John O'Donoghue and his travel spending spree

Biggins · 07-10-2009 10:09am

bayviewclose wrote: »

What i read from Political Corrs remarks on the radio was that FF would not agree with JOD going immediately which is why Labour had to settle for him going next Tuesday. Not entirely happy about JOD making statement to DAIL next week as he has had enough opportunity to do that at this stage.
Tribune had to fight tooth and nail for that information at the end of the day and I think they and not political leaders should be getting the credit.

...and I can understand why FF want it next week - not before Saturday!
Labour didn't have to give in to FF demands - but they did! WHY???

Darsad · 07-10-2009 10:19am

with expenses of over 220k Pat Moylan FFer from Offaly the chair of the Seanad should be next to be investigated and asked to explain his lavish expenses.

Also dont be surprised that the Bull is just parachuted back to the cabinet table with a straight swap for one of his cabinet colleagues whos seat is in real doubt next time out ! such as the present minister for agriculture

bonzos · 07-10-2009 10:24am

Kenny has one more chance to prove that is is a man and not a pussy(no offence to pussys:D)...he must do 2 things today to save his own face (1)demand a vote on this crook to go before the weekend,he cannot be givin anothe 5 year @ €100k PA +expenses..he has already shown that he cannot be trusted when it comes to claming expenses and (2) kenny stated already that JOD should have to pay back all the high living expenses that were not due to him,the bull must be chased for for every cent of this money!!!the JOD wont be ashamed over this scandal...he has no morals about him and the fools in south kerry will still support him,he will be p1ssed off the he got caught and what would really hurt him is if he had to pay back money .....we have to remember that this is all about money and greed!

Spiritoftheseventies · 07-10-2009 10:24am

Biggins wrote: »

...and I can understand why FF want it next week - not before Saturday!
Labour didn't have to give in to FF demands - but they did! WHY???

A lot goes on behind the scenes. Trust Labour are not thinking of doing a deal with FFers. Should be be suspicious. BTW Brendan Howling taking Leaders questions this morning.

Hootanany · 07-10-2009 10:44am

Any other templates we can send to the TD's very disappointed only 11 replies I want to keep up the pressure

Biggins · 07-10-2009 10:46am

Gilmore has JUST stated in the Dail that if the Gov falls at the weekend, he wants the motion of no confidence to proceed BEFORE the Dail closes for any election.
That way JOD gets the official boot and don't get automatic re-election.

JOD is resigning at 2.30 Tuesday. Reorganising staff and dealing with his papers is his reason for the delay.

kerry4sam · 07-10-2009 10:54am

Biggins wrote: »

Gilmore has JUST stated in the Dail that if the Gov falls at the weekend, he wants the motion of no confidence to proceed BEFORE the Dail closes for any election.
That way JOD gets the official boot and don't get automatic re-election.

JOD is resigning at 2.30 Tuesday. Reorganising staff and dealing with his papers is his reason for the delay.

I have always had respect for Gilmore but not as much as I do this morning. Well done for him I say. At least he was man enough to make the move.

Biggins · 07-10-2009 10:57am

kerry4sam wrote: »

I have always had respect for Gilmore but not as much as I do this morning. Well done for him I say. At least he was man enough to make the move.

True. Regardless of his ideology - he's really showing up Kenny and leaving him trailing in the rear.

Ludo · 07-10-2009 11:01am

Biggins wrote: »

Gilmore has JUST stated in the Dail that if the Gov falls at the weekend, he wants the motion of no confidence to proceed BEFORE the Dail closes for any election.
That way JOD gets the official boot and don't get automatic re-election.

JOD is resigning at 2.30 Tuesday. Reorganising staff and dealing with his papers is his reason for the delay.

Just watched that. Sounds like a token gesture though which will never actually happen. He may want his motion dealt with if circumstances change but it won't be.

This whole thing sucks actually. Gilmore made a dogs dinner of it all. He should held fire until they got CC to repay money and then force the fecker out. The current resolution will see him keep everything and get a nice parachute payment. He should be going to jail, not getting a pay off.

Biggins · 07-10-2009 11:06am

Ludo wrote: »

...The current resolution will see him keep everything and get a nice parachute payment. He should be going to jail, not getting a pay off.

Absolutely true.
He will leave getting even more cash directly handed to him!
If it wasn't so serious, it would be laughable.

If there was the legal laws to do it (there isn't sadly, as far as I know), I'd have the CAB on his ass!

jprender · 07-10-2009 11:12am

JOD is still taking the p1ss even in resignation.

Whilst resigning, he is still only thinking about himself.

Unfortunately, politics seems more about serving oneself rather than serving the country.

