De Búrca resigns from Greens, Seanad

RoundyMooney

Mary White sez that DDB only jumped ship because she didn't get the gig with MGQ in Europe.

Ciaran Cuffe on the radio now has reiterated that.

Unbelievable.

Biggins

RoundyMooney wrote: »

Mary White sez that DDB only jumped ship because she didn't get the gig with MGQ in Europe.
Ciaran Cuffe on the radio now has reiterated that.
Unbelievable.

Stoop to any lower level they will to win the PR back.
I wouldn't expect anything less than this type of gutter behaviour from the Green leaders.
Its the same tone of language that I'd expect to hear from a drug pusher giving out about the state and the law!

IrishTonyO

Green Party deputy leader Mary White has accused former party senator Déirdre de Búrca of threatening to damage the party if she did not secure a senior job in the EU.

Does anyone hear the band playing on the deck of the good ship Green Party :eek:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0213/deburcab.html

Biggins

IrishTonyO wrote: »

Green Party deputy leader Mary White has accused former party senator Déirdre de Búrca of threatening to damage the party if she did not secure a senior job in the EU.

Does anyone hear the band playing on the deck of the good ship Green Party :eek:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0213/deburcab.html

I hope Mary White (for her sake) can back up those claims with proof or her and the Green Party might find themselves in a Dublin high-court for slandering the name of a public representative!
De Burca would be a fool to have that "claim" sit on her record and let it pass without fighting it with every action possible.

The next few days/weeks will be pretty interesting in this matter!

Red_Marauder

Biggins wrote: »

I hope Mary White (for her sake) can back up those claims with proof or her and the Green Party might find themselves in a Dublin high-court for slandering the name of a public representative!
De Burca would be a fool to have that "claim" sit on her record and let it pass without fighting it with every action possible.

The next few days/weeks will be pretty interesting in this matter!

Of course, it is only libellous if it isn't true... and we don't know what the truth is yet.

Biggins

Red_Marauder wrote: »

Of course, it is only libellous if it isn't true... and we don't know what the truth is yet.

Its an easy mistake to make and I am not, nor wish to take aim at you personally by mentioning it but "libellous" refers to written damaging material.
(Slander is "oral damage")

It might be better to say
"Of course, it is only open to litigation if it isn't true... and we don't know what the truth is yet"

...and in what your trying to say, I agree. Time will tell on this one.

Scofflaw

RoundyMooney wrote: »

Mary White sez that DDB only jumped ship because she didn't get the gig with MGQ in Europe.

Ciaran Cuffe on the radio now has reiterated that.

Unbelievable.

That they said it, or that it's true? As far as the latter goes, I don't see that it's at all unbelievable. de Burca is ambitious, failed to be elected as an MEP, as a TD, and now didn't get the Commission job she expected - a couple of days ago. She wants to be a mover and shaker, and the Green Party isn't doing it for her - although she doesn't seem yet to have another party to go to.

cordially,
Scofflaw

RoundyMooney

That it's true. I can understand the party being only too happy to justify itself by relating events, as indeed can I understand ambition.

What I can't understand is how the likes of DDB can only speak the truth when she sees herself as being rejected. It's petty, and makes her look like a grubby careerist.

Red_Marauder

Biggins wrote: »

Its an easy mistake to make and I am not, nor wish to take aim at you personally by mentioning it but "libellous" refers to written damaging material.
(Slander is "oral damage")

I know that quite well.

Mary White, who you referred to, put her thoughts in a letter.

Guell72

Whats happening now is that they realize that they are going to get trounced spectacularly. The rats will always leave the sinking ship. They pretend now that they are leaving on principle - should have done it ages ago and we might have reason to believe them. But all this talk of an alternative Green movement etc is just them trying to grab on to a new boat, since they effectively scuttled the existing one.

I for one wont be fooled by any of them bailing out now. Too little too late. They are doing it for selfish reasons as usual.

Biggins

Red_Marauder wrote: »

I know that quite well.

Mary White, who you referred to, put her thoughts in a letter.

O' crikey! That might come back to haunt her and the party then.

Rosette

Biggins wrote: »

Stoop to any lower level they will to win the PR back.
I wouldn't expect anything less than this type of gutter behaviour from the Green leaders.
Its the same tone of language that I'd expect to hear from a drug pusher giving out about the state and the law!

You might as well go with tone of language, because content is slightly rambling.
You don't win PR in this country, you go to visit the INM offices and you buy it. Check back issues of the Phoenix. Or else you are related to someone in RTE.

Bob Z

Biggins wrote: »

Its an easy mistake to make and I am not, nor wish to take aim at you personally by mentioning it but "libellous" refers to written damaging material.
(Slander is "oral damage")

It might be better to say
"Of course, it is only open to litigation if it isn't true... and we don't know what the truth is yet"

...and in what your trying to say, I agree. Time will tell on this one.

