fined 600 Euro could not say to the courts 'I'll pay half of it' - she essentially did.

Other funds that are questionable

ADDITIONAL INCOME
In 2008 she rejoined Fianna Fáil, but still claimed an entitlement to a tax-free allowance available to independent TDs.

However, upon her return to Fianna Fáil there were questions about whether or not she continued to qualify.

She responded that, in addition to her €106,000 basic salary, she still qualified for the €41,000 allowance as she won her seat as an independent TD.

After meeting with the Taoiseach Brian Cowen January 2009, she stated that she would no longer claim the allowance.
In 2004 she claimed enough mileage last year to drive around the circumference of the Earth two times over.

She even claimed over €8000 in mileage for a period when the Dail only sat six times.

Bev Flynn was a member of the Western Health Board from 1999 until 2004. I did try to find out how much she claimed in expenses for that period from the WHB - which is declared separately from TDs expenses, but was told I would have to pay €200 for administrative purposes - so much for freedom of information.

She was also a member of Mayo County Council from 1996 to 2003, one would also like to find out what her expenses were during this period, which overlaps with her work as a TD for 7 years.

In last weeks municipal elections in Iceland, voters sent the old party system a clear message.
Reykjavik, saw the new Best Party take six out of 15 council seats and more than a third of the vote.
The new party won the elections by protesting against a system it says has failed.

I can only hope that Amhran Nua can achieve the same thing.

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Stroke strikes again

2010-05-17T13:25:00.005+01:00

Well, gombeenism is still alive and well in Galway East. I wrote about Michael 'The Stroke' Fahy - Galway coco councillor before.
After being released from Prison on appeal he was allowed - how I dont know - to stand and win a seat at the council as an independent.

On his return to Galway coco Cllr Fahy did not refer to his own absence - but noted other developments such as the green light for the re-opening of the Athenry-Limerick railway line.
"It lifted my heart last Friday when I arrived back near my own home to see the work started on the railway line. It will be a huge boost for south Galway"
And we should have seen this as a warning shot of his intentions.

So, the Western corridor opened, and the Stroke pulled off another one, using his position to benefit himself from public finances.

He was jailed in 2007 in relation to fraud and attempted theft in connection with a fence constructed on his property during a road expansion in his area.
He was sentenced to a year in jail and fined 75,000, in a retrial in 2008 he was again convicted fraudulently obtaining benefits from the Council, convicted and fined 30,000.
He is appealing this.

But not to lose the big picture, while he is costing the tax payer money in apeal after appeal, he now has had a railway bridge constructed on his property, worth in the region of 2 million Euro.

A spokesperson from Irish rail would not confirm the cost on the grounds that individual prices paid for such strucures were sensitive commercial information that could predudice future transactions - so we cannot find out how.

The Councillor is one of only four farmers to benefit from the use of an overbridge on the railway line, he described its costruction as a coup.
A level crossing was not good enough for him.

This waste of resources, when 100,000 euro has been removed from the Galway west budget is a disgrace.

On the main Clifden Galway road, major roadworks are underway, and yet the people of South Connemara are not to get a traffic filter at the Recess cross road, which with the increase in speed on the road is becoming increasingly dangerous, with high road usage.

However, Cllr Fahy has managed to have an expensive structure built on his farm during the construction of a new railway line!

This has to be taken in context when we see that Representatives of Iarnród Éireann and of its parent body, CIE, appeared before the Oireachtas Transport Committee after media reports claimed that fraud and malpractice at Iarnrod Eireann could have cost the company close on €9 million.

Iarnród Éireann Chief Executive Dick Fearn broke down the €665,000; €271,000 related to collusion with a contractor, €363,000 to the illegal sale of railway equipment such as sleepers, and €30,000 to invoices for work not done.Three employees were dismissed as a result – but not, apparently, tried for fraud or jailed for what might well be described as theft.

Although the Stroke resigned from FF he is still close with senior members of the party, Mary Hanafin TD, daughter of Sen. Des Hanafin in particular - does this nepotism ever end!!
Sen Hanafin senior was a very conservative FF member, oposing divorce, and his son continues in that vein with his opposition to gay marriage.

Mary Hanafins Mother Mona, and Brother - Senator Hanafin - were among a select group who welcomed him home on his release from prison.
Since then Sen. John Hanafin has been appointed to a very plum position on the permanent delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

And there is the issue that despite the fact he could not attend meetings because he was jailed County Councillor Michael Stroke Fahy kept his council seat and pay.
Galway County Council approved a request by Cllr Fahy that ensured he would not lose his sea
A resolution proposed by Cllr Michael Regan (FF) and seconded by Cllr Tomás Mannion (FF) meant that the local government act did not apply to Cllr Fahy for missing meetings in March and April because he was "sick and in Dublin"

These actions allowed Fahy to keep his seat and further benefit himself at the publics expense, at a time of cutbacks, reductions in public spending and increased hardship for the average citizen, the Stroke got his bridge to nowhere.

Tribal loyalties and ties to FF still hold strong, despite corruption and gombeenism.

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Dynasties

2010-04-20T17:33:00.002+01:00

Sorry for such a delay between blogs folks.

We live in a Republic, that means Res Publica - of the people, but we have develped a political caste verging on feudalism.
Robert Emmet once said something about accidents of birth in a dock while on trial for his lif - for the crime of looking for self determination for all the people on this Island, and as Citizens of this Republic it is something we would do well to remember remember.

I have written in the past about the FF and FG dynasties on the Island, and it would be unfair of me not to look at the other parties.

The now defunct PDs had some of the basest nepotism.

Dessie O Malley, known as the man from UNKLE as he came from a Limerick FF dynasty which started with his Uncle Donogh O Malley.
Dessies daughter Fiona is still a Senator, still being paid from the public purse.

Dessies Cousins, Tim O Malley and Patrick O Malley were also PD TDs

So, next stop is Labour. Well, even in two parties that I have always admirted there is dissappointment.

The dynastic streak in Irish poltics was highlighted in a speech by the SDLPs new leader Margaret Ritchie at the Labour conference in Galway
"the next election in the Republic would be a great day for the Labour Party. “And on that night I will be watching a TV, in Downpatrick, looking out for one particular result. The name Spring, restored to its rightful place, heading the poll in Kerry North.”
Dick Spring was preceeded in Kerry by his father Dan, and it appears his Nephew is to succeed.

Seeing Labour develop this type of dynastic mentality with the Sherlocks, Quinns and the Springs, where other local candidates are sideligned for family members it is getting obvious that now Labour are also becoming acolites to this blight on Irish politics.
And the leader of the SDLP, the party of Mallon and Hume, a party based on fairness, honesty and equality should not be supporting this tribal mentality.

One positive thing about SF was a lack of dynastic castes, but we see its development in Kerry.
When Martin Ferris went to Dail Eireann in 2002, his daughter Toiréasa was to replace him in Kerry CoCo.

Although he failed in his attempt to gain a seat as an MEP, Toiréasa was put forward in the last Euro elections, by virtue of the fact she was his daughter.
No doubt, when it is his time to step down as a TD, she will be the leading contender to replace him as the SF candidate in Kerry.

Kerry seems very susceptable to gombeen politics. Even so called independent, Jackie Healy Rae, seems to be grooming junior to take over as TD after him, down to the trade mark hat.
Even cosmopolitan Dun Laoire can throw up a Green from a political dynasty. Ciaran Cuffe the new clean and keen Minister for State from a party that rides itself as a break from the past does not really publicise the fact that his Granduncle was FF TD Patrick Little.
It is also reflective of the Greens U-Turn that as a Minister of State in an FF led administration he wrote after the general election of May 2007 in his blog: that "a deal with Fianna Fáil would be a deal with the Devil. We would be spat out after 5 years, and decimated as a party" - well, at least her got that one right - but he will have secured a ministerial pension at that point.

And this does not take into account councillors who are related to TDs and Senators

Roll on the electorial list system

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Tribunals and corruption

2010-03-23T11:49:00.000Z

The Mahon Tribunal is the longest running, most expensive legal process in the history of the state.
It was established back in 1997, dealt with bribes and payments in relation to planning issues

The Moriarty Tribunal, established in 1997, investigated payments by Ben Dunne to, among others, CJ Haughy - who is dead, and Michael Lowry , ex FG TD - still in office and now supporting an FF Government.

By the time this is done, no-one involved at a senior level will still be in office. Final reports keep being delayed, and their is no end in sight with little or no accountability.

People like Ray Burke, the man who gave away our most lucrative natural resource, Bertie Ahearn and several politicians from the two main parties have been implicated.

However, it is my opinion that unless reports are published soon, and prosecutions are bought, the Tribunal has outlived its usefulness and is simply an overpriced quango.

I do think it was an astute political move to establish the Tribunals as they drag out and run into each other.
It leads to a wave of informatio that overwhelms the public, and is confusing with different references to different tribunals in the media.

What we really need is an anti-corruption office, dealing with these issues as they arise.
Tribunals should be given strict time frames when they are established.

What bothers me most is that we should simply apply existing anti-corruption legislation.
We have an established legal system, the Tribunals are being used to circumvent this, action is not taken as it is said this will affect the outcome of a Tribunal.

Why do we have a court system then?

The greatest detererent to corruption is to ensure that anyone in public office found guilty of corruption, or recieving illegal payments, or using their office to enrich themselves, should be disbarred from public office and lose pension rights earned while in public service.

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Eoin Ryan EBRD, and the usual crony corruption

2010-02-17T13:14:00.002Z

FORMER FIANNA Fáil MEP and minister of state Eoin Ryan got a great runner up prize from Brian Linehan - a gift from one 3rd generation politico to another.
He has been appointed as an alternate director on the board of the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Eoin lost the European Parliament seat he first won in 2004 lost in last year’s election to Joe Higgins, of the Socialist Party.
This despite being the top spender in the elections in the Republic, with expenses of almost €215,000.

He will now serve a three-year term at an annual salary of €125,614.

He replaces the very impressive Anne Counihan, UCD graduate, a solicitor both in Ireland and England, a graduate of the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School, a former member of the Irish Aviation Authority Board and the board of Bord na Móna for five years.
She is also president of the Corporate and Public Lawyers Association, the main Irish association of in-house lawyers.

Eoins main qualification is that he comes from a family steeped in Fianna Fáil.

His father was a Senator, and FF's director of elections in the 1977 general election.

His grandfather was a cabinet minister in various Fianna Fáil governments.

Eoin was educated at St. Mary's College, Rathmines, College of Commerce, Rathmines and Kildalton Horticulture College, County Kilkenny.

He was elected to Dublin City Council in 1985.
In 1989 he was elected to Seanad Éireann.
In 1992 he was elected to Dáil Éireann and again in 1997.
In 1999 he was made Minister of State with responsibility for National Drug Strategy.
In 2004 he was elected to the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency.

The bank in was established in 1991 to help develop a new private sector in the countries of the former Soviet bloc - i.e. outsourcing to cheaper wage zones.

We have economists, and unemployed trained bankers in this country - people far more qualified for the position.

Why can we not have Oireachtas approval hearings?

We should at least to ensure that important appointments will be for the benefit of the state as opposed to party hacks.

But for Eoin it is a nice little earner

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George Lee/ Alex White = No Change

2010-02-11T20:04:00.002Z

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - Different Day, Same Shit

George Lee, the former RTE economics reporter ascended into the Dail as an FG TD little over 9 months ago.
In a blaze of uncritical media coverage, he got through on the first count, sat in Dail Eireann and learned the sad truth - that FG is little different than FF. Two cheeks of the one arse.
If his brief egoride achieves anything, it will be to show how broken the 90 year duality is.

Both the leader of the opposition and the leader of the Government succeeded their fathers in by-elections.

Now we have one former RTE worker being replaced by another, who are for all practical purposes of forming the next Government in the same party - just different labels.

However, rather than become an independent voice to fight the perpetuation of a two party system, and break the mold of the political caste, he spat the dummy and left in a petulant fashion, but its OK - unlike the unemployed people, many of his constituents among them, to represent them as promised - he will walk back into his RTE job.
That, in my opinion, is dereliction of duty.

Another option would have been to join a new party like amhrannua.com who look like they offer a real third force, potentially, in the future.

George I think felt that the FG party should treat him as the messiah, hold him up - why not make him leader? After all, he was going to single handedly save the economy.
But the boys - and girls - of the FG club did not see it that way, many grumbled at the parachute candidate.

Whenever FF decide on a by-election (and perhaps they will not delay this one as long as others - Dublin South has a lot more economic and social media clout than Donegal) the most likley candidate to win is Senator Alex White of Labour - is the leader of the Labour Group in Seanad Eireann ( the leader of the Labour group adds over 6K to his annual salary in a senate with no real power)

A former producer with RTE, and trade unionist for RTE's luvvies.
Another party machine product he was elected to South Dublin County Council in 2004.
He was Deputy Mayor and a member of the Sports and Recreation, and the Transportation Strategic Policy Committees.

He contested the 2007 general election in Dublin South, and in July 2007 he became the first senator elected on the Cultural and Educational panel to Seanad Eireann.

It is clear the two main parties that have failed, FF the entire country and FG Dublin South, its time for a change - but Labours Alex White is another product of a broken political system.

What has made me unhappy with the Labour option in recent times is that they have become FG lite - much in the same way the PD's were the monkey to the FF organ grinder.
How can the Senator be taken seriously when in 2007 he voted for coalition with FG in 2007, surely it is wiser to wait and see who offers a better coalition partnership deal after an election.
His election to the senate is credited to a voting pact with Sinn Fein (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...751671183.html)
There is also the expenses issue - with a salary of nearly 75K Euro per annum - why cant he pay his own phone bill? it's an allowance of over 4K extra per annum.

Alex White may be a great candidate, he may well be a good guy for Dublin, but this is more of the same old closed shop machinery that drove George Lee out of politics

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Bank Enquiry Fluff

2010-01-31T14:31:00.003Z

Justice must be done, and must be seen to be done. We the People are expected to accept - in good faith - the word of the Government, accept paycuts, levees, cutbacks and increased direct and indirect taxes to bail out bankers and developers who paid a lower rates than mid level earners at the height of the boom.
Thats all well and good - until the media (finally) start to ask questions.
Then answers are refused under the so-called freedom of information act.

A private enquiry is of no use, a tribunal is too expensive, what we need, and what we deserve is a DIRT style enquiry now. And dont think for a minute that it will be any different under FG
There are too many of them involved in speculation and land deals to be any less wary.
How much more of this do we have to put up with - seriously FF/FG are two cheeks of the one arse, and we need a change.
Voting for FG to replace FF is like turkeys voting for Christmas - it is not in our best interests.

One poster at boards found many Fine Gael politicians engaged in significant property development and the usual dynastic traits.
Sean Barrett FG - investigated by the Mahon Tribunal - with a portfolio of interests is registered in Jersey
Frank Feighan FG has properties in France, Bulgaria and dotted around Ireland.
Deirdre Clune FG - succeeded her father Peter Barry and Grandfather Anthony Barry as TD
Simon Coveney FG - succeeded his father Hugh Coveney as TD
Michael Creed FG - succeeded his father Donal Creed as TD

Now we learn that Herr Klaus Regling, a former IMF economist, has been appointed to investigate the crisis.
Mr Regling will publish a report on the crisis in tandem with Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan.
Lets not forget that Mr. Honohan's central bank, with lack of oversight and regulation allowed us to sleepwalk into the current crisis, and people involved in the investigation may not want all details to come out.

The two preliminary inquiries are due to be completed by the end of May,
Neither report will be subject to a public hearing.

Already Herr Regling has said this timeframe is not likley without a 2nd assistant.

Only after the initial investigation will a Commission be established and asked to report by the end of the year.

Its terms of reference will be set by the Oireachtas but its proceedings will be conducted in private - which regardless of what Mr. Gormley says, is secret.
Yes, if we are to have an enquiry there must be terms of reference, but will this be a drawn out investigation to see FF - and other partys - through to the other side of a General Election?

A cause for concern is that people from inside a bureaucracy often do not ask the right questions, as the UK Iraq War inquiry is showing. Focus on procedure can stop questions on how decisions were actually made, and who made them.

