Should Ahern Resign?

AckwelFoley

CerebralCortex wrote: »

No 40% of 68% of the people voted him if I remember correctly. Btw the area with the highest population is also where Bertie is from. Bertie is/was riding a wave.

the 68% is the people that voted.

If people dont vote because they didnt register or couldnt be arsed, my advice is to shut up and keep your opinion to yourself. The country is full of mouth pieces, yet half of them dont vote for the same lame arsed excuse every time "meah what difference does it make"

USE YOUR VOTE. I DONT CARE WHO YOU VOTE FOR, YOU HAVE A SAY USE IT!

Otherwise dont complain when "things" dont happen

30txsbzmcu2k9w

1. In October 2007, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern became the highest paid Prime Minister in the democratic world at €310,000, more than US President George Bush at €279,000. Fianna Fail Ministers such as Willie O’Dea are paid more than US Vice President Dick Cheney.

2. In October 2007, former Fianna Fail Government Press Secretary Frank Dunlop told the Mahon Tribunal that property developer Owen O’Callaghan paid off a debt of £10,700 for Fianna Fail councillor Colm McGrath when he was facing a court judgment.

3. In October 2007, a book was published that included a claim that a serving Government Minister has admitted taking cocaine, and that he wasn’t the only one doing it. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has made no effort to investigate this.

4. In September 2007, Fianna Fail TD Michael Collins was found guilty in court of obtaining a tax clearance certificate under false pretences. He had previously made a €130,000 tax settlement arising from a bogus non-resident bank account.

5. In September 2007, jailed Fianna Fail councillor Michael ‘Stroke’ Fahey had missed six months of council meetings, and by law he should have been deemed to have resigned. He escaped this by asking the council to deem his absence to be ‘due to illness and attendance in Dublin’.

6. In September 2007, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, while being questioned at the Mahon Tribunal, accepted that his earlier story that Celia Larkin had made a £30,000 sterling transaction on his behalf could not be correct, unless the bank records were inaccurate.

7. In September 2007, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, while being questioned at the Mahon Tribunal, said that he must have given £30,000 to somebody else (to make a transaction that the bank had no record for), but he didn’t know who he gave the money to.

8. In August 2007, Bertie Ahern appointed as a Senator former Fianna Fail TD Ivor Callely, who had just lost his Dail seat in a general election, and who had resigned as a Junior Minister after a scandal in 2005.

9. In August 2007, Bertie Ahern appointed as a Senator former Fianna Fail TD John Ellis, who had just lost his Dail seat in a general election, and who had resigned as chair of an Oireachtas committee after a scandal in 1999.

10. In August 2007, it was revealed that Fianna Fail-led Governments have so far spent €52 million on obtaining and storing electronic voting machines that have only been used once, in a number of constituencies in 2002.

11. In July 2007, after a strenuous seven days of work since being elected in mid-June, the Dail adjourned for a three-month summer holiday.

12. In July 2007 the Standards in Public Office Commission said that Fianna Fail had failed to report a donation in the party’s statutory declarations for 2005.

13. In June 2007, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern made secret deals, using taxpayers money, with independent TDs to secure their support as Taoiseach. Two of these independent TDs, Beverly Flynn and Michael Lowry, had previously been forced to resign from their parties after scandals.

14. In June 2007, Fianna Fail changed the law to create three new Junior Ministers with salaries of €150,000 a year. They had previously done this in 1977 and 1980. When Fine Gael did the same in 1995, Fianna Fail called it an abuse of the taxpayer and an act of hypocrisy, and Bertie Ahern vowed to abolish the new posts.

15. In March 2007, Fianna Fail councillor Michael ‘Stroke’ Fahey was jailed for twelve months after being found guilty of defrauding his own council of €15,000 and falsely implicating an innocent contractor in the crime. The jailed councillor was also chairman of the Limerick Prison visiting committee.

16. In May 2007, stockbroker Padraic O’Connor said that Bertie Ahern was wrong to say that he had given Ahern £5,000 as a loan from a friend in 1993. O’Connor said he was not a friend of Ahern’s, that he had been asked for a political donation of £5,000, that he had given that on a company cheque, and that he had been given in return a false invoice for consultancy work that had not been done.

17. In February 2007, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern praised the Moriarty Tribunal for its ‘outstanding work in painstakingly stripping away the layers of secrecy and obscurity surrounding Mr Haughey’s financial affairs and exposing them to public scrutiny.’

