John O'Donoghue and his travel spending spree

Biggins

If they had to start saying with VOUCHED receipts what/where ALL the money was going, the public would be absolutely more shocked.

But no... un-vouched expenses is a costly joke on all the rest of us and we're paying for it!

optocynic

Biggins wrote: »

If they had to start saying with VOUCHED receipts what/where ALL the money was going, the public would be absolutely more shocked.

But no... un-vouched expenses is a costly joke on all the rest of us and we're paying for it!

A JOKE??... It's a totally fiscally irresponsible boondoggle!!

The Minister for Finance wants us to trust him with NAMA (basically our children's futures)... but he can't even implement a realistic expenses system.. like in EVERY private sector company!!!

If you can't handle your own house.. what makes you think you can handle one worth 54bn???

Stark

Yeah the lack of receipts is the worst thing. "No honest, it cost me 9k to hire a car for 5 days. I'm afraid I lost the receipt for it".

catmurph

fao seafields,
i'm a reporter (yes, brave woman coming on boards.ie) spending the day in Caherciveen asking locals what their view of J O'Donoghue is following revelations about his expenses. I'm staying through this evening and was interested in your comments. Have been told to expect only positive comments or no comment re O'Donoghue. Would you have any interest in a quick chat, on or off the record? Thanks. I'll be out during the afternoon but will be online again tonight.

Riskymove

Stark wrote: »

Yeah the lack of receipts is the worst thing. "No honest, it cost me 9k to hire a car for 5 days. I'm afraid I lost the receipt for it".

that isn't how it would have worked

as I've mentioned before there is a mix of how people understand these expenses to have worked...now I have tried pointing out the facts before and simply get accussed of defending JOD..so just to be clear I think it's very wrong that he insisted on such lavish, expensive accommodation when far more affordable yet fully acceptable would have been available and thats the real issue for me; there has to be an expenses system and I understand that Ministers go away representing the State but what has happened is abuse.

in the case of an official foreign trip the car hire, accommodation etc would have been organised by officials...it is not the case that a Minister would come into the office and just say "give me €9,000 please into my hand. no questions asked"

Riskymove

optocynic wrote: »

I am actually happy that the guy I gave my number 1 vote to has the lowest expenses. Gormley.
But low expenses do not make up for selling your soul to satan!

I am afraid that's a red herring too

He's a Minister and therefore under the same sytem that JOD would have been when he was a Minister; expenses for gormley would be hidden to an extent (i dont mean being kept secret btw just that its shown elsewhere) by that sytem

e.g. he has a state car with garda drivers, would go abroad much more than a TD, and have a higher salary than a TD etc, etc

this applies to all Ministers

optocynic

Riskymove wrote: »

I am afraid that's a red herring too

He's a Minister and therefore under the same sytem that JOD would have been when he was a Minister; expenses for gormley would be hidden to an extent (i dont mean being kept secret btw just that its shown elsewhere) by that sytem

e.g. he has a state car with garda drivers, would go abroad much more than a TD, and have a higher salary than a TD etc, etc

this applies to all Ministers

Indeed that is true.. I must write to him and ask for the full picture!

Riskymove

optocynic wrote: »

Indeed that is true.. I must write to him and ask for the full picture!

ask him if ever hired a hat

Biggins

Riskymove wrote: »

...in the case of an official foreign trip the car hire, accommodation etc would have been organised by officials...it is not the case that a Minister would come into the office and just say "give me €9,000 please into my hand. no questions asked"

True but as in one cited case, a TD going from one Heathrow airport terminal to another, ordering for a limo (to take him 150 yards at most) costing the state €500 when there is established bus routes that run every 15 minutes as well as taxi's out side the doors - is a bit fcuking much!
...and then knowing, a feck it, the public is paying!

Riskymove

Alan Rouge wrote: »

O'Donoghue is no longer a FF member as far as I know. His job is supposed to be absolutely impartial so I think he had to officially leave the party.

not true I am afriad he does not leave the party

he is still a FF TD but is required to act in a certain role in the Dail and be impartial

Riskymove

Biggins wrote: »

True but as in one cited case, a TD going from one Heathrow airport terminal to another, ordering for a limo (to take him 150 yards at most) costing the state €500 when there is established bus routes that run every 15 minutes as well as taxi's out side the doors - is a bit fcuking much!
...and then knowing, a feck it, the public is paying!

again i would say that he probably did not personally order the limo...though of course he may have asked this to be done but usually an airport transfer in heathrow would be handled by the London Embassy (believe it or not!)...

...of course the point remains that he could have said "there's no need for this" and got a bus or walked or whatever...same applies to the accommodation, i think it would have been apparant when visiting the Cannes Film festival that a luxury suite is gonna cost a lot and you could ask for a less expensive one upon arrival etc etc...this is the real difference between him and other politicians it seems

bonzos

Biggins wrote: »

To be honest, its not all I want.
I (and I suspect a lot of folk) want to have investigated the farce of expenses for the whole money grabbing/spending lot!