This might also repeat the mantra that there is no alternative to NAMA, and a drawn out investigation into the past avoids debate into NAMA alternatives and how to deal with the future
I do not doubt Herr Regling's integrity but we need someone, outside the system, with a focus on dealing with corruption, not mechanism.

I would also like to see full and frank disclosure of Herr Reglings financial interest in Ireland in relation to his work managing funds.

And we need someone with no vested interests in the Irish financial or political systems - like Herr Regling and Mr Honohan

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Irish Bank Enquiry

2010-01-21T12:01:00.006Z

As readers well know, Ireland is a small country.
As readers will know, and as I have written about here, we have a political and business caste, with dynastic politics.

We need a full, public and open investigation into the banking crisis.
It was this crisis that has created NAMA and put our National Debt at levels that are almost incomprehensible.

It also needs to be set up in a way that does not allow political interests to be catered to, and it must be limited in terms of time and cost - not to be milked by the legal eagles as the Tribunals have been.

Iceland has taken steps towards this with the appointment of Eva Joly, a Norwegian born French judge with an outstanding history investigating corruption by politicians and vested business interests.
Her work investigating corruption is impressive, taking on, among others, former minister Bernard Tapie and the bank Crédit Lyonnais.

Her most famous case was that of France’s leading oil company – Elf Aquitaine. Despite death threats, she carried on the case to uncover several cases of fraud.

With that CV she seems ideally suited to investigatig the banks scandal.
We have seen the results of the Tribunals arranged by the Irish Government, little truth, little accountability, few prosecutions and all of this done in a protracted and costly manner.

Our systems are not working, so it is time to take a fresh approach - but will any Government have the courage of their convictions to actually really try to find the truth?
Props to http://celticmeltdown.webs.com/corruption.htm, which details her work in Iceland well

A fuller profile can be seen at http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0121/1224262769883.html

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Heres to You Mrs Robinson

2010-01-14T18:54:00.004Z

Regardless of what a relief it is to see a headline with teenage boy and sex in it without mention of a Bishop or Priest, the recent events in Northern Ireland are making waves in the press for all the wrong reasons.

Yes, Iris Robinson had at least one affair, which was hypocritical considering her public pronouncements that that "the government has the responsibility to uphold God's laws"

Yes, the use of political influence to help a lover was not the most astute thing to do for a politician

And Yes, acting in the capacity of a lobbyist/consultant and alledgedly accepting the sum of 5,000 without declaring it was wrong.

But these are human failings, greed and lust.
The sum - IF the allegation is true, is petty in comparison with the corruption of the Republics politicians, or Britains MP expenses.
Politics aside, it has tragicly resulted in her attempting to take her own life, and one hopes she and her family can come to terms with what is an essentialy private matter.

In fairness, a cafe owner out of his depth in a field of international political intrgue sounds more like an episode of Ello Ello

What is worst is that these relativly minor transgressions have threatend the Peace process.
At a time when the declicate issue of transfer of power in relation to policing from London to Belast is at issue, one has to ask who leaked the story and why?
Within the DUP - as in Republican circles - there is a break, those who want to move forward, and those who wish to remain in the past

There is another factor that has been overlooked in the salacious gossip.
It is apparent is that the current system engrains a sectarian, tribal, apartheid system.

Martin McGuinness is the Deputy Leader in a powersharing agreement, however - leadership has not been transferred to the Deputy but to a minor Minister, Arlene Foster, chosen for her loyalism (if you pardon the pun) to the leader of the DUP.

It is also tragic that what I would consider an actual threat to the peace process, the horrific bomb attack on police officer Peadar Heffron which has left him in a critical condition.

This was not a target of opportunity, this was carefully planned. Heffron is Catholic, a fluent Irish language speaker and a GAA Player.

He represents a positive, inclusive future for Northern Ireland.

This as opposed to the usual nepotism and tribalism of politics. In April 2009, both Iris and Peter Robinson came under fire after Commons MPs' expenses accounts were leaked to the press. The couple were branded "swish family Robinson" after claims that they were receiving £571,939.41 a year in various salaries and expenses, with a further £150,000 in salaries being paid to four of the couple's family members.
They seem to have combined the republics nepotism with the UK's expenses culture.

With this in mind - why is it that the politicians still insist on segragation, where only one of the Northern Groups can hold the position of leadership - and the sad thing is that if it were a UUP/SDLP coalition, one doubts very much the 6 week arangement would be any different.

Can they not move on, past the tribalism and the quagmire of the past and sort out more pressing issues, policing and the economy are two that spring to mind.
With all the good will in the world, from the EU, Britain Ireland and the US - this can achieve nothing if the leaders cannot move on from the past.

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2010 and into the future

2010-01-01T01:14:00.004Z

And so, we start afresh, its a new year with new chalenges. All the best to all readers in MMX and I hope all of us have a happy and productive, progressive year.

We are facing an uncertain political future on the Island, and while Iceland have implimented their version of a national recovery plan, with safeguards and support for citizens, we have yet to do that.

I hope this situation may be recovered, but it does not look good.

As a political blog, one must comment on the recent sad news of Minister Lenihans Pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

My sincere sympathy does go out to Brian Lenihan, and I found the manner in which Irelands TV3 broke the news was distasteful - the news of his illness would have been better as a press release.
Whatever I may have written about Mr Lenihan - or other TD's - in this blog must be seen not as personal anomosity but as observational critcism.

The fact is the survival rate for pancreatic cancer sufferers is low, but hopefully it was caught early and he can undergo surgery and chemo.
Someone facing such a serious illness should - at a time like this - ask to be relieved of his duties, if even only on a temporary basis.
Minister Lenihan and Minister Martin have both been named as likley successors to Brian Cowen in a future FF power struggle. Indeed, one feels the Lenihan dynasty felt it was Brians destiny to lead the troops of FF.
In light of the recent diagnosis it gives an only too human face to political observations.

It is both sad on a human level and a cause of anxiety at a national level that after FF drove through the NAMA legislation the person charged with implimentation is now very seriously ill.
TV3's sugarcoating of the NAMA legislation was also unwelcome as they reviewed the ministers career - to date one hopes
- but just because someone is gravley ill does not suddenly mean that their decisions in the past cannot be questioned.

We as a people have a right, and an obligation as citizens to continue to question, and demand, real political action on the issues that matter to us.

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Paul Gogarty?

2009-12-20T16:53:00.022Z

At a time when Ireland has cultivated an image of a cultured, educated and able nation, Lucan TD Paul Gogarty has made us an international laughing stock on youtube, featuring on MSNBC and the BBC's HIGNFY, re-enforcing a stereotype of the thick Irish who cannot contain their temper.

His infantile, self justified outburst does not really project the desired image needed to promote a smart economy.
It was petulant, a comeback to heckling that would be unworthy of a 15 year old.
The childish frustrated schoolyard bully tactic of screaming profanity shows a lack of intellect and reason
His qualified excuses for his immature reaction to heckling was that his sincerity was called into question.

However, despite his bruised ego his sincerity is very questionable - but he does not see it that way, childishly he blames others.

LEGACY
Dep Gogarty has failed, the Green agenda has moved backwards in coalition with FF.
They have become a prop to a party that does what it wants with a little greenwash.
Mr Gogartys legacy is very different from the election promises of 2007.
A 50 point program to a better education system, including 2400 new teaching jobs, reduced primary class size and a statutory max primary class size of 25 was an election promise.
But when in office he backed savage education cutbacks that have impacted on every primary school in the country and Ireland has the 2nd most overcrowded class size in Europe.
He also voted for 5% cuts in student grants, this will have a very serious effect on families with kids in college and compound other government cuts despite
His eventual resignation as education spokesman was called pointless by the INTO.
He sees the cutbacks to education and NAMA bail out failed bankers/developers, which he publicaly protested but yet fully supported, as the conduct of others.
This was further enforced in an interview berating the Fianna Fail party.
Hardly sincere - but interesting as a classic separation of id and superego.

POPULAR CULTURE & 'CLEB' BEHAVIOUR
Several people have referred to Mr Gogarty as being a legend in hs own mind, and this common sense expression is based in fact.

Our society has followed an Anglo-American model in recent times. Being famous is seen as a life aim by children, whether through achievement or accident is unimportant.

It is a cult of personality. Some vestage of fame is seen as a life goal rather than achievement.

It explains Big Brother, X Factor and other trends in popular culture.

As an example Kate Moss is asked for her opinions - to which she is entitled - on current issues, not because of knowledge, but because of fame despite the fact that if she were not a 'celeb' she would be seen as being disfunctional.
Bono, regardless of the fact that he has never been elected or appointed to an answerable office, is percieved as an authority and world spokesman for various causes. He comments frequently on the Irish overseas aid budget despite the fact that by avoiding tax he contributes nothing to it.

Gogarty's fellow Lucan locals (and his former office workers I believe) twins known as Jedward did quite well in a UK talent show with no real discernable talent. Some tried to explain it as a reaction to poor programming in the UK, but in reality name recognition and newspaper coverage had more to do with it.

Fame for whatever reason, not ahievement, is more recognised. Famous for being famous.

This is partially due to people wanting to live vicariously. They base some of self efficacy on the achievements of others, best demonstrated by reference to the importance some people place on the performance of a football team - and in Ireland that may well be a football team in the UK with no regional tie to the supporter whatsoever.
When the team wins 'we won' giving a sene of achievement despite not actually participating. It also creates a collective mentality.
Due to the collective mentality, the elevation of professional footballer allows behaviour on and off the pitch which in general would be unacceptable.

There is a link between the acceptable berating, cursing at and insulting of referees and anti social behaviour experienced by social workers and teachers.

Dep. Gogarty, as with a soccer player - is excused by others, Yes he did it - Yes he is sorry - Yes it was regrettable - BUT (enter excuse of provocation/passion here) - apologies are always qualified.
This was demonstrated by Green and FF deputies in interviews.

ANALYSIS
Dep. Gogertys ego, in Freudian concept, seems modified in an example of Bandaras concept of self efficacy
In brief, social cognitive theory is that individuals possess a sense of self that enables them to exercise control over their thoughts, feelings, motivation, and actions. This self system provides reference for regulating behavior appropriate to our environment.

It provides individuals with the capability to influence their own cognitive processes and actions.
Most improtantly Bandura's emphasis that ones achievments, if you will, are the most influential self-efficacies. Individualy this is realised mostly through verbal persuasion methods.
Social cognitive theorists shift that emphasis and focus on a joint effort to raise competence and confidence primarily through successful experience.

NOT AT FAULT
Dep Gogarty, judging himself differently to others, coupled with his self justified berating and insulting of others due to inflated self worth and a readily apparent disregard for peer endorsement seems central to his superego.

Every thing centres around him. Others are there to assure, elevate and praise him, to pleasure the id, please the superego and hence effect the ego.
Because his ego percieves superiority, People should be more like him, he cannot be questioned and can behave in a way that others cannot.

As with football players this is apparent in qualified apologies issued after the outburst.
As for being in a position of responsibility, the Deputies level of self control is questionable.

SUITABILITY
A Garda, Social worker, Fireman, Nurse or Soldier at entry level, facing cutbacks to their pay, and work conditions as well as their childrens allowance and student grants cannot behave in a similar manner without facing disciplinary proceedure.

This is especially true of teachers while facing large class sizes - and pupils far more abrasive than Deputies Shorthall or Stagg - could never behave in such an unbecoming fashion.

They are public servants, why should elected representatives be expected to behave in any less a controlled and dignified manner.

His appointment as education spokesperson for the green party is in my opinion very questionable.

In my opinion, from what little I have heard from him, in terms of syntax, context and application his use of english is surprising for DIT journalism graduate.

His use of what I would refer to Palinesque psychobabble. The use of unusual, important words totally out of context may - for a soundbite - may sound impressive, but when looked at in writing are meaningless.
There need to use 'big' words to fill a silence is to appear slightly smarter than the average as we have seen with Sarah Palin and from Gogarty on a facebook page in his responses.

PALINISTA

The use of words entirley out of context, and such angry reactions to any questioning in turn leads to other questions on his suitability.

A light hearted questioning of his linguistic ability resulted in a personal response and petty squabbling. Another posting resulted in an ill tempered response to a young woman on the facebook group.

Neither required his personal response in a time of national crisis but due to his inflated ego his priorities are skewed.

Also of note is the lack of any critiscism of homphobic comments about Deputy Stagg on the group.

Yet in a paradox they both appear to revel in a percieved dumbdown in a celebrity culture. His personal facebook responses to a remix of his outburst demonstrate this.

"Mortified as I am this is the best, funniest and most tuneful remix of the lot! Highly recommended."

As Michael Franti said, in a celebrity obsessed culture the straightness of the teeth in your mouth are more important than the words that come out of it.

Much like Palin, there is a psycological reason for this. It is best described as a resentment of others whose professional achievements are percieved to outweigh their own.

This may be a driving force in some seeking self worth and through fame via politics or populism. In our celebrity culture, as evidenced with Blair, Palin, Johnson or Sarkozy - these are often interchangeable.

In the case of Deputy Gogarty this requires a sense of inflated importance and worth attached to the goal aim of election to a parliament in what is a very small country on the periphery of Europe.

REALPOLITIK
Having resigned as a spokesman on education for the minor coalition partner to the obscurity of the back benchs with less influence than a local councillor the "Fuck You" explosion can be exlained in light of this.
The reason Labour were targeted by Dep Gogarty is simple.
If there was an election tomorrow they would replace the Greens as the minor partner in the Dail, as it is they rather than FG that would pick up the liberal vote from the Greens. It will be a Labour candidate most likley to replace GoGo.

Rather than try to increase self achievement - or falure to accept the lack of applied intellectual capacity to equal the percieved value of others, it is easier to lower normal standard of behaviour slightly and lash out, safe in the belief that the majority of people - i.e. the unelected, are percieved by the ego to be worth less, but will understand.

Unlike Palin/Paisley (politics is identity) targeted demographic core vote the average Dublin mid west voter is not a theological conservative with focus on ethnic divisions.

Unlike the Healy Rae/Tipp O'Neil (politics is local) targeted demographic core vote the average Dublin mid west voter is not a person with long term ties to a regional political dynasty or system who is known to them and helped them or theirs in the past.

If this was an attempt cultivate an image of a straight talking, no bullshit TD appealing to the male demographic then this was a terrible mistake by Gogarty, despite the fact that he has attracted the lowest common denominator homophobic defenders online.

He simply does not have the charisma or the undeniable survivability of a Flynn, Lenihan, Healy Rae or O Donahue.
The average Irish voter is not suspicious of someone who projects a level of intelect or success - and the core Green voter, as it is a new post civil war party, tends to think about things, and is generally liberal.

He certainly has, like Gov. Palin, a political animal cunning that should never be mistaken for intelligence.

But the hubris of being elected can lead to a self deification and delusion of superiority, where power corrupts.
The anger and loss of self control indicates a sense of entitlement, that now in power he can behave as he wishes, without consequence or question.

Any questioning of him provokes a disproportionate and unreasonable reaction.

The reaction to Deputy Stagg was just one example of this.

This includes posting to a facebook group and mamanpoulet

This in comparison with Deputy Stagg, who understands and keeps sight of the bigger issue.
"I think the whole thing is a storm in a teacup. The huge issue is the Social Welfare Bill and its nasty cuts,"

BIZZARE BEHAVIOUR

Deputy Gogarty's behaviour is unconventional, but a meeting at Rathcoole against a proposed incinerator in the area his behaviour was utterly egocentric, normally behaviour of this extreme nature is a self preservation mechanism of toddlers.

In a packed hall FG Sen. Fitzgerald made a number of points, many that questioned Minister Gormley's and the Green Partys bone fides in objecting to the incinerator project.

During this Gogarty jumped to his feet, fell to the floor flailing his arms and rolling before lying still for a few minutes after which he sat back down?
Essentially an attention tantrum - in itself a preservation mechanism used by toddlers..