18. In December 2006, the Moriarty Tribunal found that former Taoiseach Charles Haughey took payments of €11.56 million, or €45 million in today’s money, between 1979 and 1996, and granted favours in return.

19. In October 2006, it emerged that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had bought his house from businessman Michael Wall, who had been at a dinner in Manchester at which Ahern was given £8,000 sterling. When asked why he had not previously said that Wall was at the dinner, Ahern replied that Wall had not eaten the dinner.

20. In September 2006, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that, when he was Minister for Finance, he had unexpectedly received a donation of £8,000 sterling from some millionaires who he had a meal with in Manchester on the night before a Manchester United football match.

21. In September 2006, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern accepted that he had appointed people who gave him money to State boards, but he insisted that he did not appoint them because they gave him money. He said he had appointed them because they were his friends.

22. In September 2006, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that he had accepted £39,000 from friends, including the brilliantly-named Paddy the Plasterer, in 1993 and 1994. He said it was loans, and that he had tried to pay them back but they had all refused.

23. In September 2006, when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was first asked about allegations of receiving from €50,000 and €100,000 from businessmen, he told journalists that a lot of the report was correct but that ‘the figures are off the wall.’ This, of course, was true, because he got some of the money ‘off Michael Wall’.

24. In June 2006, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said at the funeral of Charles Haughey that: ‘He was a consummate politician… The definition of a patriot is someone who devotes all their energy to the betterment of their countrymen. Charles Haughey was a patriot to his finger tips.’

25. In May 2006, Fianna Fail Junior Minister Conor Lenihan heckled Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins during a Dail debate. Higgins had been campaigning on behalf of immigrant Turkish construction workers, and Lenihan said that Higgins ‘should stick with the kebabs’.

26. In December 2005, Fianna Fail Junior Minister Ivor Callely resigned when it emerged that a top construction company had painted his house free of charge, while the company was also doing work for the Eastern Health Board of which Callely was chairperson.

27. In November 2005, with gangland crime all over the newspapers, Fianna Fail Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea posed for photographers smiling as he pointed a pistol directly into the camera.

28. In April 2005, former Fianna Fail Junior Minister for Transport, Jim McDaid, who had led an anti-drink-driving campaign, was arrested after drunkenly driving his car the wrong way up a busy dual carriageway.

29. In January 2005, former Fianna Fail Justice Minister Ray Burke was jailed for six months for making false tax declarations, breaking a law that he himself had helped to pass. He served four and a half months in Arbour Hill prison.

30. In May 2004, Fianna Fail expelled Mayo TD Beverly Flynn from the Party. Bertie Ahern said the integrity of the party depended on her expulsion, that Fianna Fail was at a crossroads, and that the party would also have to deal with any other members who transgressed ethics and standards in public life.

31. In September 2003, Fianna Fail TD Michael Collins resigned from the Parliamentary Party after making a €130,000 tax settlement arising from a bogus non-resident bank account.

32. In September 2003, Fianna Fail TD GV Wright knocked down a nurse while driving under the influence of alcohol. The nurse’s leg was broken in four places.

33. In December 2002, former Fianna Fail Government Press Secretary Frank Dunlop told the Flood Tribunal that former Fianna Fail TD Liam Lawlor (who he also knew as ‘Mr Big’) was the first person to tell him that money would have to be paid to councillors in return for their votes.

34. In November 2002, former Fianna Fail Government press Secretary Frank Dunlop named six Fianna Fail councilors who he bribed to secure the rezoning of land at Carrickmines in south Dublin.

35. In September 2002, the Flood Tribunal found that former Fianna Fail Justice Minister Ray Burke received corrupt payments, including £125,000 from property developers and £30,000 from the owners of Century Radio.

36. In September 2002, the Flood Tribunal found that former Fianna Fail Government Press Secretary PJ Mara had failed to co-operate with the Tribunal, by failing to provide details of an overseas account. In the 1980s, in a Hot Press interview, Mara said that his greatest ambition was ‘never to be found out’.

37. In May 2002, former Fianna Fail Government press Secretary Frank Dunlop said that he paid at least £160,000 to 25 councillors in relation to the redrafting of the Dublin County Council development plan from 1991 to 1993.

38. In February 2002, former Fianna Fail TD Liam Lawlor was jailed for a third time for contempt of court when he refused to comply with orders of the Flood Tribunal. When the Dail called for his resignation, he was brought to Leinster House in a prison van to speak against the motion. Lawlor had previously chaired the Dail Ethics Committee.

