Our TD's are taking the piss yet again!

Biggins

Our TD's are really taking the piss. Apparently its one rule for us and another for them.
On top of refusing a new security system at the Dail (because it will also show when exactly and more importantly for how long each time they are there accurately) they are refusing to implement changes put to them by an internationally recognised person who has been asked by this country to do what is necessary.

Every TD in the Dail should be ashamed of themselves!

A TOP accountant charged with overseeing political expenses is quitting his post in fury at the lack of action by TDs and senators to reform the system.
Tom O'Higgins is the highly respected chairman of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission's audit committee, which advises on value for money and control issues.
He was reportedly left "seething" by the refusal of politicians to heed his concerns -- particularly over the expenses and allowances they pay themselves.
Mr O'Higgins, a former senior partner at accountants PriceWaterhouse Coopers with impeccable international credentials, is known to have favoured the introduction of vouched expenses for TDs and senators. He also believes there should be an annual cap on the amount of expenses any TD or senator can pocket under particular categories.
Mr O'Higgins' resignation is due to take effect from the commission's next meeting, the Irish Independent can reveal.
His shock departure is set to spark further controversy in the debate over political profiteering through special allowances.
Attempts at reform have lacked progress, even though Finance Minister Brian Lenihan called for TDs and senators to lead by example in taking financial pain.
Mr O'Higgins has already submitted a resignation letter which is due to take effect this month.
A spokesman for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission confirmed to the Irish Independent: "Chairman Tom O'Higgins has indicated his intention to resign at the next meeting of the audit committee."
Ironically, the head of the Oireachtas Commission is Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue.
Mr O'Donoghue himself racked up huge bills in attending sporting and cultural events as Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, including a bill for €9,000 for limousine use in brief airport transfers on a single trip.
Payments
He also landed the taxpayer with a bill of more than €400 for the hire of headgear for his wife on a visit to the races.
The Irish Independent can also reveal that while extra €20,000 payments to Dail committee chairs were halved and other payments abolished, the annual payment to Houses of the Oireachtas Commission members has been reduced only fractionally -- from €20,000 to €16,000.
This is the body expected to introduce reforms for ordinary members -- plans which have encountered cross-party backbench resistance.
The departure of Mr O'Higgins -- amid claims that he has been rebuffed in repeated attempts to see Mr O'Donoghue -- will prove a blow to politicians, who could now face a row similar to that involving British MPs over the laxity of the Fees Office at the House of Commons.
A spokesman for Mr O'Donoghue has denied that Mr O'Higgins has been blocked in attempts to be heard by the Ceann Comhairle.
Mr O'Higgins has, meanwhile, declined to comment for reasons of professional ethics.
However, a senior political source said last night: "It is a pretty extraordinary thing for someone like Tom O'Higgins to walk away. It will send shudders through the system."
TDs and senators have commonly been claiming so much in expenses and allowances that it exceeds their annual salaries. Sums claimed on mileage alone can run into tens of thousands of euro.
The Houses website describes the watchdog as a key committee, saying it "oversees and advises on risk management, internal controls, and value for money issues".

Source: HERE

lycopodium123

despicable............. there are no other words for this "government"

Blazer

Every day I find a new reason to hate those pr1cks in the Dail :mad:

Biggins

Well so far only 4 out of 155 Td's have taken the 10% cut in their own wages.
The rest have refused. They are without doubt the biggest bunch of wasters ever to take seats in the Dail.

...and then they have the nerve to try and tell us what to do in regards money and taxes! They can get stuffed!

corkandproud

90 minutes into Morning Ireland and no mention of this - who's doing the gagging.

spank_inferno

corkandproud wrote: »

90 minutes into Morning Ireland and no mention of this - who's doing the gagging.

So did the civil servants out in Montrose mention this story in the end?

markpb

An analysis of the revised allowances show that constituency telephone allowance for a TD has dropped from €6,348 to €5,700 and that a TD’s miscellaneous expense allowance (which remains unvouched) will now be €5,000 compared with the previous expense of €5,482. Another unvouched allowance, travel within constituencies, is also reduced. It falls from €2,745 to €2,500 for travelling within the border of smaller three-seat constituencies and to €8,000 (down from €8,782) for larger constituencies. This allowance is separate to the mileage expenses paid to TDs for travelling to and from Leinster House from their constituencies.