I mean like Jackie Rea.
Last year €89,000 in expenses alone, this year so far he's up to €69,000!

Tip of the ice berg is what we have got so far and ALL the shower in the Dail collectively don't want us to see the rest of it.





Last year - and this is on top of his HUGE wages!
You will note the "independence allowance" AND the expenses also allowed! Thats approx €130,000 of your tax money folks!





Just look at Fergus O'Dowd (FG) who is only in the job!
Over €114,000 in expenses so far - and he campaigned to the Louth public on the premise that he wanted to cut costs!
Sick, absolutely sick!

This is unreal!!John Perry in Sligo claimed €194k...he is totally useless,can hardly put a sentance together.He is the butt of half the jokes in sligo/leitrim over his imcompetence .100,000 people should bring dublin to a standstill on saturday in protest over this crime!!!block the M50 to the airport and let the international media have a good look at the donkeys that are stealing from us:mad:

Darsad

The sight of that man "the Bull" ( an insult to all ungulates ) sitting in the chair yesterday was enough to make my blood boil. It/he epitomizes all that is wrong with our political body

oscarBravo

I've deleted some defamatory remarks from this thread. If I have to delete any more, I'll be issuing bans as well.

Biggins

Riskymove wrote: »

again i would say that he probably did not personally order the limo...though of course he may have asked this to be done but usually an airport transfer in Heathrow would be handled by the London Embassy (believe it or not!)...

...of course the point remains that he could have said "there's no need for this" and got a bus or walked or whatever...same applies to the accommodation, i think it would have been apparant when visiting the Cannes Film festival that a luxury suite is gonna cost a lot and you could ask for a less expensive one upon arrival etc etc...this is the real difference between him and other politicians it seems

I agree, your right.
It don't take much kop-on however (at least for most of us normal tax payers - you and I) that while one is standing around waiting for ones limo to arrive, that hell, it just have been quicker, cheaper, easier just to avail of the transport systems that are immediately outside the blommin' door!

The fools I'm sure have taken enough trips monthly just to have learned this lesson alone - but no, feck it, why even think about it, I'll say nothing, let the tax payer cough up for me limo!
Madness.

Riskymove

Biggins wrote: »

I agree, your right.
It don't take much kop-on however (at least for most of us normal tax payers - you and I) that while one is standing around waiting for ones limo to arrive, that hell, it just have been quicker, cheaper, easier just to avail of the transport systems that are immediately outside the blommin' door!

The fools I'm sure have taken enough trips monthly just to have learned this lesson alone - but no, feck it, why even think about it, I'll say nothing, let the tax payer cough up for me limo!
Madness.

I have travelled a fair bit on business in my time and I can tell you that if i had decided to get such a limo I wouldn't have much luck getting reinbursed

I'm lucky to get the cost of a bus ticket back let alone the inquisition when you dare to have needed a taxi

optocynic

Biggins wrote: »

I agree, your right.
It don't take much kop-on however (at least for most of us normal tax payers - you and I) that while one is standing around waiting for ones limo to arrive, that hell, it just have been quicker, cheaper, easier just to avail of the transport systems that are immediately outside the blommin' door!

The fools I'm sure have taken enough trips monthly just to have learned this lesson alone - but no, feck it, why even think about it, I'll say nothing, let the tax payer cough up for me limo!
Madness.

It was Terminal 1 to Terminal 3..
It is a 10 - 15 minute walk.. with moving walkways!!
Is the Bull above walking?

walshb

optocynic wrote: »

It was Terminal 1 to Terminal 3..
It is a 10 - 15 minute walk.. with moving walkways!!
Is the Bull above walking?

I don't know about 'above' but he seems to think we, are beneath...

murphaph

Paul Gogarty (Green Party) to be precise. Here's what he said:

Dear Philip,

Thanks for your e-mail. John O' Donoghue's excesses were endemic of a period we would all like to forget and a culture that is hopefully experiencing its death-gasp. However it is fair to say that the individual concerned did not benefit personally from the expenditure, except that his required official duties were carried out in a level of grandeur that was highly regrettable. He also did not personally organise much of the activities, but certainly did nothing to highlight the excesses.

FG and Labour were careful not to call for his resignation and in fairness it could be for this reason, or equally perhaps because of their own excesses when they were in Government.

The wider issue is whether anything is being done about the situation. And yes there has, but there is more to go. Expenses have been cut, more is vouched than before, but there is resistance from certain circles in all the larger parties about cutting certain perks.

From my view, being a TD is an expensive business, so give expenses, sure, but make sure they are for specific vouched things such as leaflet distribution, actual travel, and actual bills. Some of this, along with corporate donations will form part of the review of the Programme for Government which is taking up so much of our time at the moment.

Green TDs have to give a proportion of our salary to the party and we also do not take donations from banks, developers and businesses. It has been to our disadvantage, but it was the right thing to do.

Best wishes,

Paul Gogarty

Tell them how you feel! Tell them we are looking at their individual expenses and will remember them at election time! Paul Gogarty for the record claimed 107k, John Curran (FF) 62k, Joanna Tuffy (Labour) 52k and Mary Harney (PD) 31k.