His explaination for this bizzare behaviour was that he 'took offence' the senators 'scaremongering rant'
The offence taken caused him to 'kinda fall on the floor in absolute puzlement. She always induces that sort of reaction in me. Hypocriscy and false indignation reverberating from a persona has a damaging effect on my psyche"

In the Sunday Tribune Dec 13 he stated "I am sorry for the language I used, but it was about a gut reaction. It was not an intellectual reaction. I psychologically bought time by saying 'With all due respect, in the most unparliamentary language' before using expletives. I was trying to say what I felt in a parliamentary way but I couldn't. It was an emotive outburst".
But again to quantify the apology he went on to say he had recieved a "barrage of heckling" and was disgusted when Stagg claimed on Friday that he was insincere, despite his support of Government after public protestation

His adolescent qualification of every apology issued, hypocrisy and false indignation cannot be attributed to him - again the superego and id create a barrier to that.

Within these two statements there are examples of freudian slips - and while again using terms out of context in an effort to convey a higher intelligence - quantifying his behaviour is in essence a denial of responsibility to reassure the superego - to control the immeadiate environment and make people like him despite his errors.

There is the use of adolesent language structure and the 'Yeah but, No but' syntax, or as might be better understood a Viki Pollard syndrome.

The quantification and denial process seems to me indicitive of a mid life crisis. For example, his statement that "So far the reaction to my comments has been 50% of people telling me I am a disgrace, and other 50% saying 'fair play' is a denial, when a glance at boards.ie or facebook show the vast majority of posters think his outburst was undignified at best.
The general opinion seems to be it was hypocritical, insincere or manipulative.

Having based so much of the self efficacy on electoral success, then to reach a sub ministerial position as a junior partner, only to face the reality that the partner party will do as they wish regardless of his input is emasculating, a loss of power resulting in anger.
In addition to that he is facing the very real prospect that his self worth goal of election is now slipping further from his grasp due to the fact the electorate have seen his ineffectiveness despite self promotion.

And his self promotion is very much in the search for notice. As a youth he apparenly was a flamboyant character, and in Dail Eireann we see him cultivating a new image.
Perhaps trying to emulate Tony Gregory, who was percieved as a cool maverick by some we note he does not wear a tie and suit, rather the open collar, blazer and slacks in an attempt to project non-conformity, youth and a rebellious image - much like that of the new romantic.
Because he attributes his own failings to the conduct of others a Medusa complex has become a factor.

He stated in an Irish Independent interview that his Fianna Fail colleagues were ' cute hoors' and hopes they get a drumming in the next election. Someone else is to blame for his failings.

In the words of a U2 song - I must be an acrobat - To talk like this - And act like that

THE FUTURE

So what will this outburst do for him. He had such a low national profile figure, this is going to be the first exposure people are going to have of him.

The only opinions which matter at the moment are his constituents and local party. If they have any sense they will replace him as their candidate, but one feels that the Deputy would ensure that those who make the decision are personal friends.
I can well imagine him featuring in some reality TV show, like the Osbornes - or doing a Galloway and going into a Big Brother format, and I feel he would be attracted to it.

His new profile should stop him holding a public office.
Sadly, the way Irish politics operate this may well not be the case - as with John O Donaghue and Stroke Fahy - but one has hope that the voters of Dublin west will not return a man who has become an international joke - and has made the Dail a laughing stock because of his bruised ego.

If he did achieve anything it was to draw attention away from the most brutal cuts in social welfare that I have ever witnesed. This in addition to the continued crucifiction of public sector workers.
But the distraction may aid Fianna Fail - and may lead to a seat in the Senate.

Whether he wishes to admit it or not he has been party to a Government that has carried us into the worst financial crisis in the history of the state.

We are taking money away from those who can least afford it, and bailing out bankers and developers.
NAMA scares the bejesus out of me.

The deputies party should live up to its asperations and ban Stag hunting, inside and outside the Dail.
I admire a lot of Green party activists, but up to now the Parliamentary Green group have been a dissappointment.
Locally I am concerned that even with the promotion of public transport, rural bus services are under threat.

And my opinion is that the deputy should seek professional help from a psychiatrist or Max Clifford depending on which route he wishes to take.

Oh, just in case you missed it - heres the hissy fit

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Church and State - Unholy Alliance

2009-09-10T20:27:00.009+01:00

Despite their failure to gain a solid, legal commitment to workers rights the Government took great trouble to appease another group in Ireland.

To reduce the risk of another rejection they trumpeted a protocol, or 'guarantee' on the issue of abortion, and got the Catholic Hierarchy onside for the second Lisbon vote.

Not withstanding that I do not believe abortion to be a political issue but a moral one, I believe in total separation of Church and State.

I do not think any church in Ireland has the right to comment on the democratic process.
But it appears that with the blessing of the church the Government have given us provisional absolution, that is, provided we show remorse and redeem ourselves at the ballot box.

MORAL MALLEABILITY

I wrote about my anger and sadness after the Ryan Report, the deviant cruelty of some clerics - perhaps worse still the cover up, the refusal to accept full responsibility and the reluctance to fully pay compensation.
A deal was agreed with Dr. Michael Woods (Fianna Fail of course) while serving as Minister for Education. Woods signed an agreement with the church about child sex-abuse scandals which limited their compensation liability to only €128 million.
However, this scheme is projected to eventually cost the Irish government, and therefore the Irish tax payers, €1.35 billion.

But hey, we are bailing out the bankers with the already paid bail out and the proposed future NAMA process.
I do feel it is important to stress that it was a minority in these orders that committed the worst abuses. But the abuse was systematic, and as the Ryan Report showed, known to the hierarchy.

The deal done gave protection to many abusers from Irish law, and absolved the hierarchy by sacrificing the named orders.

The agreement was signed just before the Irish general election, 2002, and was not laid before the cabinet for its approval. It then remained unpublished for several months.

In 2003 after brokering the deal, Woods claimed his strong faith made him the most suitable person to negotiate the deal.
In view of this I believe that Opus Dei and other Catholic societies should be made disclose the names of all members employed by the state or in the judiciary.

Woods defended the deal, claimed the Department of Education and Science had the management role in the schools in question and that the state knew all the details when making the deal.
That may well be true, the state allowed the institutions and the virtual establishment of a theocracy after all, but why is the tax payer in terms of burden ten times more liable.

Woods also declined to allow the examination of the the legality of the court orders that committed the child inmates for decades into the industrial school system.
This was a system whereby, on moral grounds, the church could have children taken into their care - and defended this power bitterly, as we will see from the Noel Brown Mother and Child act.

ORDERS FROM EUROPE*
Pat Cox, Irelands primary Eurocrat, took objection to an anti Lisbon leaflet he received in Knock, a place of pilgrimage where the Virgin Mary, Mother of God is alleged to have appeared.
The irony is the leaflet came from a very right wing Catholic group opposed to Lisbon, COIR.
Quite often the Yes camp promote them as the main opposition to the Lisbon treaty. It is to associate all those who would vote No to Lisbon with a small splinter group, and I have written of this smear by association before.

A leaflet COIR produced featured Caravaggio’s “The taking of the Christ”. It is known as the Judas Kiss painting.

Ireland for Europe Campaign Director Pat Cox has brought the leaflet to the attention of the Jesuits who hold the image rights to the centuries old painting.
In line with the new directive from the Irish Hierarchy, the Jesuits stated that COIR did not seek or obtain permission to use this image and that the matter would be pursued. The Jesuits would not allow the use of this image “for such controversial and inappropriate purposes”

In that case any church should remain outside of the political debate.
Pat Cox said he “was offended to see this sacred image being misused by associating it with this shameful and untruthful propaganda”
According to Ireland for Europe there is a clear dividing line between the protection or promotion of Christian values and the publication of false or misleading propaganda in relation to the Lisbon Treaty.

(* this section of the article has been updated further after the conclusion)

LESSONS FROM THE PAST
I do not believe that the church even has a moral right to comment at this point in time since the Ryan report.
And yes, the tax payer is the one who will bail out the church in Ireland in spite of their sins, along with the floundering bankers, failed politicians and reckless speculators.

For so many years, due to theocratic control exercised by a few unelected and unaccountable people over citizens and politicians we had a Gulag system in this republic where sin and crime were synonymous, even condoms were illegal. Because of the power of the Church, civil divorce has only recently been bought into law, whereas annulment was always an option, especially with the right connection.

Single Mothers were forcibly separated from their own babies and interned in Laundries and other institutes.
Rape victims who fell pregnant were also interned, and treated as if they were guilty of some crime.
Quite often we see that both they and their children were subjected to continued abuse.

Dr. Noel Brown, a man who was instrumental in ending the scourge of TB in Ireland was blocked by the church when he attepted to secularise and improve healthcare for mothers and children. He faced many of the accusations that face President Obama today.
It was apparently beter for a child to be institutionalised rather than take the risk in a country 85% catholic that a protestant family might adopt a child, for fear it would lose it's soul.
Browne had earlier also managed to snub the Catholic hierarchy in 1949 when he was the only minister to attend the Church of Ireland funeral of Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland.
The Catholic Church has, and will, play a positive role in Irish society, as have and will other belief systems.
But we come from an Island where more often religion was used to divide and control us.

Lets not forget that in the interests of preserving power the Catholic church has on many other occasions held back the progress of Ireland as a free and sovereign nation.

They came out strongly against Parnell because he was named in a divorce case, and he was Protestant.
This after having achieved more for Irish tenant farmers in his short parliamentary life than the church had achieved in all the years of the feudal system that existed.
In return they got Manooth University.

When the Fenians rose, they were read down from every pulpit in the land, hell was not hot enough and eternity not long enough.

COMPARISONS
The Churches centre of power is a transnational, unelected beaurocracy based in a European city that has a lot of power and influence across the globe.
To the centre of power delegates, selected by a local hierarchy, are sent to consult with the mechanisims of governance from afar.
Their are councils and committees, factions and different group who specialise in certain areas.
Their deliberations are done in camera - behind closed doors, with no accountability or independent oversight - and their decisions have a very real and profound effect for all Catholics.

It is little wonder that the EU as it will be if the Lisbon treaty is bought into law is something that is so familiar to the Irish hierarchy.

The entire republican ideal in Ireland came from Protestant nationalists like Tone and Emmet who did not see the importation of Catholic monarchs as a solution, but the development of a French or American republican system as an Irish answer to an Irish problem.

Catholicism is distinctly monarchical, where men have assumed the right to rule because of their belief in God. Cardinals are called the Princes of the Church for that very reason, that is the position that they hold, that one of them will be the next Pope, the next ruler.
Bishops equate to Barons, Arch Bishops to Earls. It is the same pyramid scheme that evolved from the Roman empire that monarchy did.
As with the UK's coat of arms, where Dieu et mon Doit - that God is my right, and other countries that have a monarchy decided on by accident of birth in the catholic church we have a situation where men elect from among them a man chosen to be the successor of the apostle Simon, Christ’s vicar on earth.
Due to this unquestionable authority derived from the Pope the catholic church in Ireland which has had an undue influence on our elected Governments.

A 5 year old child is no more catholic than he is a member of the fireman’s union.

I think the hierarchy’s primary mission right now should not be to copper fasten their position in Government circles with the self assumed protection of the unborn, but to seek forgiveness and redeem themselves in the eyes of the living victims of abuse

*UPDATE 12/11

In the Irish times on Thursday 10th again we see the link between church and state being used to supress opposition to the Lisbon treaty from any group.

Irish MEPs called on the church to take a stand against the monthly church newspaper Alive for publishing an advert opposing the Lisbon Treaty by a very small group from Cork called Éire go Brách for gods sake!

Alive was set up as a response to pope John Paul II’s call for “an evangelisation that is new in its fervour, new in its methods and new in its expression”.

Until the Lisbon treaty I never heard of such demands being made of such a minor publication, what are the Political clases so scared of ?

Marian Harkin MEP said the claims made in the advert were “disgraceful” and “deliberately constructed to frighten people”.

Éire go Brách's campaign director Máire de Faoite said the paragraph quoted in the advert was contained in an explanatory note on the charter, which was contained in a consolidated version of the EU treaties.

Ms Harkin said the church should take action to ensure that Alive is not being distributed in the porches of any of its churches.
Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness said the advert was scandalous, and the church needed to take on any groups that made statements in its name.
Fr Brian McKevitt, managing editor of Alive, said it was interesting that liberals who proclaim to be in favour of freedom of speech often want to silence criticism.
He said he would not comment on the veracity of the advertisement’s claims. “People have to judge for themselves the advert, like they do for adverts for plumbers in other newspapers”
One supposes that questions will only be raised if they do not tow the Government line.
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Decent Dissent and Dodgy Decisions - Lisbon and NAMA

2009-09-03T20:03:00.008+01:00

POOR POLITICIANS

People who see certainties where others see nuances and shades of meaning are either prophets or a quacks, and our politicians are not prophets.
Our Minister of Finance cannot even accurately predict profits, or lack thereof, from the biggest gamble that Ireland has ever undertaken.
We have seen years of mismanagement and poor decision making of which NAMA is the most recent example, and with the Lisbon treaty we have chosen to say No, to dissent.
Dissent and disagreement with Government is the lifeblood of democracy, it is also essential because every once and a while it is right, and the powers to whom we try to speak are wrong.

One very important lesson came from America, from a courageous commentator Edward R Murrow - but more about him later.

The elected, transitional, holders of power in our state, our employees, continue to impugn the intelligence and the loyalty of the people of the state of Ireland in relation to the European Union.

Some media pundits credit our politicos with a knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing Ireland and Europe which neither common sense nor their track record suggests they deserve.

If our politicians had proven their self declared knowledge, foresight and planning, about finance, the economy, health services etc. we might be able to accept the premise that they knew what the hell they were talking about.

But to date this Government has proven little except their own arrogance and hubris in spite of its failure.
With bank bailouts, NAMA, toxic debts, rising unemployment and a real sense of insecurity and uncertainty their failures have enveloped the country in a fog of fear.
This fog, fear and confusion in addition to the BCI ruling on referendum coverage may yet be used to push through the Lisbon treaty on a second attempt.

THE GREATEST LESSON IN DISSENT

One of, if not the greatest American journalist of the modern era was Edward R Murrow. Never in a thousand years could my writing even come close to how he phrased a warning about Governments who felt they - and they alone - knew everything, dismissed accountability and marginalized dissent. In 1954, in a challenge to the McCarthyite witch hunts he said:

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.
We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men -- not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular"

These words are utterly appropriate to our challenges today.

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty or allow the refusal to accept the Lisbon Treaty to be confused with our commitment to a European Union. Dissent is said to be the highest form of patriotism.

A No vote in a referendum is just that, we do not accept the proposition put before us by our elected legislators, and want a better deal.
We simply want a Union for the benefit of the people and communities, not for the politicians and corporations.

Our country was not created by people who achieved great things with courage, reason and conviction, not fear - and we must "not be driven by fear into an age of unreason based on illusory guarantees and clever editing.

When we dig into Irish history we see despite censure, public ridicule and the real danger of death we have had the incredible fortune to have had leaders who never allowed themselves to be subdued or cowed, and who supported just causes despite their unpopularity.

Our greatest leaders came from hugely diverse backgrounds. Jim Larkin overcame media vilification for Union organization.
James Connolly died for his belief in workers rights. Griffith’s commitment to self determination, O Connell’s belief in the right to vote, Parnell’s belief in fairness, Tone and Emmett’s belief in secular democracy and women’s rights fought for by people like Winifred Carney now buried in an unmarked grave in Milltown cemetary and Constance Markiewicz have all shaped our sense of nationhood.

We must remember that accusation is not proof, the cheap innuendos by Dick Roche and his ilk about funding of the No campaign mean nothing, particularly when dual standards exist in relation to the funding of the Yes groupings.

If the Government had accepted the recommendations of the Standards in public office, this issue would be more transparent and more in the interest of the democratic process but perhaps not in the interests of the Government.

DEALING WITH DISSENT

With other EU states going for parliamentary ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, without plebiscite, the attempt to force through the second Lisbon vote is an appeasement of sorts.