It's disgusting tbh, and I really do hope that he will have to face the electorate again. I assume his constituents will not feel that his actions were alright and sure "he's a nice lad". :rolleyes:

07-10-2009 11:14am

deadhead13 wrote: »

A "Witchhunt" is how most of them described the events of the past couple of months. That and all the good things O'Donoghue has done for South Kerry.

Funny that, was talking to a very close associate of O'Donoghue yesterday - hours before the Gilmore move - someone who had worked with and for the O'Donoghue political machine for about 20 years, and his attitude was that O'Donoghue was finished and rightly so.

I guess if you have spoken to thousands to ascertain the views of 'most of them' (not sure if you mean most in South Kerry, or most who voted for him before), in fairness your views would be fairly rounded.

O'Donoghue has done a lot of good things for South Kerry. He got richly rewarded for it, so I can see why he did. But I doubt you'll find anyone who could argue that we were doing better in the days of Michael Moynihan and Michael Begley.

ArmaniJeanss · 07-10-2009 11:16am

jprender wrote: »

It's disgusting tbh, and I really do hope that he will have to face the electorate again. I assume his constituents will not feel that his actions were alright and sure "he's a nice lad". :rolleyes:

I suspect if he stands in the next general election he will be elected on the first count with a quota and a half.
Much like Beverly Flynn, Michael Lowry etc.

jprender · 07-10-2009 11:18am

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I suspect if he stands in the next general election he will be elected on the first count with a quota and a half.
Much like Beverly Flynn, Michael Lowry etc.

If there is to be any change in this country, this can not be allowed to happen (again).

Liam Byrne · 07-10-2009 11:39am

jprender wrote: »

If there is to be any change in this country, this can not be allowed to happen (again).

Agreed. But it has - unfortunately - happened in the past.

The only thing that just struck me is the fact that we haven't had a benchmark on this in quite a while; not even the Teflon Tit has been tested at the polls.

Maybe FF have pushed it too far.

Fingers crossed!

Biggins · 07-10-2009 11:42am

jprender wrote: »

If there is to be any change in this country, this can not be allowed to happen (again).

You mean changes to things like this:
If (as he will) still stays on an an ordinary TD backbencher, he still gets €106,000 a year as well WITH NORMAL TD EXPENSES - still!
(its bad enough that as another poster mentioned, as Ceann Comhairle he was getting €4687 a week!!! - holy crap!)

jprender · 07-10-2009 11:44am

The whole thing stinks Biggins, what more can I say.

They couldn't give a flying fook about anything but themselves really.

iarmhi Gael · 07-10-2009 12:04pm

deadhead13 · 07-10-2009 12:05pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Funny that, was talking to a very close associate of O'Donoghue yesterday - hours before the Gilmore move - someone who had worked with and for the O'Donoghue political machine for about 20 years, and his attitude was that O'Donoghue was finished and rightly so.

I guess if you have spoken to thousands to ascertain the views of 'most of them' (not sure if you mean most in South Kerry, or most who voted for him before), in fairness your views would be fairly rounded.

O'Donoghue has done a lot of good things for South Kerry. He got richly rewarded for it, so I can see why he did. But I doubt you'll find anyone who could argue that we were doing better in the days of Michael Moynihan and Michael Begley.

"Most of them" refers specifically to those interviewed on the Morning Ireland vox pop.

Sleipnir · 07-10-2009 12:06pm

Was listening to the radio this morning and a reporter was down in South Kerry and they all still love him down there in spite of the fact that he's robbing them as well as the rest of us.

"Oh he did a lot for sport down here"

So he should be allowed spend our money on whatever luxuries he fancies for himself and his wife?

"It wasn't his fault; it was the staff that booked all of these things"

And he can't tell the difference between a €200 a night room and a €900 a night suite, no? He can't be expected to be able to distinguish between first-class and economy class? He can't question how much is being spent in his name?

The people in South Kerry who still support him deserve him in my opinion. If they want to continue to have the wool pulled over their eyes then fine, go ahead you morons.

Euroland · 07-10-2009 12:14pm

He must resign

murphaph · 07-10-2009 12:25pm

The Ceann Comhairle's resignation yesterday was inevitable. Enda
Kenny was the first to say the Ceann Comhairle should consider his
position if he didn't meet the criteria outlined by the Fine Gael
Leader in his statement on Sunday. We believed the appropriate place
for this to be carried out was the Oireachtas Commission - in order
to avoid the politicisation of the Office of Ceann Comhairle.
Following yesterday's events this cannot happen. The Ceann Comhairle
should now resign immediately to allow the Dail to focus on the real
economy and jobs - including for example the 676 job losses announced
in Aer Lingus this morning.