I'm now firmly in favour of the German expenses system. A fixed 46k per annum expenses paid as a lump sum to all members. It's used here because it's cheap to administer and german MPs are forbidden from looking for any more money. If they spend more than the 46k it comes out of their own pocket.

It's incredible that Jackie Heally Rae representing an electorate of 51,000/3 (3 TDs representing the people of this constituency, which I'm just using as an example) = approx. 16.5k people gets 106k basic when a german MP representing 250,000 that's TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND people gets 92k basic plus a fixed 46.5k expenses! Ireland-you are being fleeced by these people!

walshb

Isn't it absolutely crazy to think that this shower are trying to worm out of this by
saying that he didn't benefit from it, like it would have ONLY been wrong if he pocketed the expenses? It's a sham! Pocketing the cash OR spending the cash (in the fashion John did) is equally wrong in this case.

bonzos

JOD and Co are off the hook....they want this forgotten about it will blow over like all the other scandals:rolleyes:we need to take to the streets over this !

bonzos

walshb wrote: »

Isn't it absolutely crazy to think that this shower are trying to worm out of this by
saying that he didn't benefit from it, like it would have ONLY been wrong if he pocketed the expenses? It's a sham! Pocketing the cash OR spending the cash (in the fashion John did) is equally wrong in this case.

did you ever hear such bull! that like saying if you won a holiday to america that you dont personally gain from it:rolleyes:

Biggins

bonzos wrote: »

did you ever hear such bull! that like saying if you won a holiday to america that you dont personally gain from it:rolleyes:

Yep, its a load of cods wallop.

I for example, have been offered free accommodation next week in Dublin by a major newspaper while up there helping them out.
Now I won't personally benefit from them financially in regards to the costs of putting me up but I WILL benefit from the rest, suntan (if there was sun like JOD had at Cannes!) and any drinks and hospitality I know will be put on for myself and others!

He didn't benefit? My arse he didn't!

optocynic

bonzos wrote: »

did you ever hear such bull! that like saying if you won a holiday to america that you dont personally gain from it:rolleyes:

Lies, damn lies... and Politics!

dodgyme

bonzos wrote: »

JOD and Co are off the hook....they want this forgotten about it will blow over like all the other scandals:rolleyes:we need to take to the streets over this !

I actually have to agree. Riots and lynch mobs on kildare st must be the only way for government to listen (crazy hah?). The "opposition" obviously havent looked up what the word means.

SF and not FG are the ones in the paper today demanding a resignation...SF for god sake??? It says a terrible thing about FG when SF are holding the only finger over the red button that is Irish tolerance on this matter. That is the disgrace and maybe why civil unrest may be a step closer now.

Enda should have demanded the resignation of JOD as the pinnacle of the problem and to cover FG TD's a**es should have said that when he is in power he will reform the whole expenses issue. hey presto! opposition doing its job. Enda should hang his head in shame.

Biggins

Biggins wrote: »

Grotesque. No wonder the likes of Brendan Howlin stared silently at the ground and didn't say a peep.

Some of the expenses are very low, like Micheal Martin who comes in at a fraction of his colleagues in Cork South Central. Are the low ones from people who are just very bad at the whole scam, or do they get other ministerial expenses that do not appear in that list?

Biggins

As it is, JOD is trying now to silence the Sunday Tribune apparently by threatening them via solicitors letters!
He's doesn't want further exposure which the Tribune has stated it will give next Sunday apparently!

I wonder who will win? We'll know on Sunday!

Are the low ones from people who are just very bad at the whole scam, or do they get other ministerial expenses that do not appear in that list?

All TD's get an official allowance of €41,00 approx as well as another 40+ for a secretary.
The below above reported figures are on top of those expenses and are unvouched expenses (reportedly)!

dodgyme

dodgyme wrote: »

SF and not FG are the ones in the paper today demanding a resignation...SF for god sake??? It says a terrible thing about FG when SF are holding the only finger over the red button that is Irish tolerance on this matter.

SF are no angels themselves when it comes to spending our money, as is evident from that list. Not sure their own expenses stand up to much scrutiny, when the likes of Ferris costs us almost twice as much as his constituency colleague Tom McEllistrim, and it costs poor Caoimhin over €120k to make it in from Cavan.

dodgyme

Biggins wrote: »

As it is, JOD is trying now to silence the Sunday Tribune apparently by threatening them via solicitors letters!
He's doesn't want further exposure which the Tribune has stated it will give next Sunday apparently!

I wonder who will win? We'll know on Sunday!

no paper should let this go. The people demand justice, and for once I am not joking.

dodgyme

Deleted User wrote: »

SF are no angels themselves when it comes to spending our money, as is evident from that list. Not sure their own expenses stand up to much scrutiny, when the likes of Ferris costs us almost twice as much as his constituency colleague Tom McEllistrim, and it costs poor Caoimhin over €120k to make it in from Cavan.

I agree but muddying the water will not get JOD of the high chair in Dail Eireann