Again, we can learn from history. Dealing with dissent at home so as not to upset Europe was a policy followed in the 1930's by the Chamberlain Government who appeased an unaccountable system in Germany.
Chamberlain knew most of all that the staunchest critics of his European policy had to be marginalized and isolated - his supporters in the media portrayed the foremost critic as, if not totally senile, at best morally or intellectually confused - he was called Winston Churchill. History has taught us that all Chamberlains' certainties were in fact miscalculation and confusion.

That suggests that the office can not only make the man, the office can make the facts. The solemn guarantee Mr. Chamberlain held in his hand after the Munich conference were about as believeable as those Mr. Cowen has shown us.

But by unremittingly repeating these pointless garuantees (about what is not in the treaty) the illusion is created that the context of the treaty rejected by the Irish, as well as the constitution rejected by the French and Dutch, has fundamentally changed.

FIANNA FAIL FIXATION

At the launch of the Fianna Fail Yes campaign on September 2nd 2009 Mr. Cowen aptly demonstrated this arrogance by stating he did not even contemplate the rejection of the Lisbon treaty on a second attempt.

This is possibly the last chance FF have to 'win' an electorial victory before 2012. As the major party in power it is FF who, along with the greens and indies, have the power to put the referendum to the people, again, and have decided to do so, so it is primarily their referendum.

I for one do not want to see a triumphful FF telling us how they assured we won Lisbon. Its their only chance to win anything at this point, with the support of the opposition, corporations and even the church.

If Lisbon goes through they will use it as a further justification to go full term even with a 17% approval rating (i.e. family and friends) and as their are no more local or EU elections in that period, this is almost certainly the last chance people have to voice their dissent at the ballot box until 2012

CONCLUSION

We cannot allow a failing, self serving and corrupt Government, hardly worthy of the legacy of nationhood that they have inherited, or their corporate supporters to use control of the media and the fear of a deeper financial crisis that they themselves precipitated to force us to vote against our own best interests, and the interests of our fellow European citizens.

This country faces a great challenge. With the clear and present danger of financial ruin and longterm hardship, the confusion we as citizens must now address is stark and forbidding.

But note with hope in your heart we have made it through in the past.

The confusion and debate about Lisbon is really about if the Irish Government actually know what they are talking about - and their track record of the management of our country in health, education, financial regulation or economic planning does not engender any belief in their abilities to have made the correct judgement on the Lisbon treaty.

The chance to pause and reflect after democratic rejection has not been used to build the kind agreement that We the People really want, a desire that really exists

We want our leaders to give us a treaty that is accessable, that gives greater democratic accountability and transparency, and if they deliver that we will work with them to develop a better future for all.

Again, as always – thanks for reading. Even if you don’t agree with me – I hope you give some thoughts to the points made

And please let others now about these blogs

Citizen Simon - out

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Corporations, donations, democracy and Lyin'air.con

2009-08-27T17:47:00.011+01:00

PRINCIPLES
I dont feel comfortable when multi-national corporations use their money and influence to promote their own agenda in a country.
Multinational corporations may be 51 out of the top 100 GDP's in the world, but they have lttle 'national' identity left.

Corporate requirements can override the democratic decision making progress of sovereign nations.
We have seen so often the result of the need for corporations to make money takes presidence the most basic human rights and environmental considerations.

We have seen recently in the US how large corporations such as health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies use professional lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and fight universal health care - a human right - by spreading half truths and confusing the basic issue.
The United States, the worlds leading economy is the last developed nation to not have a national health service.

But from the sick denied healthcare in the US to the increased privatization and degrading of private healthcare in Ireland we know the results of the neo liberal economic model, and we will look at this in relation to Lisbon next Thursday.

Indeed, one of the major supporters of the Lisbon treaty in Ireland, Brendan Halligan, already runs a lobbyist company, CIPA (former employers of Andrew Byrne of Generation Yes) who allegedly act on behalf of the tobacco industry in the EU.

This neo-liberal economic trend is global, bank bail outs, toxic debts nationalised, from the child labour sweatshops producing garments to the logging of the Amazon, from the suppression of dissent in Nigeria to the open strip mines in Argentina.

Corporations are not evil, they are simply amoral. Their primary consideration is to make as much money for shareholders as possible.
That is their job.
Reduction of labour costs by using children in the third world where it is allowed or the bypassing of environmental considerations by outsourcing to countries where laxer controls allow for reduced costs all contribute to that increased profit margin and share value.

Several multi-national corporations with operations in Ireland such as Microsoft, Glen Dimplex and Intel have thrown their weight behind the second Lisbon referendum in Ireland, the last democratic obstacle in the way of its implementation.
Intel, Dimplex or Microsoft could cut labour costs in the morning by transferring production to Eastern Europe or other countries, which they no doubt will do unless Irish workers accept reduced pay and conditions.

They tell us that a more efficient EU would sustain economic growth nationally as well as promote international trade.
I agree – but at what cost. I have long said I have no objection to the European Union, provided it is for the benefit of the People of Europe.

Along with them, Ryanair have come onside in the campaign for a Yes vote – so lets deal with them, at least Ryanair is Irish.

COMMENTS ON FUNDING CONTROL
The Chairperson of PANA, Roger Cole said the Ryanair announcement was not a surprise to him. He has said previously that limits must be placed on the amount that private companies could spend in a referendum or election campaign.

This is particularly needed in our democracy in light of the BCI decision not to give equal treatment to both sides of the debate.
It is not reasonable that the Irish media give such coverage to money was being spent by bodies such as Libertas on a No campaign, but have little to say about similar sums of money being spent by companies such as Ryanair and Intel to promote a Yes vote.

The Standards In Public Office Commission, the independent body which oversees spending in elections and referendums, confirmed yesterday there was no spending limit for individuals and companies.

This essentially means we could have a company from the US, the UK, Germany, Russia, China, Algeria or North Korea coming to Ireland and spending vast amounts of money advocating a Yes vote with few restrictions or control.
A spokesperson said the commission, in its annual report, had called for a redefinition of what constituted a “third party”, subject to limits on spending in a referendum campaign.
It argued that the definition should not be determined on the basis of whether an individual or group had received a donation, but should focus instead on how much they spent. They should be regarded as “third parties” if they intend spending over a certain threshold.

Mr Cole said the Irish people had rejected the Lisbon Treaty last year in a democratic vote. “Now they are being forced to vote again on exactly the same treaty…these same firms.....who have a vested interest.....can spend billions of euro bullying the Irish people into submission.”
Well, at least not all of them want to charge us to use a toilet.

RYANAIR SUBSIDIES AND MONOPOLY
An EU court in 2008 backed Ryanair in a battle with state aid regulators on how far small airports can use public money to attract low-cost carriers.

The ruling from the European Union's appeals court allows Ryanair to keep a very sweet deal, a discount of more than €4 million that it received from the Belgian Walloon regional government to help run flights out of the state-owned Charleroi airport.
The Walloon Region gave Ryanair a half-price deal on landing charges that are usually fixed by regulation and promised to compensate the airline if it lost money on any changes to airport charges.
The airport would also help fund Ryanair's costs and pay it €1 per passenger for ground handling — rather than the €10 it charges other airlines.
In return, Ryanair pledged to base two to four aircraft at the airport and turn each around at least three times a day. The deal was for 15 years.

EU regulators ruled in February 2004 that parts of the Ryanair contract were illegal state aid and must be changed, which Ryanair appealed in an EU court.

But recently an EU Court said the European Commission was wrong to demand Ryanair refund the sum in 2004, and antitrust regulators had made a technical mistake when deciding the payments were an illegal state subsidy by not checking whether private investors would also have offered Ryanair low fees to start using the airport.
Mr. O'Leary now says the court decision also makes meaningless other EU investigations into claims that Ryanair received illegal subsidies at eight other airports in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Slovakia

Co-incidentally, it wasonly after the Court ruling Mr. O’Leary announced he favored Lisbon and would campaign for it. The treaty is being supported by Ryanair to the tune of €500,000.

There is also the fact that Mr. O Leary has long wanted to take over AerLingus - his main rival on the Irish market.
This would lead to a monopoly, as stated in the EC ruling of 2007.

But the more recent court favourable judgment on the indirect subsidies from in Belgium seem to have given Mr. O Leary a reason to support the Lisbon Treaty

Ryanair - Shafting you at home

NATIONAL INTEREST Vs COMMERCIAL INTEREST
Ireland is an Island nation. It is vital to the national interest that we have frequent and economic air transport to Europe and the rest of the world.

Aer Lingus was our national airline, but increased privatization encouraged by the EU with regulations on state subsidies and competition is causing problems.

According to the Irish Times August 27 2009 AerLingus is planning a review of its business after reporting a sharp increase in losses due to downward pressure on fares and a highly uncertain outlook.
Aer Lingus losses after tax in the six months to the end of June had widened a massive 242% to €73.9 million on revenue down 12.2% at €555 million.
This is an operating loss of €93 million compared with a shortfall of €23.4 million for the same period a year earlier.

Aer Lingus were guilty in the past of extremely high prices when they had a monopoly on Irish flights, so this made flights very expensive. The arrival of Ryanair competed with this, leading to a reduction in prices. We have learned in Ireland in particular that free and fair competition in the airline business is good.

Ryanair has become the dominant force in Irish aviation, publicly promoting free markets and attacking any subsidy given by governments to state airlines, regardless that they may be needed for strategic reasons.

Ryanair strongly oppose any government interference in their business, as long as they themselves are not the beneficiary, this is a dual standard.

Despite a very public commitment to consumer choice, competition and a free market Ryanair already owns almost 30 per cent of AerLingus (about 4% more than the Irish Government) and said in a statement in 2008 it wanted a “merger of the two airlines into one strong Irish airline group under common ownership”

In December 2008 Aer Lingus rejected a Ryanair €748 million takeover bid, saying the offer significantly undervalued the carrier.
This is probably true in the current economic situation.
In December 2006 Ryanair withdrew its first €1.48 billion bid for AerLingus, due to an investigation by the EC.

The EC has been concerned that the takeover would reduce consumer choice and increase fares. In June 2007, the European Commission announced their decision to block the bid on competition grounds saying the two airlines controlled more than 80% of all European flights to and from Dublin airport.

Despite its dedication to neo-liberal economics, Ryanair is happy to create a monopoly and accept state subsidy, directly or indirectly.

By providing financial support to ensure the Lisbon treaty goes through in its current format, Ryanair and other corporations like Microsoft and Intel place decision making further from the democratic process.
With the money involved they also ensure that their lobbyists have access to or even places with the unelected decision making committees.

To make sure that government remains of, by and for the People, we need a treaty that enshrines democracy answerable to us - not special interest groups and their lobbyists-whether their influence is sought or unsought - it is a danger Eisenhower warned against.

The adage of Tacitus still holds true - that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Again, as always – thanks for reading.

Even if you don’t agree with me – I hope you give some thoughts to the points made

And please let others now about these blogs.
Citizen Simon - out

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Disgard Giscard d'Estaing

2009-08-13T16:01:00.035+01:00

We are looking at a Lisbon Treaty. Let’s take a look at one of its principle architects, Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing.

Today’s France, a democratic and republican nation, Europe’s first, was born out of the revolution of 1789, when the people stood against an unaccountable, expensive and ineffective system of governance.

Among those were killed in the struggle for liberty and equality was a good man, Vice Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Comte d'Estaing.
In 1922 a Monsieur Giscard added "d'Estaing" to the family name because of a rather dubious and distant connection.

WHO'S WHO
Monsieur Giscard "d'Estaing’s" son Jean Edmond married Mademoiselle Marthe Bardoux – herself a great-great-great-granddaughter of King Louis XV through one of his many, many mistresses, Catherine Eléonore Bernard.

In a more amusing look at family history we consider Louis XV "le Bien-Aimé" ("the Beloved") was popular at the beginning his reign.
But he died amongst the most unpopular kings of France.
His lack of morals, inability to effectively reform France and the Monarchy, and the most dismal humiliating diplomatic failing in French history – the loss of North America and India - lost him the affection of his people.

Louis XV was notoriously promiscuous. Now, every man needs a hobby, and he certainly did it with elan. Some mistresses like Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry are as well-known as the king himself, and his affairs with three Mailly-Nesle sisters are documented by the formal agreements into which he entered.
In his later years, Louis XV kept several young mistress’ at a time in secluded living quarters known as the Parc aux Cerfs ("Deer Park"), one of whose inhabitants was the daughter of Daniel O' Murphy - Marie-Louise O' Murphy de Boisfaily, immortalized in a magnificent painting by Boucher.

Another Irish connection was the first person to adversely affect the Kings popularity. Monsignor de Fitz-James, premier aumônier, refused to give absolution unless the king renounced his mistress’. The confession was publicly announced, tarnishing the monarchy. Nevertheless, Louis XV soon returned to his adulterous ways.

The descendent of one of those trysts – a Great-great-great-great-grandson was none other than the man who was the principle architect of the Lisbon Constitution – Valéry Marie René Giscard d'Estaing - His name is often shortened to "Giscard" or even "VGE" by the French media. A less flattering nickname is l'Ex

POLITICAL PROGENY
Giscard was elected to parliament in 1956 with the conservative CNIP. They broke with the Gaullists in 1962 due to the euro-skepticism of President Charles De Gaulle; to hold onto power Giscard supported De Gaulle’s euro-skepticism, refused to resign and founded the Républicains Indépendants (RI). Relations with the Gaullists tensed when Giscard d'Estaing was dismissed from the cabinet in 1966 the group became a political party Fédération Nationale des Républicains Indépendants (FNRI)

In the 1969 presidential campaign, VGE supported the winning candidate Georges Pompidou and returned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
He was seen as part of a new generation of politicians emerging from the senior civil service, the technocrats.
Giscard fought socialist Mitterrand. Supported by his FNRI and benefiting from the divisions in the Gaullist party and defeated Mitterrand with only 50.8% of the vote to become Président de la République in 1974.

BIG BUSINESS BUDDIES
In 1975, he invited the heads of government from major economic powers West Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA to form the Group of Six (now the G8) major economic powers.
This select gang, promoting Reganite/Thatcherite unregulated market policies have in recent years bought the entire world to the brink of economic meltdown in recent years which does not engender confidence in Giscard’s long term view.

MAURITANIAN MURDERS
He supported the corrupt Mokhtar Ould Daddah, a man who in 1961 bought a one party system to Mauritania and was reelected in uncontested elections in 1966, 1971 and 1976.
Giscard ordered fighter jets to deploy in Mauritania in 1977. They propped up the Mauritanian army – mostly forcibly conscripted black Africans from the south of the country. The jets bombed and strafed the camel trains of Polisario freedom fighters in their struggle against military occupation. Daddah was eventually deposed.

THE EMPEROR ROBS
They say you are judged by the company you keep. Most disturbing is VGE's involvement with the Bokassa regime of the Central African Republic (CAR) whose rich soil has uranium vital for France's nuclear energy and weapons programs.
There is probably a piece of CAR on the bottom of the Pacific near Mururoa.
The Central African Republic is also rich in diamonds – and blood.

Giscard supplied the regime of his "friend and family member” Emperor Bokassa I with financial and military backing.
His Highness frequently took Giscard on hunting trips in Africa
A former corporal in the French army Jean-Bédel Bokassa came to power in 1965 overthrowing his cousin David Dacko with the support of Alexandre Banza, an intelligent, ambitious and capable army captain.

In 1968 Banza tired the new President's extravagant spending. Bokassa murdered him.
Le Monde reported that Banza was killed in circumstances "so revolting that it still makes one's flesh creep….Two versions concerning the end circumstances of his death differ on one minor detail. Did Bokassa tie him to a pillar before personally carving him with a knife that he had previously used for stirring his coffee in the gold-and-midnight blue Sevres coffee set, or was the murder committed on the cabinet table with the help of other persons?
Late that afternoon, soldiers dragged a still identifiable corpse, with the spinal column smashed, from barrack to barrack to serve as an example”

In 1972 Bokassa declared himself President for Life of CAR but not content with this in 1977 and with an incredibly expensive imperial coronation ceremony Corporal Jean-Bédel became Emperor Bokassa I.
At over 20 million dollars the coronation consumed one third of the impoverished CAR's annual budget and all of France's aid that year.