[....]

A substantial number of Fianna Fail TDs originally opposed the reductions and some 30 backbenchers met Mr Lenihan in July to oppose some of the changes which were proposed, including a monthly expenses payment and a clocking-in system.

Irish Times

I wonder if it's possible to find out who the 30 TDs were and ask them why they think they shouldn't take a pay cut? Would they like to identify themselves to the public? Somehow I doubt it. More importantly, I wonder what their reason for opposition to a clock-in system would be?

Biggins

markpb wrote: »

More importantly, I wonder what their reason for opposition to a clock-in system would be?

Thats easy. Instead of just being on the Dail books as been there on a particular day, the new system would more accurately show just how long in any one day visit to the Dail, they were actually there in minutes and seconds.

Instead of claiming they were there all day, they could easily be caught out instead for saying there were at the Dail all day - but in fact it might have been for just ten minutes!

One rule for the masses but another rule for the wasters. They don't like to be caught out!

They (from both sides) will spin some miserable excuses to deflect away from this however!

lycopodium123

lycopodium123 wrote: »

despicable............. there are no other words for this "government"

Was it only Government TDs and Senators?

The only name I can see is O'Donoghue, but other than that can't see any suggestion it is limited to FF and the Greens.

bmaxi

Here in Wexford, John Browne is on record as describing the €50,000 + handshake he got last year as "no big deal", while Seán Connick nearly had me in tears the other day detailing the sacrifices he was making on our behalf.
Never mind a General Election, time to sharpen the pikes methinks.

bmaxi

bmaxi wrote: »

Here in Wexford, John Browne is on record as describing the €50,000 + handshake he got last year as "no big deal", while Seán Connick nearly had me in tears the other day detailing the sacrifices he was making on our behalf.

Kathy Sinnott said the €50k she got for losing the last euro election would mean she could keep food on the table for a few months!

Well you kinda have to laugh. This was after she had racked up 350k on 'expenses'. Makes John O'Donoghue look cheap!

bonzos

This is another form of white collar crime....when the local rep for these wasters come koocking about lisbon the first question everyone should ask them is how do they feel about the people runing the country bleeding us dry!!!! if even half of the 440k people unemployed marched in dublin for a day about this surley something happen

lostexpectation

they never give these guys enough power to do anything

Dannyboy83

Ironically, the head of the Oireachtas Commission is Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue. :pac::pac::pac:

Hillel

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Ironically, the head of the Oireachtas Commission is Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue. :pac::pac::pac:

The Irish Times article says that "Mr O’Donoghue is expected to respond to the criticism before the Dáil reconvenes next week by means of a written statement to TDs and Senators."

So that's all right then, he'll just carry on as normal.

mikemac

Deleted User wrote: »

Kathy Sinnott said the €50k she got for losing the last euro election would mean she could keep food on the table for a few months!

Well you kinda have to laugh. This was after she had racked up 350k on 'expenses'. Makes John O'Donoghue look cheap!

She lost the election and got 50k?
Why?
She doesn't belong to any party, who paid her? Even in our general elections you don't get money for losing, in fact you have to pay a deposit which you may lose.

mikemac

mikemac wrote: »

She lost the election and got 50k?
Why?

Why? I guess the 450k she got in the previous year just simply wasn't enough to make ends meet!

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sinnott-gets-a--836450000-payoff--to-help-her-put-food-on-table-1850981.html

bmaxi

Politics, as a profession, is more or less unique. Once employed, the employee becomes the boss and can set their own pay and conditions. Those whose function it is to question these terms i.e. (a) the opposition or (b) various commissions and quangoes do little because, in the case of (a), they hope to be in the same position at a future date, and (b) they rely on political patronage to keep them in their lucrative, cushy jobs.
The biggest sinner in all this however is Joe Public, who, having seen all this, continues, for whatever obscure loyalty or reasoning, to tolerate the situation.
Returning the likes of Haughey, Burke, Flynn etc. to the Dáil is tacit approval of the way they behave.

bonzos

mikemac wrote: »

She lost the election and got 50k?
Why?
She doesn't belong to any party, who paid her? Even in our general elections you don't get money for losing, in fact you have to pay a deposit which you may lose.