39. In January 2002, former Fianna Fail TD Liam Lawlor was jailed for a second time for contempt of court when he refused to comply with orders of the Flood Tribunal.

40. In December 2001, Fianna Fail TD Ned O’Keefe resigned as a Junior Minister. He had voted on a bill about feeding bonemeal to animals, forgetting to inform the Dail that his family was involved in manufacturing the substance.

41. In October 2001, Fianna Fail Junior Minister Joe Jacob, who was responsible for the Government’s emergency response to nuclear accidents at Sellafield, gave a comical interview on RTE radio that resulted in the Government having to send iodine tablets to every house in the country.

42. In April 2001, Fianna Fail TD Beverly Flynn resigned from the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee. She had lost a libel case that she had taken against RTE, who had correctly reported that she had sold banking products designed to assist tax evaders. After losing the case, she faced a €2million legal bill.

43. In January 2001, former Fianna Fail TD Liam Lawlor was jailed for contempt of court when he refused to comply with orders of the Flood Tribunal.

44. In June 2000, Fianna Fail TD Liam Lawlor resigned from the Parliamentary Party after he misled an internal party investigation about a donation that he had got. Lawlor was also chair of the Oireachtas Joint Ethics committee.

45. In May 2000, Fianna Fail Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy nominated Hugh O’Flaherty to a £147,000 job as Vice President of the European Investment Bank. O’Flaherty was a former High Court judge who had been forced to resign after a scandal the previous year.

46. In February 2000, Fianna Fail TD Denis Foley resigned from the Parliamentary Party. He had £100,000 in an illegal offshore account. He said that he knew that his account might have been an Ansbacher one, but he had been ‘hoping against hope’ that it was not.

47. In November 1999, Fianna Fail TD John Ellis resigned as chairperson of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee. He owed money to farmers, he had £250,000 in debts written off by NIB, and Charles Haughey had given him £26,000 of taxpayers cash to settle other debts.

48. In January 1999, former Fianna Fail Minister Padraig Flynn appeared on the Late Late Show on RTE. Now a European Commissioner, Flynn complained about the difficulties of living on ‘just £100,000 a year’ when he had three houses, housekeepers and various cars to maintain. ‘You should try it,’ he added.

49. In June 1995, Celia Larkin lodged £11,743.34 into Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern’s bank account. Ahern says that £10,000 sterling of this was actually his own money, part of £50,000 that he had earlier withdrawn from his own account and used to buy £30,000 sterling. However, the bank has no record of selling £30,000 sterling to anybody during that period.

50. In December 1994, Celia Larkin lodged IR£28,772.90 into Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern’s bank account. Ahern says that this was £30,000 sterling cash given to him in a briefcase by his soon-to-be landlord, just after he had become Fianna Fail leader and was expected to become Taoiseach However, the amount equates exactly to $45,000 based on bank exchange rates on that date.

Tommy T

Zayn Incalculable Paunch wrote: »

I reckon theres a few Young Fianna Failers trolling the forum here.

Bertie makes me sick. Fianna Fail are the rotten core of irish politics.

50 facts here make for some good reading

http://thatsireland.com/2007/11/05/fianna-fails-fifty-ways-to-laugh-at-voters/

I'm 35.. would that exclude me from joining the young FFers...;)

CerebralCortex

Tommy T wrote: »

So you see no imporvement in the road systems from 15 years ago? You've missed the new hospital building programmes?

I think you'll also find the majority of projects come in on time and within budget with the exceptions highlighted in the media...

Maybe.......in Dublin.

markpb

Tommy T wrote: »

It's al about supply and demand mate. Finally supply has caught up with demand and I have seen rents plateau already in the last 6 months and this trend will continue...

Supply and demand has nothing to do with security of tenure. A lack of decent legislation giving tenants rights is what caused the problem.

snyper wrote: »

As for the health service, while not ideal, its far from the "disaster" that the media try to make out it is. Ive been through the health system here, not as a private patient, twice this year alone. How long was i waiting in A & E with my broken hand? About 45 mins.

Not one person I know has gone through the health service and come out happy. Months of waiting, being screwed around, being left in A&E for 9 hours, being left on a trolley for 18 hours. Those aren't scare stories dreamed up by the press, they happen to real people. A friend of mine recently needed some dental work done. It would have cost 40k here because she doesn't have health insurance. The same thing cost 6k in Hungary.