My bold. Do they think we're all stupid. Labour were keeping quiet about it too until they realised just how serious the public views this. If any of them really disagreed with O'Donoghue's fleecing (theft IMO) of our money, they'd have tabled this motion weeks ago. They all hoped it would blow over and it didn't. Move on to the next one down I say-Brendan Howlin is that you in the chair??

KetchupKid · 07-10-2009 1:04pm

I have a few questions about this O'Donoghue thing, my appologies if these have already been addressed?

Why did it take so long for the opposing parties to demand a resignation? Someone said it was because they agreed to wait after Lisbon, OK, but why did Sinn Fein wait since they were anti-Lisbon, unless it was because they knew or were told they wouldn't get any support from FG and Labour??

Who was signing off on O'Donoghue's expenses? Was it Cowen, if so he should also be under fire?

How could they not have any guidelines, limits, etc. for expenses and how were they not reviewed, everyone else in the Private sector as well as most other areas in the Public sector does?

run_Forrest_run · 07-10-2009 1:19pm

Sleipnir wrote: »

Was listening to the radio this morning and a reporter was down in South Kerry and they all still love him down there in spite of the fact that he's robbing them as well as the rest of us.

That's Irish politics for ya! It's another case of cute hoorism!
Sure look at that other idiot Cullen, blowing massive money on those doomed eVoting machines and you won't find too many people in Waterford giving out about him.
Locals will stick with their own if it means they will get something out of it, selfish, greedy cute hoorism.

The public are being fu*ked by the politicians in this country, nothing new about this.
We will continue to be fu*ked by them if we continue to lie down and take it.
Could you imagine this happening in France and the public just accepting it? Not a fu*king chance.

mike65 · 07-10-2009 1:20pm

KetchupKid

SF knew labour were tabling a motion so they just used that to speak out first. FG are led by an administrator not a leader. Expenses are signed off by a senior civil servant AFAIK

lollzypop · 07-10-2009 1:25pm

Hee hee...

"Embattled Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue cast a proud vote in favour of Lisbon last week, though it now appears he may have misunderstood the original reason for the referendum..."

http://www.oxygen.ie/page/2602

07-10-2009 1:29pm

Sleipnir wrote: »

Was listening to the radio this morning and a reporter was down in South Kerry and they all still love him down there in spite of the fact that he's robbing them as well as the rest of us.
...
The people in South Kerry who still support him deserve him in my opinion. If they want to continue to have the wool pulled over their eyes then fine, go ahead you morons.

I'll tell you one definition of a 'moron'.

Someone who listens to a few opinions on a radio programme and then forms general conclusions about tens of thousands of people.

I listened to one of them Paddy Gorman type shows recently where he spoke to a few drunk Irish people. Does that make drunken bums of you and I?

Sheesh, sometimes I think there would be a certain satisfaction getting him back in as TD, just to stick two fingers up to the ignorant and ill informed opinions of 'morons' from outside South Kerry...

Biggins · 07-10-2009 1:31pm

KetchupKid wrote: »

I have a few questions about this O'Donoghue thing, my appologies if these have already been addressed?

Why did it take so long for the opposing parties to demand a resignation

For some time now the whole of the Dail was quietly hoping that the issue would die off.
They didn't want to move on the issue for fear that their own expenses might fall under the same light.
I suspect that this will now happen as JOD slowly falls out of the limelight.
On order to try to get in there first before this can happen, I suspect (going on previous devious behaviour patterns) that FF and co will quickly try to change the expenses guidelines quickly - if only to deflect away from themselves and their individual expense statements asked to be paid for.

Had they jumped earlier they could have been accused earlier that it was a case of "the pot calling the kettle black" to some degree.
I suspect it is.
Jackie Rea yesterday alone was a classic example of this.

bSlick · 07-10-2009 1:36pm

If you feel like commiserating with JoD on his present misfortunes, here's the contact page on his website where you can wish him all the best.

http://www.johnodonoghue.ie/contact.php4

lollzypop · 07-10-2009 1:47pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I'll tell you one definition of a 'moron'.

Someone who listens to a few opinions on a radio programme and then forms general conclusions about tens of thousands of people.

I listened to one of them Paddy Gorman type shows recently where he spoke to a few drunk Irish people. Does that make drunken bums of you and I?

Sheesh, sometimes I think there would be a certain satisfaction getting him back in as TD, just to stick two fingers up to the ignorant and ill informed opinions of 'morons' from outside South Kerry...

A few vox pops might not accurately represent everyone from a certain area but it can certainly give you a good overall impression.

That's how opinion polls are done for god's sake. You just have to trust that the journalist has enough integrity to accurately portray the balance of opinion.

If the example of Michael Lowry and Bev Flynn are anything to go by it wouldn't surprise me if he was voted back in by the 'ah sure he's a great fella' brigade at all. There is no honour in Irish politics.

John O'Donoghue and his travel spending spree

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