Despite growing concern about human rights abuses Giscard sent a battalion of troops to secure the ceremony; lent aircraft to the Emperor’s government, and even assigned French Navy personnel to support the orchestra of the land locked state.

Giscard’s fraternal feelings for Bokassa were perhaps eroded after riots and a massacre of children. Between 17 April and 19 April 1979 elementary school students were arrested for protests against wearing the expensive, government-required school uniforms that were only sold by a company that belonged to one of his 17 wives. Around one hundred were killed.
According to Amnesty International's report, Bokassa was personally involved with some of the killings beating some of the children to death.

A coup using French troops returned Bokassa’s deposed cousin to power later that year.
Rumours still abound that he ate body parts from opponents himself.
Even if these allegations of cannibalism are untrue, there is plenty of evidence of the extreme brutality of Bokassa's rule. Political rivals were murdered or tortured, and he certainly fed opponents to lions and crocodiles in his personal zoo.

DODGY DIAMONDS GEEZER
In a related incident, 1979, Giscard was reported by the Canard Enchaîné to have accepted diamonds as personal gifts in 1973 from Bokassa — who fled the coup to France with looted millions from the Central African Republic's treasury, but was still given asylum under rules concerning service in the French military.

Official gifts legally are property of the Republic of France, not the office holder.

KING OF THE CASTLE
In 2005, perhaps inspired by his friend the Emperor, Giscard and his brother with support from the local municipality, purchased the castle of Estaing, Aveyron - formerly a possession alleged relative Admiral d'Estaing. A number of major newspapers in several countries questioned their motives and some hinted at self-appointed nobility and Grand Pere’s usurped historical identity.

I suppose that the other, actual, ancestral pile, Versailles, was not on the market.

In another delusion of grandeur in 2003, Giscard took a seat on the Académie Française; critics pointed out that he had written only a single novel, Le Passage, of dubious quality – this acceptance is particularly inappropriate when one remembers the seat he took belonged to the Senegals magnificent poet and President Leopold Sedar Senghor, one of Africa’s most important intellectuals and leaders.

DEATH PENALTIES
Louis XV took time out for the first drawing and quartering seen in France for 147 years, and the last example of this barbaric practice in France.

Although Giscard said he had "deep aversion against capital punishment" he did not commute several death sentences during his presidency. As with his ancestor he oversaw the last executions of a type in France, this time using the guillotine.

The controversial case of Christian Ranucci, convicted of murder, raises doubts. Giscard refused to commute the death penalty only ten days after the case's arrival to his office, much quicker than the usual clemency process.
A book by respected journalist Gilles Perrault disputed Ranucci’s involvement in the crime. In 2005, other new claims were made that Michel Fourniret, a serial killer who murdered at least 9 girls had something to do with this case and could have been the real murderer.

By not abolishing the death penalty he kept France as the last country in the EU to apply it. The death penalty finally abolished when socialist Mitterrand defeated Giscard in 1981.

FAILURE IN FRANCE
After his 1981 defeat by Mitterrand, he retired temporarily from politics.
In 1984, he regained his seat in Parliament and won the presidency of the regional council of Auvergne.

A la Vladimir Putin Giscard hoped to become prime minister of France after the re-election of Mitterrand with the theme of "France united", but he was not chosen for this position.

In 1995 Giscard suffered a humiliating defeat when he was defeated in a bid for the mayoralty of Clermont-Ferrand.

Following yet another defeat in the regional elections 2004, he decided to leave partisan politics and to take his seat as a de jure member of the French Constitutional Council as a former president of the Republic.

Some of his actions there, such as his campaign in favor of the Treaty establishing the European Constitution, were criticized as unbecoming to a member of this council, which should embody nonpartisanship and should not appear to favor one political option over the other.
Indeed, the question of the membership of former presidents in the Council was raised at this point, with some suggesting that it should be replaced by a life membership in the Senate

EUROPEAN EXPOSURE
Giscard has generally been seen as a proponent of greater European Union (except of course when it was politically expedient support a Euro-skeptic government and retain power)

From 2002 to 2003, a period when he could not get elected Mayor of Clermont-Ferrand or to the local council he served as President of the Convention on the Future of Europe.
In October 2004, the European heads of state, gathered in Rome, approved and signed the now democratically rejected European Constitution based on a draft strongly influenced by Giscard 's work at the Convention.

Giscard told MEP’s that the Lisbon Treaty is essentially the same as the rejected EU Constitution.
"What was [already] difficult to understand will become utterly incomprehensible, but the substance has been retained… Why not have a single text?
The only reason is that this would look too much like the constitutional treaty. Making cosmetic changes would make the text more easy to swallow"

Giscard wrote in The Independent of London in 2007
"The difference between the original Constitution and the present Lisbon Treaty is one of approach, rather than content ... The proposals in the original constitutional treaty are practically unchanged….Why this subtle change? Above all, to head off any threat of referenda by avoiding any form of constitutional vocabulary”

In an interview with Le Monde in June 2007, he stated that
"public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals we dare not present to them directly"

Regardless of the peoples choice he is determined on pushing through HIS Lisbon treaty/constitution - by hook, crook or title

IRISH INTERFERENCE
In February 2009 Giscard told the Irish Times that the Irish should hold a second Lisbon Treaty referendum in late April, or early May – and not October, as this would occur
“at the moment when the new European Commission will be chosen for a five-year term...Until the Irish answer, people will not know whether it is to be 17 or 27, so there will be confusion”
The basic problem here is that there is no confusion.
We the people want 27 commissioners, one for each EU member - Giscard still wants only 17. Despite the promises that we have received on a commissioner Giscard maintained his long-held objections to each member state having a commissionership.
We also want a clearer treaty dealing with the issues that concern us, not what a technocrat believes is of concern to us.

Giscard in the same interview using the normal untrue Yes campaign scare tactics he implied that the EU big states will combine together and sideline all EU small member states if Ireland rejects the treaty a second time.

He admitted that
“the process was a difficult one in terms of democratic support”
This much is true, and despite the comprehensive rejection by French and Dutch citizens in 2005 Giscard continued to actively lobby for its passage in other European Union states.
In the LSE in 2006, he said that:
"The rejection of the Constitutional treaty by voters in France was a mistake that should be corrected."
Judging by the department map of the result, that would have taken an enormous correction, so Sarkozy ratified it without going to the people.

Giscard has also said
“It is difficult to ask citizens to approve a text that they cannot fully understand”.
The problem for him is that most of the Irish do.
The Irish are amongst the most politically astute and aware people in Europe.
In the last European Parliament elections 2009 Irelands turnout was nearly 59%.
The EU average was 43%, France had below 41%

Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said in June 2009 “Everybody says we do not know enough about Europe…..I can tell you in my humble opinion that the ordinary people of Ireland know a damn sight more about the intricacies of the European framework than nearly all the members of the other 27 states”

VALERY'S VANITY
Giscard has been rejected by the French as a leader. Despite democratic rejection by the French and Dutch of his constitution, and the rejection of the treaty by the Irish which he himself states is de facto the same document he continues to push it - we need to ask why?

Giscard is a spent force in French politics. He cannot even get elected Mayor of a minor French town or the local administration.
This is his last chance at a lasting legacy. The Lisbon treaty is as much a vanity project as his Castle and his membership of the Académie française and as vain as the coronation of his “friend and family member” Corporal Bokassa.

L’Ex’s commentary about the Irish political process is as illegitimate as his name or his Great-great-great-grandmother, and it’s not welcome.

The Irish are the only nation in the EU holding a referendum on the treaty – despite Giscard’s stated desire to head off this democratic danger to his vanity project.

In 1745 at a terrible cost Irishmen played a vital role in saving Louis XV and France from the Austro-Hungarians Hapsburg Empire and its allies at the Battle of Fontenoy. The banner above under which they fought for France, Louis XV and Ireland says In hoc signo vinces is the rendition in Latin of the Greek phrase en touto nika, meaning "in this sign you will conquer".

In a bizarre twist of fate we find ourselves in the position of defending French democracy from a descendent of the Hapsburg aristocracy, the current Elysee Palace resident Nicolas Sarközy (de Nagy-Bocsa) whose father was a Hungarian aristocrat.
This is a man who pushed through the Lisbon treaty despite the democratic decision of the French People.

Perhaps we need a new flag for the Irish in the defense of the French people?

Giscard may have wanted an April/May election – that would suit me. We have a tradition of summer revolt. In May 1798 the Young Irishmen rose, in July 1848 the Fenians rebelled, and in April 1916 the Easter rising took place.

This year maybe we Irish will have an October Revolution.

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Trying to join the dots - IIEA, CIPA, Ireland for Europe and Generation Yes

2009-08-11T17:07:00.013+01:00

Financial ties between unaccountable groups and Government bodies are of concern to me.

Not only have we had - as I wrote about last time - the supression of dissent by the BCI, we also have a tax free and unaccountable charity in reciept of hundreds of thousands of tax euros and the rapid promotion of an 'independent' youth group who support the drive to force through a yes vote.

BRENDAN HALLIGAN - IIEA and CIPA
According to the Phoenix magazine the power behind the Yes to Lisbon Mark II campaign is a former (appointed) MEP Brendan Halligan (73)
As General Secretary of the Labor Party in Ireland he bitterly opposed EEC membership in 1972.

He has since metamorphosed into the Chairman of the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA), which receives hudreds of thousands of Euro from government departments and state funded bodies yearly.
Among the Members of the Comite d'Honneur of the IIEA are Bertie Ahern, Charlie McCreevy, Albert Reynolds, Pat Cox, Ray Mac Sharry and the bauld Pádraig Flynn

Following the failure of the Irish Alliance for Europe(the one that came up with the wrong result) it has been apparently decided that the next vote on the same issue will keep politicians in the background and that personalities from civic life — youth, women etc — would front the campaign.

There were efforts to find interesting celebrities like soccer players and U2’s manager, but it was soon realized by the Yes campaign that many such people were usually unable to answer half-serious questions about the EU or the complexities of the Lisbon Treaty.

ANDREW BYRNE - GENERATION YES
Enter Andrew Byrne, former president of Trinity students’ union, and one of Halligan’s employees at his consultancy CIPA, who helped to set up Generation Yes.

A former member of the European Youth Parliament (a glorified youth club set up for secondary school students) he contnued to volunteer for the EYP and was responsible for bringing the group’s national conference to Dublin in 2007. Meanwhile, he attended plenty of talks and meetings of the IIEA.

Andrew Byrne had joined the Green Party and chaired the Trinity branch of the Young Greens during the senior party’s switch from an anti to pro-EU stance.
Andrew got himself onto the senior party’s national executive, where he now rubs shoulders with the now pro-European Green leadership.
This was a reversal in Green policy as traditionaly they had been against the threat to nutrality, workers rights and believed in more, not less, democratic oversight and accountability.

In autumn 2008 Andrew, Bart Storan (his students union election campaign director) and Claire Tighe (his deputy president) – started work on Generation Yes.
To raise funds for Generation Yes they fired out a hundred or so letters to like-minded souls outlining what they intended to do, some of which must have included Brendan Halligan, Pat Cox, Brigid Laffan and a clutch of other faces from Halligan’s IIEA.

Brendan Halligan – who knew Andy Byrne well from his attendance at various IIEA talks and meetings – needed someone to work on a few Euro-related projects.
It’s hardly surprising that by November 2008, around the same time as he was working on Generation Yes, Andrew Byrne found himself in Brendan Halligan’s employ at CIPA(Halligan’s lobbying company, which worked on behalf of the tobacco industry)

Interestingly, in echoes of the controversy over whether Declan Ganley’s staffers were employed by Libertas or Rivada – Andrew Byrne claims he was not employed by CIPA but by Halligan personally.
Obviously the multi-national tobacco corporations are not the people our clean, green and keen Mr.Byrne wants to be associated with.

While the media were rigorous in their pursuit of Libertas’s funding, they have shown no appetite for applying similar rigor to Brendan Halligan’s pro-EU bodies, particularly in relation to their murky funding arrangements (largely public funds coming from government departments).

Indeed, The Irish Times, Independent News and Media, and RTE have all been listed in the past as donors and corporate members of Halligan’s IIEA.

The Generation Yes team - who seem to want to appear completely disconnected from the politicians - along with other Yes campaigners have met the minister for Europe Dick Roche and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Iveagh House to plan their campaign.
This is not independent action, this is co-ordinated support.

In December 2008, Andy attended his first meeting of a group that included Halligan, Pat Cox and UCD professor Brigid Laffan, all were keen to devise a campaign strategy that worked and Andy was involved in the creation of Ireland for Europe.

When Andrew Byrne had to choose between Generation Yes and Ireland for Europe Pat Cox suggested he go forward for the position of chief of operations and he cruised in, leaving Generation Yes to Bart and Claire and others.

Not a bad move for Andrew Byrne, who has very quickly ascended to the vanguard of the Euro movement and the Green Party.

PAT COX - IRELAND FOR EUROPE
Ireland for Europe is a much grander affair than Generation Yes, and a much bigger challenge for Andrew.
Large ads in the Sunday and daily newspapers suggest that it’s very well funded, too.
He is involved in a far more impressive organization now, so he doesn’t have to worry unduly about Generation Yes, who still maintain their Leeson Street Office – donated by a business man (?) and their use of IBEC for printing, meetings etc.

Andy Byrne of Generation Yes may find he has less work to do than he anticipated, but he won’t be too bothered; he’s already made his bones with the Greens and the Euro Mafia.

When The Phoenix asked Ireland for Europe about their funding situation, they trotted out the same old line about donations being received “in accordance with the Electoral Acts”, “treated with absolute confidentiality”, compliance with the Standards in Public Office regulations, etc, etc.

It’s a line Andrew Byrne has learned as well and he was less than forthcoming on the subject of who provided the Generation Yes offices on 39 Lower Leeson Street – right to privacy of donors, you understand.

Incidentally a quick whois search on Aug 11 2009 reveals that generationyes.ie is owned by Generation Yes Ltd, contact person Andrew Byrne

IIEA FUNDING
Now - back to the funding of the IIEA, a think tank and a registered charity who pay no tax.
They used to publish detailed accounts but ceased doing so after the Phoenix published a series of articles about the extent to which the Institute was funded by the public.

In April of 2008, due to the McKenna judgment the IIEA was reported as saying it could not take sides in the Lisbon referendum as it is a registered public charity (it pays no taxes) and is in receipt of hundreds of thousands of tax-payers money.

In times when there are meant to be public service cutbacks like in hospitals, when we are borrowing 50M per day according to Morning Ireland, one has to take a closer look at the financial set-up at IIEA.

Repeated demands for scrutiny of the institute’s finances are normally met with a blank silence.
Recently TD Finian McGrath demanded answers in a series of parliamentary questions to all fifteen government departments that have been funding the institute for nearly 20 years.

Mr. Halligan’s financial MO is to secure annual membership subscriptions from nearly all government departments and state agencies.

In total, the IIEA received over €820,000 in 2006 with much of this coming from public funds.

In the early 90's, government departments to become corporate members of the IIEA, in most cases donating an annual sum of £1,000.

Inflation would account only partially for the 500% circa increase in this stipend by 2008.
According to twelve of the departments that responded to McGrath, each now donates an annual sum of €6.000 to the IIEA.

In January 2008 the Dept. of Arts, Sport and Tourism, under Seamus Brennan, decided not to renew membership “as part of an effort to reduce the department’s administrative costs”.

Halligan, well known to the Department of Foreign Affairs (They’ve funded his IIEA for over 15 years) was more than compensated for this decision by donating €32,626 (over five times the corporate membership) to the institute in 2007.
This was made up of payment for the Communicating Europe Initiative and €23,626 for consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty.

Then there are the plethora of tax funded government entities such as the Higher Education Authority, the local Government Management Services Board, the NESC and dozens of other taxpayer-funded organisations.

Just why the DPP, the Attorney General and the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas should be funding Halligan’s super quango is beyond me.
And subscribers to the VHI may be equally curious to know why it is listed as an ongoing contributor to the institute.