Tommy T wrote: »

Car ownership levels have grown exponentially over the last decade.

Have you any idea why? Could it be because public transport is abysmal and planning is worse. If you let a developer build hundreds of houses in the suburbs without transport, without facilities or schools, people will be forced to drive.

You might be happy but there are plenty of people who aren't and plenty of other countries who have managed the transition to wealth far better than us. That alone should be cause for a new government, the accusations of tax fraud and corruption are the straw that broke the camels back for me.

AckwelFoley

Originally Posted by drinkmilkkids
I reckon theres a few Young Fianna Failers trolling the forum here.

Trolling? Why? Becuase we dont want to jumo onto the corruption bla bla bla bandwagon that goes on here?

So because i support the Government along with the majority of the electoral community im a troll.

Yes. Trolling. :rolleyes:

is_that_so

Tommy T wrote: »

So you see no imporvement in the road systems from 15 years ago? You've missed the new hospital building programmes?

I think you'll also find the majority of projects come in on time and within budget with the exceptions highlighted in the media...

This is a more recent phenomenon. Previous to that overspend and slack project controls were the norm. Much of credit for that IMO was the atrocious PR for the "back of the envelope" Luas cost and of course the Port Tunnel nonsense.

CerebralCortex

snyper wrote: »

the 68% is the people that voted.

If people dont vote because they didnt register or couldnt be arsed, my advice is to shut up and keep your opinion to yourself. The country is full of mouth pieces, yet half of them dont vote for the same lame arsed excuse every time "meah what difference does it make"

USE YOUR VOTE. I DONT CARE WHO YOU VOTE FOR, YOU HAVE A SAY USE IT!

Otherwise dont complain when "things" dont happen

Yo say it don't spray it. I voted don't worry.

AckwelFoley

markpb wrote: »

A friend of mine recently needed some dental work done. It would have cost 40k here because she doesn't have health insurance. The same thing cost 6k in Hungary.
.

You must not have alot of friends.



Do you know the average wage in Hungry? can you see how ridicilous your arguement is? 6k is relative, yes she could have went to cambosia and got the work done for €5, but thats relative. So your arguement is not reasonable. How do you propose the work gets paid for? Do you have any idea how much money is already been spent on health? Where do you think the money would come from to pay for this?

The govenrment have pumped an huge amounts of money into health, but what ppl fail to remember is that many of the things that are needed to be done to improve it are met with oppisition from trade unions and other lobbies form surgeons and consultants

30txsbzmcu2k9w

Snyper, yyou strike me as the kinda of person who has been brought up in a Fianna Fail backround and is unable, or refuses to, acknowledge glaringly obvious flaws in our government .
Everyone's entitled to there opinion of course. But it's tunnel vision with people like you. Your blinkered from the reality of the situation.

AckwelFoley

CerebralCortex wrote: »

Yo say it don't spray it Bertie. I voted don't worry.

Have you anything constructive or worthwhile to say?

How about less of the sarcastic "bertie" jibes?

Mr.Micro

Tommy T, I agree with most of what you said in your posts. The only little thing I disagree with, is that Bertie and FF were partly responsible for the Celtic tiger boom of the last 10 years or so. It is really down to the Euro ( the prospect of joining etc and eventually joining) and the construction boom. Ahern was in the right place at the right time. There was in effect 2 booms in the last 12 years and a bit of a dip just after 2001 or 2002 but the economy picked up again. The FF led Government has blown all the surplus, twice, now the Government borrows again. I agree that Ireland has never been better off and it is great but a chimp would have done as well as FF with all the right factors in place.

With regards to NI and the peace process I suspect it was the willingness of the IRA to cut a deal more than anything that was the main factor for that but Blair and Ahern took the credit. Its worked out well for them all apart from all the poor families who lost relatives and friends. Sorry to be so cynical.

AckwelFoley

Zayn Incalculable Paunch wrote: »

Snyper, yyou strike me as the kinda of person who has been brought up in a Fianna Fail backround and is unable, or refuses to, acknowledge glaringly obvious flaws in our government .
Everyone's entitled to there opinion of course. But it's tunnel vision with people like you. Your blinkered from the reality of the situation.

Nope. Wrong again.

markpb

snyper wrote: »

Do you know the average wage in Hungry? can you see how ridicilous your arguement is? 6k is relative, yes she could have went to cambosia and got the work done for €5, but thats relative. So your arguement is not reasonable. How do you propose the work gets paid for? Do you have any idea how much money is already been spent on health? Where do you think the money would come from to pay for this?