At least all this talk about kathy sinnott take the spot light off poor JOD!The poor man has got such a hard time fron the press in recent times that i bet he is glad all this attention on him has settled down,lucky that all nononsence about how much he blows on having a good time came to light during his well deserved summer break....hopefully this pillar of society will be fully refreshed, rejuvenated and recharged when he returns to work

Hootanany

lycopodium123 wrote: »

despicable............. there are no other words for this "government"

I can think of loads C n uts all of them

bonzos

bonzos wrote: »

At least all this talk about kathy sinnott take the spot light off poor JOD!

Does it?

Here's a thread about TDs in general and I see quite a few concentrate on him alone...like yourself for starters...

Your post may be a tad paranoid, I really doubt it's forgotten or the spotlight is off him at all tbh.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

So. Not being an taxpayer (at least not to the Irish Govenment) I have a question:
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT??




.

Ikky Poo2

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT??

I'm on the edge of my seat!

I think we'll either storm the Winter Palace and kill the ruling classes.

Or grumble, and vote FG next time round. And they'll implement some reforms.

Between you and me, for all the anger here, my house is on the latter.

r3nu4l

Deleted User wrote: »

Or grumble, and vote FG next time round. And they'll implement some reforms.

Yeah but only the more popular ones that don't have too much effect on them personally :pac:

So the current lot tell Irish workers that they are getting a levy on their incomes, must be taxed more and tighten their belts while they themselves refuse pay cuts and generally carry on as before?

Eerily reminiscent of Mr. CJ Haughey methinks. :mad:

bonzos

Deleted User wrote: »

Does it?

Here's a thread about TDs in general and I see quite a few concentrate on him alone...like yourself for starters...

Your post may be a tad paranoid, I really doubt it's forgotten or the spotlight is off him at all tbh.

Is there any reason why once any direct remarks are made about JOD that you jump in to waterdown his actions?if you were totally impartial and had a genuine interest how the taxpayers money has been wasted i dont think that you could post remarks likes "makes JOD look cheap!"...BTW im not defending kathy sinnott but how anyone can concider JOD's carry on cheap is beyond me.Do you have links to him?professional or otherwise?

timbel

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

So. Not being an taxpayer (at least not to the Irish Govenment) I have a question:
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT??

.

Hows about forming a political party whose no.1 running policy is to reform the way the houses of the oireactas are run.
They can tackle the public service after that.

I cannot see any of the current politicians doing it - the opposition pay lip service to it, but we haven't seen feck all FG/Labour/SF TDs taking their 10% voluntary pay cut, or giving up their ministerial pension while getting paid a TDs salary plus expenses.

Its bloody sickening...

bonzos

bonzos wrote: »

Is there any reason why once any direct remarks are made about JOD that you jump in to waterdown his actions?if you were totally impartial and had a genuine interest how the taxpayers money has been wasted i dont think that you could post remarks likes "makes JOD look cheap!"...BTW im not defending kathy sinnott but how anyone can concider JOD's carry on cheap is beyond me.Do you have links to him?professional or otherwise?

:D

I'm his mammy. I've said that on another thread. You are not in the least bit paranoid. I'm his mammy and thus I know he's the only one screwing the expenses!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check he's getting his lunch. I expect you'll have to check if poor Kathy got food on her table too, and tell her that despite your protestations of 'not defending her' you're doing a great job keeping the spotlight off her...;)

bonzos

Deleted User wrote: »

:D

I'm his mammy. I've said that on another thread. You are not in the least bit paranoid. I'm his mammy and thus I know he's the only one screwing the expenses!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check he's getting his lunch. I expect you'll have to check if poor Kathy got food on her table too, and tell her that despite your protestations of 'not defending her' you're doing a great job keeping the spotlight off her...;)

you go girl!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm on the edge of my seat!

I think we'll either storm the Winter Palace and kill the ruling classes.

Or grumble, and vote FG next time round. And they'll implement some reforms.

Between you and me, for all the anger here, my house is on the latter.

timbel wrote: »

Hows about forming a political party whose no.1 running policy is to reform the way the houses of the oireactas are run.
They can tackle the public service after that.

I cannot see any of the current politicians doing it - the opposition pay lip service to it, but we haven't seen feck all FG/Labour/SF TDs taking their 10% voluntary pay cut, or giving up their ministerial pension while getting paid a TDs salary plus expenses.

Its bloody sickening...

Both wrong.
Correct answer was actually hidden optiion c) Bend Over.