FAILURE OF PURPOSE

The IIEA, a self-governing body, tax exempt and unaccountable registered charity, intended to be independent of political, economic and social interests is certainly not living up to its charter.
According to its website, the Institute represents no sectoral viewpoint and expresses no corporate views of its own. Views expressed in the Institute's publications and at its conferences, seminars and briefings are those of the authors and speakers

Despite this, and the McKenna ruling, since the Lisbon defeat, the IIEA has been busy preparing arguments in favour of

a) a second referendum and
b) the need for a Yes vote this time round.

In a lengthy tome sent to all Oireachtas members and hundreds of other decision makers (157 pages costing €20 a copy, courtesy of the taxpayer) the charitable institute warns of catastrophe should Ireland fail to ratify the Lisbon Treaty next time round.

The IIEA, despite its official, and legal, political neutrality is unashamedly pro-Lisbon and has produced literature and propaganda in favor of Lisbon and employed people to promote the Yes agenda at great cost to the tax payer.

IIEA literature has said if government did not decide to seek ratification, the document argues, “the damage would be irreparable” for Europe itself, while the implications for Ireland “range from the disastrous to the catastrophic”.

Halligan went so far in his scare tacticw as to speculate in a letter to the Irish Times on July 10 2009 that a No vote would result in our being excluded from the EU -which is something that cannot happen.

Using the usual scare tactics the IIEA has said the electorate votes No a second time, then Ireland might have to leave the EU; Irish farmers would lose out on CAP funding; we would lose all regional and any other EU funding; we might have to leave the euro currency and all foreign investment would be threatened.

All are untruths, if we say No it should force our elected representitives
But as Eddie Vedder says, drilling for fear makes the job simple.

These scare tactics propagated by the IEAA and associates, which we the people are paying for are simply untruths and lies.

We need to vote No to get a better and fairer deal for ourselves and our fellow European citizens.

Our elected representives should use the chance to pause and reflect and build the kind Europe that We the People really want – a democratic collective of nations for peace and prosperity who respect each other, not to repackage the same rejected and unwanted treaty that denies peoples democratic voice.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read - let others know about the blog, even if you dont agree with me I hope you at least consider the opinions and vote.

Citizen Simon out

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Balance of coverage - Freedom of the Press

2009-08-10T17:18:00.016+01:00

An independent and free media are cornerstones of a modern and open democracy.

Traditionaly on matters of referendum in the state, both sides of a debate are given equal time and funding on a question put to the people, as constitutional changes are different to politics as usual.
But a Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) conference who are meant to ensure this balance and fairness in state media have been told the rules are a "charter for every awkward squad".

The rules have now been changed. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

The BCI are meant to be an independent statutory organisation responsible for a number of key areas of activity with regard to television and radio services in Ireland.
Part of that is to ensure fair and balanced poltical coverage - for that reason this decision is unacceptable.

The constitution, the contract between the elected and the electorate, and referenda on that contract are the cornerstone of our democracy.
Any changes to the constitution must be debated openly and fairly.

Just because the result is not to a Governments liking does not them the right to suppress debate and dissent.
Part of democracy is that the Government must listen to dissenting voices who do not promote violence or hatred.
Reduction or restriction on airtime by the states broadcaster is supresson of debate.

Dont forget the 1948 European councils declaration of human rights included article 10, that Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority

In Ireland the state through a licence fee partially covers the cost of our public broadcaster RTE.
Perhaps it is a question of 'He who pays the piper calls the tune'

Broadcasters are no longer required to allocate exactly the same amount of time to both the Yes and No campaign when it comes to editorial coverage.
It now appears each political party will be given equal time.

Considering the fact that a great deal of opposition comes from groups such as PANA and the Peoples Alliance who are not in political parties, this will skew coverage.

The only parties that oppose Lisbon are Sinn Fein and a independents.

The Greens have sacrificed their morals and independence in a desperate bid for political survival.
I find this very disheartning, but with Andrew Byrne on the executive, it seems the party has changed.
Despite their traditionally strong stance on non-alliance and workers rights the current Greens elected or appointed to the Dail and Senate put their personal political survival before the grass roots of the party and the good of the Nation.

Our reminants of Civil War politics, a discredited and unpopular Fianna Fail and an uninspiring Fianna Gael - tweedle dum and tweedle dumber, or two cheeks of the same arse - are also backing this re-run of the same referendum with the meaningless garuantees given by Brussels.

Having lost the debate on the treaty the Yes side now are creating a skewed pitch so they can make unfounded, misleading and alarmist claims about a No vote being a vote for withdrawal from the EU or withdrawal from the Eurozone.

But it is an example of media manipulation by the Government which disturbs me.
We have seen examples of this before, and discussed them on this blog.

We have seen how disproportionate coverage of the idiot Justin Barrett was used to smear the No campaign in the second Nice Treaty.
In the first Lisbon Treaty Declan Ganley had unproven allegations over funding thrown in his direction, however, if you throw enough shit at a wall - some will stick, regardless of the truth.
Similar questions about Andrew Brne in CIPA were never really explored.

There is no official public funding for groups in a referendum campaign, although questions remain about Generation Yes,CIPA, Ireland for Europe and the IIEA.
Lack of funding is a severe disadvantage for less affluent groups.

To balance this, airtime on public stations has normally been split evenly between both sides of the argument, which helps groups with low funds which wouldn’t be able to buy a great amount of airtime.

In past referenda this protocal was followed, RTE took great care to give both camps the equal amount of airtime, but it was often perceived by observers that members of the Lisbon No-Camp were treated with less respect by the hosts than the representatives of the Yes-Side.

The Questions and Answers program was a great platform for debate, but this is not scheduled prior to the Lisbon II vote.
This is hardly surprising when Dr. Paul Anthony McDermott, probably the country's most eminent constitutional-law expert, said on Q&A that the 'assurances' gotten by Cowen were worthless

McDermott on assurances when they were 'leaked'- June 15 2009
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0615/qan...63057,null,230
Strangely in the show notes he is not listed being on the panel for the epsiode, hence the RTE google application search does not find it.

Also worth seeing McDermott on a second referendum - November 17 2008
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1117/qanda_av.html?2450381,null,230

The budget of the Referendum Commission is public, and Government spending on the campaign should be monitored by the press.
However, editorial policy in the Irish Times and Independent are pro Lisbon.

The use of taxpayers’ money for the Yes campaign by the government in Lisbon 1 was unfair as the No side didn’t have access to public funds.
We will look more at funding and media manipulation in the near future

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Blair, Bibles and Bullets - Bollox to that

2009-07-16T09:37:00.012+01:00

In probably the worst kept secret in the EU, Tony Blair is being promoted for President of the European Union. Today’s UK independent has an article on it

There is, of course, no official list of contenders for a new Euro-job which will only exist if the Lisbon treaty is fully approved and ratified by all EU countries, including Ireland in October 09.

But Mrs. Kinnock, visiting the European Parliament in Strasbourg, made clear the UK Government would be pushing him as the man to run Europe for up to five years under new treaty arrangements.

He has also received Gordon Browns endorsement as President.
What galls me is the arrogance of these people, assuming the position will exist.
Until the Irish will do what their told to, and vote yes, this is carts before horses.
This unelected post is still a new factor - and sorry, being selected is not being elected, I don’t vote for county councilors to pick my TDs.
Mr. Blair has been endorsed by Gordon Brown, and was previously supported by Sarkozy. He is also very close to Berliosconi. I for one do not like the idea of Mr. Blair acting in any capacity, titular or executive, as head of the EU.

This is a man who led his country to war on a lie, causing tens of thousands of deaths.

A man delayed a ceasefire causing slaughter of the civilian population of the Gaza strip .

A man who left the UKs labour party mired in sleaze, not least the halting of a corruption inquiry into the sale of fighter jets to a totalitarian regime.

I believe that faith is a personal issue, but I get very nervous when leaders make life and death decisions based on their personal consultations with God.

Apparently Blair believed strongly at the time, that intervention in Kosovo, Sierra Leone – Iraq too – were all part of the Christian battle

On departure from No. 10 Downing Street, Tony became a Catholic in 2007.
He then decided - as always- the system was wrong and he had been sent to right it, and argued that it is time for a church he has just joined to "rethink" its views.

His new found religious fervour is expanding, he has set up the Tony Blair Faith Foundation!

Just about every public utterance he makes is now about “faith”.

The London Evening Standard reported that: “When Blair met Barack Obama at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, where the former PM was a principal speaker, Tony insisted that the President should kneel and pray with him before they talked.”

In the speech, Blair made 31 references to God.
In my opinion we are looking at a messianic complex.

With regards to the still to be confirmed EU Presidency, one EU official said: "The difficulty is that no one has come up with a proper job description. People say the exact nature of the job will be shaped by whoever is appointed." [note - not 'elected' - so much for democracy]

Bear in mind a comment from another MP in the UK - William Hague (Con) the shadow Foreign Secretary, said the former prime minister should be let "nowhere near the job".
He said: "The creation of a new EU President could be enormously damaging for Europe.
Any holder is likely to try to centralise power for themselves in Brussels and dominate national foreign policies. In the hands of an operator as ambitious as Tony Blair, that is a near certainty."
In earlier postings I have written about this, the danger of centralisation of power, with which we have seen Blair at his worst, surrounding himself with yes men and women.

Those who disagreed with him were driven out, particularly Jack Straw on the insistence of the Bush Administration.

To me the most cynical move was dealing with a threat to his position and removing Mo Mowlam as Northern Ireland secretary at a very delicate time in the Peace Process, as her popularity and more traditional Labour values made her a potential rival.
He moved her to a move to the relatively lowly position of Cabinet Office Minister. Mowlam had previously denounced the post as "Minister for the Today program", and resented being appointed to it.

She was replaced by a man who epitomises corruption in Europe and the UK.

Lord Madelson has resigned twice over corruption and abuse of power - but his slavish dedication to Blair has ensured survival and success, a credit to the clientism of Mr. Blair

Blair has systematically dismantled Britain’s civil rights as shown in the must see, excellent documentary on youtube- Taking Liberties

Also, in this vein it is also worth watching Naomi Klein's documentary "End of America"

My greatest fear is that this type of draconian legislation, justified by the threat of terrorism, will be introduced on a pan european basis.

Dont say it cant happen - because it has already and could happen again.

If there is one reason to vote No - its No to Blair, and only the Irish have the God given right and not Blair driven fight to do this

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The Stroke Sucks

2009-06-12T17:32:00.013+01:00

Court

It is no wonder Ireland is rapidly going down the tubes. We have a situation where the Law is not enforced in relation to standards in public service.

In the recent local elections, East County Galway Loughrea electoral area, Michael 'Stroke' Fahy of Ardrahan was re-elected.

In Ireland the nickname “stroke” is for someone good at “pulling strokes” - that is getting things done in a sly way for family, friends and supporters.

Now Mr Fahy has pulled a big Stroke for himself - In 2004 he resigned from FF when it emerged that he was at the centre of a Garda investigation. He continued to serve as an independent councillor.

After due process and a Jury trial in 2007 the Stroke was finally jailed in respect of the erection of more than a mile of fencing on his land. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison and fined €75,000.

A Jury at Galway Circuit Criminal Court found him unanimously guilty on seven charges brought under the Larceny and Theft and Fraud Offences Acts arising from the erection of boundary fencing on his land under a local authority improvement scheme

At his conviction, the Judge - Mr Groarke - told him that the most aggravating factor was the serious breach of trust by an elected public representative, who had defrauded the very body to which he had been elected to a position of trust.

Passing sentence, Judge Groarke said that while the offences were serious enough in themselves, Fahy had attempted to implicate an innocent man and had shown little concern or remorse.

He had displayed "bombast, bluster and bluff" in the witness box while he gambled with the reputations of honest men.

Support

In an attempt to remove him a motion was entered.

A councillor may be deemed to have resigned his seat if absent from meetings of the authority for a continuous period of six months, and he had spent 7 months in prison - but there is provision within the Local Government Act for the local authority to take into account a councillor's illness or failure to attend "in good faith for another reason".

Jail is hardly a measure of good faith

On September 11 2007 he got another unanimous verdict.

This time the backing of his council colleagues for his bid to hold onto his seat - the defeat of a motion apparently aimed at heading to have him removed from his seat for failing to attend council meetings - a bit tricky when in prison

Around 19 of the councillors of the 30 who were in power of the time have been re-elected

What is wrong with them?

Why are they willing to support a convicted thief who tried to damage honest council staff ?

On Pay???

It actually gets worse.

What makes this whole case galling is that after finally being incarcerated - due to the support of the other elected councillors - the council had to continue to pay Stroke even though he was in jail for defrauding the council
- and could not attend meetings - i.e - do the job for which he was being paid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was apparently because of the appeal process.

Stroke confirmed he received the payments when contacted by the Irish Independent.
Thats our money - being paid to a convict who is in jail when he was meant to be working for us!

Stroke said he would have lost his council seat if the payments had stopped.

Fahy refused to say whether he was able to provide a service to his constituents while he was in prison. "I've no comment on that," he said.

He received a total of €21,083 in wages, expenses and allowances from the council in 2006.
He received a total of €20,298 in wages and conference expenses in 2007.

Stroke said the conference expenses, which totaled almost €3,700, were claimed for conferences he attended prior to his incarceration.

He said absolutely no expenses were claimed by him during his time in jail - one would hope so.

Of course, on his release – and at liberty on appeal he has fought and won another election, and one assumes he was paid by the council through 2008 and 2009.

Re-election
Now, we actually have laws against criminals running for office.
Certain people are disqualified from becoming members of a local authority:

People who have been imprisoned for a term longer than 6 months.
People who have been convicted of fraud or dishonest dealings, corrupt practice or acting while disqualified.
(This is for 5 year after end of sentence, not 5 bloody weeks)

People who have failed pay local authority charges. People who have failed to comply with an order of a court to pay money due to a local authority.

Also excluded are members of the European Commission, Parliament or Courts, A Minister of the Government, the Chairman of the Dáil and the Chairman of the Seanad.
Judges, The Comptroller and Auditor General, Members of an Garda Siochana (Irish police force) or a full-time member of the Irish defence forces.

Civil servants such as teachers, health board officials etc. are also excluded!!!

It seems to me if I dont pay a parking fine - I cant run, but even after defrauding tens of thousands, and being convicted he can ?

The reason he could run again it appears is even though he had served eight months when the Court of Criminal Appeal struck down the conviction and ordered a retrial.

So he ran - and won.

Two months after his release he has had his case listed for retrial in Galway Circuit Criminal Court. Although the case has been referred to the Galway courts by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), there is speculation that it will be sent to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on the grounds that it would be difficult to convene a jury in Galway that would be unaware of the original trial.

Friends say that news of the retrial has come as an enormous shock to him. I find that hard to believe.

How much more will this man cost?

Regardless of court costs incurred by the tax payer so far, don’t forget that the Stroke is perhaps the longest serving member of Galway CoCo, he has been in the Council since 1979.
That’s 30 years.Each outgoing councilor is entitled to something in the region of EUR 3500 per year served, so to be conservative – lets say 3000 per annum severance, that’s 90K if not more.

What a Country? Feck that, What a County!

To those 18,292 (58.9% of the district) of you who went out and voted - I applaud you - even if you voted for this guy - and a lot of you did.

But the other 12679 of you who did not, and could have stopped a convicted corrupt politician being re-elected, I have one thing to say -

Ardrahan - You Arseholes, What have you done?

UPDATE 2010===============================
Props to http://ballyhaunis.blogs.ie/ and the boys and gals at boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=99

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Apathy and Participation - Questions and Answers (maybe)

2009-06-05T22:51:00.007+01:00

Well, yesterday I travelled from Holland to Cork - overnighted and came home to Connemara to vote in European and local elections.

I dont expect others to go to those lengths, but there is a common attitude that if you dont vote, then dont complain.

One thing that was dissapointing was my local polling station is across the road from a pub.
I was tired after so much travel, so after voting I went in for a coffee.

There were a lot of people there, mostly young, getting drunk - had been there all day, and could not be bothered to cross a two lane country road and vote.

I find that very frustrating.