So you think that in a developed country, asking someone to pay almost twice their annual wage for dental work is acceptable? I guess if you accept that asking people to spend three hours a day commuting to work because we failed to plan properly, then anything's possible.

CerebralCortex

snyper wrote: »

Have you anything constructive or worthwhile to say?

How about less of the sarcastic "bertie" jibes?

I voted against Bertie and FF I was disappointed I still am disappointed and so are quite a few other people.

stooge

I dont hink you can attribute the quality of life in Ireland now (as apposes to the 80's) to Bertie Ahern. He merely jumped on board the moving train that was the Celtic Tiger and has been collecting 'fares' all the way along. The resurgence after 2001 was mainly due to property and is such a false boom in the economy as we are seeing the correction now.

If, instead, for this period, we had a strong leader willing to LEAD the country for the greater good and long term goals rather than personal benefit I have no doubt we would be in a much better position than we are today i.e. a proper transport network, better healthcare., broadband network....etc etc. With all this we would be better placed to face the problems that lie ahead.

In summary, if I were a teacher giving bertie a grade for his term it would most likely be a C- with comments "Could have done a lot better"

AckwelFoley

markpb wrote: »

So you think that in a developed country, asking someone to pay almost twice their annual wage for dental work is acceptable? I guess if you accept that asking people to spend three hours a day commuting to work because we failed to plan properly, then anything's possible.

Tell me, how would you suggest this work be paid for?

Look, i would like to see free health, i would like not to have to pay the excess, but its not possible..


Whats the solution? Specifically.

gandalf

Back on topic of course he should resign. In any proper democracy he would have gone long ago and we wouldn't have been subjected to the "Crying Game" on six one.

He is an absolute disgrace, a man that was in the right place at the right time to benefit from the hard work of governments in place before him and the right market opportunities. A man who had the resources to sort out several extreme problems areas in Ireland who failed outright.The prime failure the health service; one that is costing people lives on a daily basis.

Liam Byrne

Tommy T wrote: »

Car ownership levels have grown exponentially over the last decade. the massive road building programme is only just about coping with this other result of our successful economy. nowadays its not uncommon to see three cars in an average driveway. Something unheard of in the past.

And why does everyone (every person, not every family) NEED a car ? Because unless you're living in Bertie's backyard THERE IS NO DECENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT.

Want to travel from Limerick to Galway by train (65 miles) - you go through Ballybrophy.

Want to travel from the Mid-West to Heathrow - you go through Dublin

Ah sure, Dublin has it's Luas and Dart - who gives a flying f**k about anything outside the Pale.....

The health system has some serious management issues but as always we only hear about the problems, real as they are, and never about the vast majority of patients who have a satisfactory experience...

Ah yes, that's why my niece had to travel from Limerick's Regional Hospital to one in Dublin this week - because (to quote Bertie and Tommy T themselves) "everything's actually fine and the only people you hear are the begrudgers and conspiracy theorists" :rolleyes: My 4-hour wait in A&E after a sports accident a while back was just another glitch, I guess ? Or maybe I shouldn't play sports.....after all, the builders need those playing pitches alongside those supposed "relief" and "ring" roads for new retail parks :rolleyes:

So how come inflation is going up at 5% every year, with the average worker barely able to keep pace with all of the new and increasing stealth taxes ?

How come the FF/PD policy of privatisation has completely backfired in the cases of eircom and Aer Lingus ?

How come there are less train services but more new tracks ?

How come people have less quality of life and family time, just in order to make ends meet ?

How come its economically unfeasible to have someone stay at home and take care of their kids and keep them out of trouble, yet if the second person (male or female) goes to work, the extra cash goes out the window to a creche ?

How come I have to pay tax and benefit-in-kind on everything, while Bertie doesn't ?

Why don't I get paid a fortune to work 90-odd days holidays a year, and give myself an average-industrial-wage pay rise (on top of existing benchmark pay rises) for doing nothing more than my job ?

Why didn't FF use their much-publicised shareholder voting in Aer Lingus ?

CerebralCortex

For example encouraging those that developed the Deoch uisce housing mess in Galway to put a little more into planning and infrastructure maybe build a school or two perhaps beside the new town they created. That would be nice. I can only speak for Galway thats where I grew up but its a tiny city it could have been so easily managed but it wasn't.

is_that_so

snyper wrote: »

Tell me, how would you suggest this work be paid for?

Look, i would like to see free health, i would like not to have to pay the excess, but its not possible..


Whats the solution? Specifically.

I recall an Old Gay Byrne survey, from many many moons ago. It was on food price differences between the North and Republic a large discrepancy, 25% IIRC. He got some marketing guru to explain and the simple answer was because they can.

Areas like dentistry have little or no competition in this country. I see the advent of Hunagry and other countries for dentistry as much their right as it has been ours to get money from Brussels for decades. It's the price we pay for being in the EU. Ultimately it is beneficial to the consumer.

The health system, while receiving enormous sums of money is chronically inefficient, and as posted subject to the whims of vested interests. That to me seems like a decent enough place to start. And a good vote getter!

jmayo

Tommy T wrote: »

I'm 35.. would that exclude me from joining the young FFers...;)

Go on admit it you are not 35 and you are in the Seanad now thanks to Bertie

Drinkmilkid, excellent post but it is no use trying to convince the believers that FF and bertie did anything wrong.
Either they are staunch grassroots or they have done well over last 5 years and couldn't care less.

To those who think bertie arrived in 1997 and woe and behold the Cetic tiger materialised, the Cetile Tiger was born and nurtured by the previous governments, both FF and FG/LAB.
Give credit to John Bruton, Albert Reynolds even CJH but stop this sh** about bertie did it all.
Give credit to the IDA that convinced the likes of Microsoft and Intel to come here in the first place.

Bertie and his shower just didn't screw it up.
That's all we can say.

Oh and as far as I am concerned the Celtic Tiger really died back in 2001.
What we have had for last 5 years was a cheap credit spending binge and watch how the economy fizzels out now that the cheap credit tap has been switched off.

Tommy T

is_that_so wrote: »

This is a more recent phenomenon. Previous to that overspend and slack project controls were the norm. Much of credit for that IMO was the atrocious PR for the "back of the envelope" Luas cost and of course the Port Tunnel nonsense.

Both the Luas and Port tunnel have been huge success stories since they've come on stream...

guinnessdrinker

jmayo wrote: »

To those who think bertie arrived in 1997 and woe and behold the Cetic tiger materialised, the Cetile Tiger was born and nurtured by the previous governments, both FF and FG/LAB.
Give credit to John Bruton, Albert Reynolds even CJH but stop this sh** about bertie did it all.
Give credit to the IDA that convinced the likes of Microsoft and Intel to come here in the first place.

Exactly, the Celtic Tiger could probably be traced back to 1987 with Ray MacSharry's reforms under CJH which were unopposed by Alan Dukes (Tallaght Strategy). The gov's that followed played their role. Also good point about the IDA, they are rarely mentioned and deserve much credit.

A lot of people give Bertie sole credit for the Celtic Tiger and he is not going to dispel the myth because its one of the reasons that make him so popular as well as his "everyday man" myth.

Tommy T

jmayo wrote: »

Go on admit it you are not 35 and you are in the Seanad now thanks to Bertie

.

I await the call to serve...;)

markpb

Someone in Ryanair clearly thinks he should resign, check out the free flights ad at the top of the page

For those who say the health service is in good condition, todays Indo says that 397 people slept on trolleys last night. I find it incredulous that in the 21st century, in a developed and apparently wealthy country, people can tell me thats acceptable and an example of good government.

Tommy T

I have a huge amount of time for Mick o'Leary. A great Irish entrepreneur and one who pays his taxes in Ireland unlike the Jp's and Denis's of this world...

Everyone wishes to see the trolly situation improve and Mary Harney is the right woman for the job...

is_that_so

Tommy T wrote: »

Both the Luas and Port tunnel have been huge success stories since they've come on stream...

It's not a question of whether they should have been built or not. The two projects are good examples of how to come in over budget and late, although I'm tempted to add the latest M50 upgrade to the list. :rolleyes:

The pressure to price and build within budget is a far more recent phenomenon and IMO emanate from those two shambles, which were neither properly priced nor an appropriate timescale determined.
Oddly enough they happened when FF were in government led by one B Ahern.

Colonel Sanders

Yes he should resign

blackbox

Yep - he should go.

Apart from the corruption accusations, he's losing it. If he was in control of himself he wouldn't have responded to Enda Kenny's accusations whilst abroad. His "Liar" tirade was simply undignified.

If FF has any cop they'll give him the heave-ho as soon as posssible, as he has become a liability for any future election. They would be much better off if he was out to pasture and long forgotten by the time it comes around.