It is obvious that the only long term solution to voter apathy is education.
But at a time when inner cities have a voter turnout as low as 19% there needs to be a more proactive and radical short term solution.

I think there are two ways to improve democratic participation in the short term.

One is to make voting compulary, with a small fine if you dont vote - e.g 50 Euro or something of that nature, I believe this system is used in Austria and Belgium.
One wonders how many people who dont vote 'on principle' would then stay away from the polling stations.

The other method - which I think would be better - is a reward system.

You get far more with a carrot than with a stick.

Every week thousands of people willingly pay money to enter the Irish National lottery.
The vast majority will not recoup their stake - and know this.

From the national lottery several millions are used to help out on public projects like sport, arts and culture.

We average a national vote or election roughly every 2.5 years between local, national, european, presidential and referenda.

So we set aside - say a million Euro from lottery funding for each election, in a program to encourage participation in the democratic process. It costs the state nothing.

All a person needs to do to qualify is turn up at the polling station, take their ballot and do what they want with it. They can vote, they can spoil the ballot, they can put it in the box blank if they wish - but by turning up at the station, they qualify to potentially win by lottery a small prize, say 50 or 100 Euro.

All anyone would need to do is participate, and your name goes in a draw. No one is forced to vote but everyone is certainly encouraged to do so.

I really think that this would raise the turnout to a very high level - your chances of winning are quite high.

Some purists believe that this is bribing the electorate, that it somehow cheapens the process, but it seems our education system has failed to indoctrinate the importance of participation in a democracy - our politicians have certainly failed to inspire.

There have been few figures in recent times who have had that ability, in Ireland the late, lamented Tony Gregory is the only one who springs to mind.

Those who are purists could even decline to be entered for the draw.

So when the politicians speak of participation, and the importance of voting, why dont they do something more proactive about it.

In a cynical sense I do understand that in some ways politicians dont really care about apathy, the people voting are generally politically minded, so it maintains the status quo.

They do not want new, unpredictable voters. Apathy is one of the allies of stagnation.

There may also be a fear in the larger parties that this new dynamic will alter carefully calculated campaigns.

If the turnout in this election is higher than normal, then it is only because of the fact people are so angry at the current administrations failures.

I have spoken with many voters who are voting against the current Government as opposed to voting for the opposition or on local issues.

I think this has been the most negative election I have witnessed.
It is time for a change, but its also the time to change the way we do do things in our democracy.
Radical solutions such as a positive prize fund is one way.

Lowering the voting age to 16 to engage voters at a younger age is another option.

Ireland really needs to look at improving the way our postal voting system works for people working away, the UK's system is far better.

Another thing we could consider is a list system for national elections, breaking away from constituancy politics at a national level.

This essentially means that I could vote for a candidate in Cork if I consider that person to be the best for a job that is done at a national level.

Yes this system has potential flaws, but when one looks at some of the local patronage and cronyism at a local level, it certainly begins to look attractive.

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Neutrality undermined by lies and deception

2009-06-01T17:32:00.007+01:00

The main thing to remember in the Lisbon treaty/constitution debate in relation to neutrality is that we have a very recent precedent.

The concerns expressed by the No to Nice II campaign, which included the Green Party, in terms of assurances on neutrality were proved to be accurate.

It does seem that when the Greens entered Government they left their principles and beliefs at the door.

One concern about Nice II was that we would become more closely aligned with NATO, or its subgroup PfP (Partnership for Peace)

In 1997 we were assured by FF and FG that voting Yes to Nice II would in no way compromise our traditional neutrality.

We were assured that any change to neutrality policy would have to be agreed by referendum.

And we told ourselves it would not happen anyway.

By 1999, without referendum, in spite of promises made by the leader of the state, we were a participating part of PfP

When running Nice II we were assured the electorate that that Irelands the 1997 Fianna Fail manifesto opposed PfP membership. traditional policy of neutrality would be respected.

Mr. Ahern told us that it would be 'fundamentally undemocratic' to join PfP without a referendum.

Then in 1999 Bertie sent Foreign Minister David Andrews to NATO headquarters and signed us up to the PfP, without a referendum.

By 2002 the parameters of Irish participation within the PfP were further expanded.

The important thing here is that the Government broke a promise made in relation to neutrality, and that received little coverage.

The PfPs stated aim is to develop bilateral relationships between individual Partner countries and NATO, as well as among Partner countries. Without a core standing group, PfP cannot operate independently of NATO.

There is also provision for interoperability of forces. Irelands military equipment is now generally compatible with what could be called NATO standard.

We again have a European treaty being run for the second time with few alterations.

The Lisbon treaty has failed in Ireland in part due to fears about our traditional neutrality.

We are again assured that acceptance of the Lisbon treaty-constitution will in no way alter our independent non-aligned position.

However the Lisbon treaty constitution specifies provision for a European Defense Agency, and Joint Force operations.

The thing is, I dont like being lied to - regardless of our personal feelings on the matter of PfP membership, we were promised a choice in being part of PfP -
In that way we could debate and decide on that choice.

But the choice was made for us and as soon as Nice II went through and FF came to power. FG and to a lesser extent Labour also went along with Nice II and PfP

And are we not going to learn from the past lies?

History is more than just something you read in a book.

It was invented as a tool, an engineered road down which society could advance.

The original Greek definition of the word (ιστορία – historia) is a combination of ‘inquiry, analysis, observation and myth ‘this at a time when myth meant information, not just fairy tales.

The entire point of history to the Greeks was not an exhortation to live in the past, but to live with it, learn from it and live better.

It certainly seems the Green Party has forgotten about the Nice fairy tale FF and FG told us in a land not so far away, and a time not long ago

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Child abuse in Ireland - the Christian Brothers and CORI

2009-05-27T00:41:00.009+01:00

Made famous in the hymn Jeruselum, in his preface to Milton, William Blake wrote about 'Dark Satanic Mills'
The expression is sometimes interpreted as the destruction of nature and human relationships in the early Industrial Revolution.

I cannot think of a more apt term to describe Irelands Industrial schools and institutions where such staggering abuses took place.

I am rarely moved to tears, but the heroism and honesty of Mr. Michael O Brian on RTE’s Questions and Answers was something nobody could not be moved by.

His courage in the face of such savagry and his decency in search for redress is readily apparent.
The same qualities of decency and morality are sadly lacking in the legal, political and spiritual establishments on this Island.

As an aside, with his record of public service I feel Mr. O Brian should be appointed to the Seanad, if he is willing to serve a State that has failed him so abysmally - he owes the State nothing – but that perhaps in such a position he could help steer the implimentation of legislation and needed constitutional change.
The numbers involved are so staggering there is no question of constituancy.

The state, education system, legal structures and clergy all failed these people, as did in many cases the general public.

Mr. O Brian has not.

He has already served the country that failed him as a child when an adult as a Mayor and Councillor.
He has also shown himself to be a man of honour, conviction, bravery and determination in his work for other survivors.

Mr. O Brian and others who survived have been failed again by this country.
Their treatment during the legal inquiry is nothing short of a continuation of abuse.
The cowardice of the political establishment further abuse.
The weasel financial chicanery of the orders is further abuse.
The lack of accountability and a credible apology further abuse.

Mr. Ahearn and his Governments deal with the Orders is an absolute abomination.

Of the Orders involved in the endemic and systematic abuse of innocents, the Christian Brothers are among the largest.

The Christian Brothers speak of review resources for reparations, and as investment in child education and welfare for present and future generations.
They speak of maintaining resources to maintain their community, as well as commitments at home and overseas.

The continuation of the Christian Brothers as an entity is, I believe, not tenable, and any connection to any education system is completely unacceptable.

The Brothers have been down this road before. After similar horrific systematic cases in Canada and the US they transferred or attempted to transfer assets and properties into complex trusts to protect against liability.
Brother Garvey, the current spokesperson for the Brothers, was then world leader of the orginisation.

This patern is being repeated in Ireland. The reason given is to protect Catholic Education.
I believe this Island and the world has seen enough of the Christian Brothers concept of education.
It is time for them to disclose, divulge, deliver and disband.

They and their colleages in CORI have continued to drag their feet, and the Government acting like Pontius Pilate have decided to wash their hands of any further responsibility in the palace, while the crucifiction of the Nation, morally, emotionally and financially goes ahead.

It is time for them to show some backbone, be less Catholic and more Christlike.

And what can we do as a Nation?
I do not know, but I would suggest that we consider using our unprecedented connectivity - the internet, social networking sites, forums, emails, our mobile phones to arrange to go to our churches every Sunday - not to enter, but to stand outside and hold silent protests or even prayer meetings, until the clergy understand that without the solution to the problem to the satisfation of Mr. O Brian and other survivors, that without our participation and support - that they cannot ignore our wishes.

We as a nation failed to stand up for children in the past, let us not fail to stand by the survivors today and tomorrow.

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Miltarisation and its real dangers

2009-05-16T08:00:00.009+01:00

In researching and writing this article I have become increasingly alarmed at the potential for abuse of the system proposed by the treaty.
There is specific provision for a military industrial complex written into the treaty with little political control.

I did not fully realize the extent of the Treaties Security and Defense provisions.

Whatever we are told the wording I have used in this article comes directly from the text of the reform treaty. If I can interpret the provisions this way, then so can someone else.

Ireland, Sweden, Austria and Finland – traditionally neutral countries shall be in a new military alliance, which will entail more than just defense.

The Provisions for the Common Security and Defense policy ensures ‘Member states shall make civilian and military capabilities available to the union for the implementation of the common security and defense policy, to contribute to objectives defined by the council’.
That is a military alliance, controlled by an unelected council.

Another provision is that “Member states shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities” and that the European Defense Agency shall ‘support defense technology research’ This means increased defense spending. I’d rather see the money spent on schools and hospitals.

The European Defense Agency shall ‘implement any useful measure for strengthening the industrial and technological base of the defense sector’ that is the specific creation of a military industrial complex.

This is the very thing that President Dwight D Eisenhower, in January 1961, warns us about.
To paraphrase Eisenhower, this convergence of a political establishment and a large arms industry is new in the European experience.
We must seriously consider the possible economic, political, and social consequences.

Government must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.

The potential for the rise of misplaced power exists and will always persist.
We have seen it many times in only the past 90 years - in the span of a single human life.

We must never let this endanger our democratic decisions which have already been denied three times.
Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can ensure liberty and democracy.

So – what will we do with this incredibly powerful military capability?
A common defense policy might sound OK, but Section 1 also makes provision for use of the use of the military outside of the EU ‘in accordance with the principles of the United Nations charter’
– it says nothing about actually going to the UN – so who makes the decision as to how the UN charter is interpreted? As an example we have seen Mr.Bush and Mr. Blair go to war regardless of public and international opposition

Decisions relating to the policy, including those initiating a military mission, will rest with the unelected Council and its unelected President.

Basically, if the Council should decide to intervene in a conflict outside of the borders of the EU – then they may do so - without the need to consult the people or the elected parliament.

Unlike in the US where the people choose, the European President shall not hold a national office and will be selected by a 27 person Council of Ministers.

This Council of Ministers shall not be directly elected by the people.

This is an enormous amount of power and influence to be vested in such a small number of people.

History shows us time and time again that such a convergence of military, economic and political power is very, very dangerous. This is how every single totalitarian state has come into being.

I am not into conspiracies, I believe in the inherent goodness of the majority of people, but who will the next president be - or the one after that? The German people would never have elected Adolph Hitler had they known what he would do.

This treaty once in place will establish a system that has the potential to be abused.

Every time we give too much power to a few unaccountable people, it has been disasterous.

The person tipped to be the first EU President in this way is Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister – who took Britain to war in Iraq in 2003. This was done despite the opposition of the British public, the resignation of his foreign secretary, international opposition, and without a clear UN resolution

The addage of Tacitus still holds true - that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutley.

Again, as always – thanks for reading.

Even if you don’t agree with me – I hope you give some thoughts to the points made
And please let others now about these blogs, podcasts and youtubes.

Citizen Simon - out

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The threat to democracy

2009-05-14T19:01:00.002+01:00

The point of democracy is the collective respect for the collective decision.
We are told its important to vote, that every vote counts and that we should take part in our democratic process.
However, if the elected do not respect the choice of the electorate, whats the point?

Our own representatives are failing by forcing of this treaty through despite democratic rejection by the French, the Irish and the Dutch.

Why is our decision not being respected? No means No

But still our own politicians continue to force their own agenda.

The chance to pause and reflect has not been used to build the kind agreement that We the People really want – a democratic collective of nations for peace and prosperity who respect each other. And that desire really exists

Instead it has been used to repackage the same rejected and unwanted treaty to avoid giving people a democratic voice, and push it through despite the democratic decision.

This process is an erosion, even a threat, of the very foundations of the Union – Democracy and Co-operation.
What makes democracy work is our ability, as a collective, to decide to work together for the benefit of the many – not just the chosen few.

I know how the Irish, French and Dutch feel about their democratic decision being ridden roughshod over, we're dis-illusioned and angry - but it’s the British I feel sorriest for.

The UK was promised a referendum by Tony Blair, April 20th 2004 but Jack Straw announced on 6 June 2005 that the referendum had been shelved. This despite that 88% of people in the UK want a referedum according to the BBC.

The British people have not had a single choice on our shared Union since they democratically chose to join in 1975. Decisions that affect their everyday lives have been left in the hands of people in other countries.

I really believe that if British people were given a democratic choice in deciding their part in the Union, then there would be far less euro skepticism.

Again, why are my fellow Citizens being denied their right to choose?

The Portuguese also were guaranteed a referendum by a party who are now in Government and who now deny them a referendum.
When in 2007 when our heads of Government signed the treaty in Lisbon – 200000 people went into the streets to protest.
This was the biggest public demonstration in the country since the Portuguese struck out for democratic freedoms since the Carnation Revolution of 1974, ending a dictatorship which had been in place since the 20’s.

And this did not even make the Irish or other European news agencies.
One would think a protest this size was newsworthy, especially considering the fact that the heads of government were there!!!

My job is different in that I work with people from all over the world, in recent times I have worked with a very large number of British and Portuguese
And they all want to be part of the Union as I do.
We know Europe can work, it has been demonstrated – but it has to be on the Peoples terms.

By Ignoring our democratic decision the politicians are actually endangering our Union and eroding democracy.

And are we not told that it is this very freedom of choice that makes us human beings?

We want this Union to work, we want this Union to succeed, and we want to work with the politicians to make it happen.

But they have to listen – and respect, our opinion – to treat us with the same respect, courtesy and dignity with which we treat them.

In case they have forgotten, We choose them for their positions of privilege and power.

And again to take a lesson from the past - if they listen then our Union shall have a new beginning and that a European Union for the people, shall not perish.

If this goes through regardless of the wishes of the people, then why even bother with the Democratic process?

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Florida Figures and Referendum Replays

2009-05-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

If our European Union is to work, then surely it is the voters of Europe who need to make major decisions, as a whole, not less than 1% of all 491 million! That is not a democratic process.

Seriously, the way this referendum was planned and the figures play out, I think the Anglo Irish banks executives have found a new position.
As the great band NOFX said "Its not the right time to be sober - Now the idiots are taking over" Maybe being Irish I have that advantage at times.

Only one vote over 50% of those who actually bother to vote in Ireland is needed to agree to make this major change to the European Union.

And of all the voters in the EU - we are the only ones who have been given a choice.

That is in my opinion unfair on us, and unfair to them.

One feels like Cuculain tied to a stone, Custume on the Shannon, Horatio on the bridge or Leonidas at the Gate.

OK- the boring bit

The population is 4,501,000 in the Irish republic
The electorate is 3,051,278 registered voters

1,621,037 /53.13% of registered voters turned out 6171 /0.38% votes were spoiled

862,415 / 53.4% of my felow citizens voted against the treaty/constitution
752,451 / 46.6% of my fellow ctizens voted for the treaty/constitution

109,964 people, or 6.8% of those who actually voted stopped the forcing through of the treaty/constitution.

To put that in context, it is 0.02% of the population of Europe - feels like Florida 2000

In fairness - if 245,500,001 EU citizens voted for the treaty and 245,499,999 voted against it, then as a European I’d accept it.

But right now I feel like some American friends. I’m moving to Canada!!

That 0.2% in percentage terms works out at 345 times the mandate of the only party against the treaty/constitution in the Irish Parliament ?
It is patently ridiculous.

As of the May 2007 General Election there are 166 seats in the Dail – the Irish Parliaments executive.
Fianna Fail won 78 seats and formed the Government. In European terms they area broadly Gaullist type party.

The Green party won 6 seats and joined the Government.

The Progressive Democrats (who no longer exist as a party but are still in Government) won 2 seats and joined the Government

Fianna Gael won 51 seats In European terms they are a Social/Christian Democrat hybrid.

Labour won 20 seats. In European terms they are a Socialist/Liberal party

There were 5 independents, or non-party TD’s (MPs / Deputies) – I do not know where they stand individually on Lisbon.

Between them all, they won 92.3% of ballots cast.

In addition, between them the main parties and independents have 12 seats in the European Parliament.

Campaigning against the treaty are Sinn Fein, with 6.9% of votes cast and 4 seats are the only party in the Dail objecting to the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition the party has one seat in the EU parliament based in the Republic, and with the parties’ cross border nature a second EU seat based in Northern Ireland.

The other grouping given a high profile in the Media campaigning against Lisbon are Libertas – a grouping who have no seats in the Irish Parliament, no council seats or any representation in the European Parliament.

Libertas, with no mandate, are being promoted by the Media as the main opposition to a Lisbon Treaty/Constitution, along with Sinn Fein who have 6.9 % of the Irish vote.

There are other groups who oppose the second Lisbon referendum -
With a general election mandate of 92.3% the major parties lost the referendum campaign -
so there has to be -

The only group that I have honestly found so far who have a broad base in opposition to the treaty/referendum are called the Peoples Movement - so I will have to check them out further, dont agree with everything, but I'm still looking.

But the Irish Media have chosen to ignore this broader opposition, instead promoting a tiny group for whom 92.3% of the electorate did not vote as the main opposition?

That dog dont hunt.

Then again, the Irish Government controls funding of RTE and licencing for all other radio and TV media in the state - makes you think.

Again, as always – thanks for reading or listening.

Even if you don’t agree with me – I hope you give some thoughts to the points made

And please let others now about these blogs, podcasts and youtubes.

Citizen Simon - out

Worries on Association

2009-05-13T17:00:00.001+01:00

In writing this blog the only thing that really concerns me is the concept of being regarded as on the margin by associaton.

I dont want to be associated with parties I do not vote for because of my opposition to the Treaty.

I consider an undemocratic attempt to push through a treaty I do not believe and certainly have not been convinced as being good for the EU.

I am an independent voter. I have friends, relatives, neighbors and colleges who I admire and like, who I respect, from right across the European political spectrum.

If the politicians have any respect for their electorates or democracy then this has to stop.

As an independent I have canvassed and normally voted for the Labor Party in Ireland.

In the next local elections I will vote Fianna Gael, possibly continue to vote Labor at National level and in the past I have voted for Fianna Fail.

All the main Irish parties are in favor of the treaty/constitution, is this out of conviction, fear or inadequacy? If it is out of conviction, why did they fail to convince the 93.1% of voters who in 2007 put them in office to accept the treaty/constitution?

Maybe its peer pressure, wanting to impress their bigger political partners on the mainland?

Or is it simply the politicians belief this is too big a decision for the regular voter to make themselves? This is something I don’t know.

The main problem for me right now is no major party represents my views on Europe.
I thought that this is what being in opposition meant, to at least offer an alternative.

The only group I can find with a broad base of support, across the political spectrum are called The Peoples Movement - more about them and other alternatives as I find out more.

We should be able to disagree without being disagreeable, and should not the democratic opinion of the Irish electorate be accepted if we are part of a comunity of nations?

In my opposition to the Lisbon treaty, I worry that I might be associated with Sinn Fein, I am not, but they are the only party in the Dail objecting to the Lisbon Treaty.

But then again, the Turks have a saying that I really like – that a broken clock is right twice a day.

In my opposition to Lisbon, I might be associated with Libertas – a grouping who have no seats in the Irish Parliament, no council seats or any representation in the European Parliament are also being promoted as the main opposition to Lisbon.

To be blunt Libertas scares the crap out of me, a Pan European party with a mandate which is specifically anti European, nothing about Ireland. They are closer to UKIP than they are to the Irish political scene.
Are we going to end up a laughing stock with a party in the EU parliament but no national representation?
I don’t want to support a party with no national mandate.
They don’t even have a .ie website for gods sake, yet the Irish media expect me to take them as the only opposition to the treaty.
That is a failing by the Irish media in my opinion.

They are in rhetoric closer to parties who I would not naturally be inclined to vote for like UKIP or the US Republican party than they are to the Irish political scene.

I admire many aspects of conservative political thought – self reliance and personal responsibility, the importance of a stable family unit, and for true conservatives like Lincoln the importance of civil liberties and a less intrusive government.

The Libertas.eu site trumpets an alliance with a German Party – the AUF, who I cannot find on wikipedia, but whose German website gives me the impression they are quite conservative, for a Christian God, Work, and the environment.

I understand that many aspects of our traditions, morals and laws come from a religious background – but I am politically secular. Personal faith is a separate issue.
But I really believe that mixing religion and politics always seems to be a bad idea.

That has been especially true when the leaders were unelected.

Europeans in particular, with the history of the continent, should understand that.

Again, as always – thanks for reading, or listening.

Even if you don’t agree with me –

I hope you give some thoughts to the points made

And please let others now about these blogs, podcasts and youtubes.

Citizen Simon - out

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The use of fear and guilt to force a Yes Vote

2009-05-12T17:00:00.001+01:00

In the great song Bu$hleaguer, a b-side on ‘I am Mine’ Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam asks how do they do it – the same song gives the answer – drilling for fear makes the job simple.

Keeping people uncertain of the future and creating fears for the wellbeing of themselves and their families makes them easier to control and manipulate

There is now the implied threat from all the major political parties in Ireland that rejecting Lisbon will cause economic meltdown to follow.

They failed to win the argument in the last referendum simply because the treaty could not be sold in a normal, positive way.
So now fears and uncertainties are being generated based on fear of the collapse of our economic systems.

The use of scare tactics of what may happen to you if you do not vote the way your told by a discredited group of people is downright nasty.

If they want they want me to vote in favor, then they have to give positive reasons, not simply generate a fear to manipulate us at our most vulnerable level.

If there is one thing we have learned from the last US election, is that the electorate can achieve change they can believe in.

President Obama ran a campaign that made the majority of the electorate feel that their opinion was worth something, it bought the sense of empowerment back to a generally disillusioned population.

We have seen a campaign where the desire for change on what the citizens of the US wanted overcame fear mongering.

Yes, the EU also needs change in the way it works, I support the ideals of the EU but change to Europe should be what is decided by the population of the Union, not by a narrow segment who – using abstract political and failed economic theories – wish to impose. We need more democracy and accountability, not less.

Also, lets not forget the politicians in Ireland who will use this fear mongering are the same people that got us into this economic mess in the first place, bailing out the financial institutions who bypassed regulators, using loopholes and – in some cases if not illegal – methods certainly not in the spirit of regulations in a distasteful way of maximizing perceived profits.

Again showing an astounding lack of understanding and judgment, in January 2009 the Irish Government decided to nationalize Anglo Irish Bank.
Irish taxpayers now own a private bank that was suspended on the stock markets with a loss of 98% on share value.
This was despite the prior knowledge of a financial trick used to mask losses.

The way it worked was like this – bank executives took out loans in order to purchase Anglo Irish shares.
Then, the loans are transferred to another bank prior to the end of year-end audits, thereby causing "Loans to Directors" to be understated.

In 2008, the loan to Messers FitzPatrick and Bradshaw amounted to €87 million; but the transfer loophole resulted in the accounts showing only about €40 million outstanding to directors, instead of €150 million.

The regulator said, "While it does not appear that anything illegal took place in relation to these loans, the Financial Regulator was of the view that the practices surrounding these loans were not appropriate.

Now, the people who carry the can for this are workers in the public sector with a levy, a reduction in their income, on their pensions.

Perversely the pension package of Mr. Fitzpatrick and others were in the private sector, and their pensions will probably remain largely un-affected.

This is simply one example of what happens when appointed, unaccountable people are given to much power, and that we end up paying for it.

Voting for Lisbon wont stop this hapening, it may even make things worse.

But it sent such a shock through the Irish economy.

Rather than an example of Government ineptitude, this fear, this economic crisis, has created uncertainty, and this is a way of forcing the Yes Vote !

We joke about Catholic guilt, but there are some aspects that should be looked at.

Society is a complex thing, affected by many historical communal factors.
One that cannot be ignored is religions affect on the way our society works in the past and in the present.

In a tangential way, guilt is fear – whether to suffer for sins in the next life or just the more tangible idea of Karma – that what goes round, comes round, exists in most of us.
92.2% of Irish people have had some exposure, even nominally, to Christian concepts.

As a nation we also have a sense of fair play, and are generally a grateful and compassionate group of people.

We are told that Europe has been good for us, that we should be grateful, that we should afford other European Citizens the general good fortune that we have had, and not to do so is ungrateful and shameful.

I agree that Europe has been good for Ireland.
I agree that others should be given a fair shot at sharing in a European idea.

But I think it would be more shameful, and unfair and wrong to accept the Lisbon treaty as it is, with little understanding of it, eroding the importance of the nation state and create an unanswerable bureaucracy that would pass laws to allow the exploitation of our fellow European Union Citizens.

Erosion of the rights of the Nation State is dangerous, of the worlds top 100 economies, 51 are now corporations!!!

And we have seen where that leads. in bank scandals right across the EU.

Their primary job is to create wealth for their shareholders – by any means necessary - unlike the concept of nation state which is for the improvement of society.

There have been economic downturns before, they will happen again – and the very transfer of economic planning to external, unaccountable bureaucracy and de-regulation has helped cause the current downturn.

As I have explained in previous podcasts and blogs, our fellow Europeans have been denied the right to, along with us, make the choice to change the way our union works.

Like Chuck D from Public Enemy said back in 1990 – Power to the People - Gotta Give us want We want – Gotta give us what We need

Its our choice.

Again, as always – thanks for reading, thanks for reading or listening.

Even if you don’t agree with me – I hope you give some thoughts to the points made

And please let others now about these blogs, podcasts and youtubes.

Citizen Simon - out

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Historical Irish Lessons in democratic displacment

2009-05-11T17:00:00.001+01:00

In the first post I discussed what I would refer to as Democratic Displacement in the European Union.

Ireland is, rather bizarrely, in the position that of our population of 4.5 million - or about 0.8% of the European population – that is those of us over the age of 18, who are registered to vote, are the only people who have been given the right by referendum to decide the future of the European Union.

That is unfair on us and our approximate fellow 491 million citizens.

A treaty, which fundamentally re-arranges the way the EU works should simply not be decided by less than 1% of the population, the decision should be pan-European, by referendum – otherwise it is undemocratic.

It is comparable to asking only Maine along with Hawaii to or god forbid Alaska to elect the President of the United States

As we seem to be the chosen people this time out, I want to do this blog/podcast concentrating on the lessons of democratic displacement from Irelands past.

Of all countries in Europe, perhaps Ireland, with our post colonial heritage should best understand what happens when government becomes removed and remote.
The Irish of all people should look to the past and learn from its failings, to avoid them in the future.

Again, I need to emphasize that this is not anti British, or an anti European rant, it is my personal understanding of the lessons of the past.

For many, many years the vast majority of the Irish population was denied the right to choose self determination.

In our history systems of exclusion and discrimination were gradually phased out, first emancipation, then property ownership and finally gender based barriers were removed.

But for a great deal of our history, power was vested to men of property from one religious group – they were the economic and political powerbrokers of their time, in other words – those who inherited a feudal system, and the predecessors of today’s special interest groups – those who benefited from the system of the time.

Extrapolating from James Camlin Becketts book, A Short history of Ireland – from the census figures in 1851 0.025% of the Irish population had a say in the running of the Island.

Ratification of the Lisbon treaty would not be the first time that Governance of the Ireland of Ireland moved offshore to a largely appointed, un-democratic special interest group.

After the 1801 the Act of Union Ireland was ruled directly from London as part of the United Kingdom.
Executive power lay in the hands of the unelected, appointed Lord Lieutenant and the Chief Secretary for Ireland.

By elections limited to male property owners, Ireland sent 105 members of parliament to the British House of Commons, and representative peers elected twenty-eight of their own number to sit for life in the House of Lords.

The shift of political power, vested in a small proportion of the population, from Dublin to London, withdrew the rulers even further from the ruled.

The result of this was The Great famine, the most severe in the history of European agriculture from 1845-1848.

The warnings that this would happen were apparent and clear. The historian Woodham-Smith calculated between 1801 and 1845 there had been 114 commissions and 61 special committees dealing with Ireland and that – I quote - "without exception their findings prophesied disaster”

This was a contrast to Britain, which was beginning to enjoy the modern prosperity of the Victorian and Industrial ages.

The root cause of the disaster was the failure of the socio-economic system and the reluctance to admit fix the problems of Laissaiz-Faire, which at the time was regarded as the only viable economic system.
Also, the modification of Laissaiz Faire would reduce profits to the small special interest group.

Laissaiz Faire was the prototype of modern market economics.

The other issue that compounded the problem was the distance of governance.
The 45/48 famine was known as the great famine, or An Gort Mhor.
The failure of one commodity, the primary food crop, led to starvation and disease.
However, other commodity crops such as grain were exported in large quantities to service debts due to absent politician.

A hundred years before, in 1740/1741 there was another famine – the Year of the Slaughter. 10% of the Irish population are estimated to have died. Less is known about it.

However – as there was a government on the Island in Dublin at the time, docks were closed and food exports reduced and curtailed in an effort to alleviate the famine.

Even though those in power were from a tiny segment of the community, they lived in a parallel life of privilege, their proximity to the affected, ensured that pragmatic action was taken and a greater disaster than might have been was averted.

The 1740/41 famine, for example, did not result in the mass emigration of the 1848 famine, partially because the governing classes were closer and more answerable to those in the same society than there successors.

Of course I am not saying that the Lisbon treaty will result in another famine – in this time we are more advanced, but hardship will be experienced in a different way.

In the past, Ireland was an agrarian society, when the model collapsed due to reluctance to change from ill-advised economic concepts and political distance then people went hungry.
In the present Ireland is a service nation, leading in IT and electronic manufacturing.

It will not be the lack of potatoes that will cause pain, it will be the shortage of pounds, pence and euros in our system caused by ill-advised economic concepts and political distance that will put people into debt for decades.

So what can we do to avoid this –
Well, it sort of sucks – the only people who will have a say in the future of Europe are the Citizens of the Irish Republic.
The good news is, there are things we can do.

We can continue to reject the Lisbon treaty until a more democratic alternative, giving better representation, accountability, transparency and democracy is presented.

For Irish readers, the main thing is to get out and vote, you can vote for or against the treaty – that is your choice, but I would urge all of you not to vote for something you don’t understand or do not feel comfortable with and certainly not on the advice of Fianna Failure.

Some feel we should rely on the politicians for advice.

Brian Cowen, The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) - on 12 May 2008, admitted in a radio interview that he had not read the Treaty of Lisbon in its entirety!!
As a Laywer he is one of the few who has the ability to read such legalese, but it is such a huge body of work I dont blame him.
The Irish times found most people simply did not understand what the thing was about.

For other European readers, write to your representative, make it clear that if you are not given a democratic choice for our Europe of the future, they can count on not getting your vote.

Let people know about this blog and other websites that give an alternative view on Europe.

Remember, We alone have the power to ensure that our political system works for us – that our system works for we the people, not a small corporate and political elite.

Its our choice.

Again, as always – thanks for reading, thanks for listening.

Even if you don’t agree with me – I hope you give some thoughts to the points made

And please let others now about these blogs, podcasts and youtubes.

Citizen Simon - out

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