Actually Red Marauder is right. Libel is when its in permanent form eg broadcast

Biggins

Bob Z wrote: »

Actually Red Marauder is right. Libel is when its in permanent form eg broadcast

Red Marauder I know will be good enough to forgive this ageing bum then.
I still agree with his words.

Red_Marauder

Ha... Well slander or libel, it does seem like a serious enough allegation to make outside of the safety of an Oireachtas chamber.

Of course I think if DeBúrca were to seriously consider running for another party or ever running again, any legal recourse should be the last thing on her mind.

Seth Brundle

Poly wrote: »

Eamon Ryan probably had remote control electrodes on Gogarty's balls in case he went on a solo run.

I do hope that the electricity is generated from renewable resources?

Slattery86 wrote: »

Who's next, Gormless or Gogarty? Should be interesting, I await with popcorn.

You really think that gormless would quit for FF?



It is interesting to note that this isn't the first time accusations like DDB's have been made by defectors:

Chris O&#8217 wrote: »

The only Green on Cork City Council, Chris O’Leary announced he was leaving the party in January of last year because of a “stay-in-government-at-all-costs” agenda. He is now an Independent councillor.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0213/1224264353498.html

The Donegal branch left a few months ago because they felt that those high up were ignoring the party constitution.

I can only conclude that the leadership of Comhaontas Glas has abandoned every single one of our Green Principles for the sake of power.

Sustainable politics have lost for a couple of more months being in government with Fianna Fáil!

Not only have they betrayed our Green Statutes and Principles. They obviously seem not to care about the people of Ireland who indeed have lost faith in the Comhaontas Glas. And it also seems that they don't care that those disastrous policies have put the most massive damage in our young history to the Green Movement as such in this country.

Therefore I couldn't see any other way than the Donegal Greens disassociate from Comhaontas Glas to ensure that, at least in Donegal, these Green Principles are NOT and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES any more negotiable!

http://donegalgreens.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/DONEGAL-GREEN-PARTY-CONSTITUTION-2004.pdf

Who is next indeed?

Biggins

Red_Marauder wrote: »

Ha... Well slander or libel, it does seem like a serious enough allegation to make outside of the safety of an Oireachtas chamber.

Of course I think if DeBúrca were to seriously consider running for another party or ever running again, any legal recourse should be the last thing on her mind.

JUst the quote from the RTE news site "Mary White has accused former party senator Déirdre de Búrca of threatening to damage..."

Might (and probably) not end up in a court in all honesty but I'm sure if DeBúrca wants to some day enter into another party or indeed set-up her own, she must realise that she'd have to clear this matter up sharpish before the rot of her supposedly "threatening" sets in and further casts stigma upon her name.

Mary White and the Greens better be able to back up their claim indeed or this smear allegation alone will be seriously fired back at them again and again in the future.

mike65

Its interesting De Burca hasn't responded and if she doesn't no one will have any reason to think the charge isn't true.

Biggins

mike65 wrote: »

Its interesting De Burca hasn't responded and if she doesn't no one will have any reason to think the charge isn't true.

Just guessing - she might be waiting till Monday, gaining further legal representation and/or waiting for the courts/legal clerks to open...

Seth Brundle

Its great that she still has some friends in her time of need
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deirdre-de-Burca/55976752514

RoundyMooney

I'd nearly become a fan just to break the circle jerk and tell her the truth!

Red_Marauder

Biggins wrote: »

Just guessing - she might be waiting till Monday, gaining further legal representation and/or waiting for the courts/legal clerks to open...

Well... more likely that if you want to make the headlines, you make a statement on a Monday, not a Saturday evening.

Similiarly George Lee didn't quit politics last thing on a Friday evening when the political correspondants were going home. He made it on a Monday morning for maximum media impact. As a journalist he understands timing... We should hear from De Búrca tomorrow.

Biggins

Red_Marauder wrote: »

Well... more likely that if you want to make the headlines, you make a statement on a Monday, not a Saturday evening.

Similiarly George Lee didn't quit politics last thing on a Friday evening when the political correspondants were going home. He made it on a Monday morning for maximum media impact. As a journalist he understands timing... We should hear from De Búrca tomorrow.

Very good point.

simonj

She failed to be elected a TD or MEP, she was appointed to the Senate by Taoseach and I figure did not see a future in senior Irish politics as the greens look as if they are going the same way as the PDs in Irish politics - it what happens to most monkeys working for the FF organ grinder.

If what some commentators say is true she saw a gravy train in Europe, and tried to blackmail her way on to the train.

Its a shame really, there are very decent people in the Greens, but the TDs and the executive have let them down.
It was nice to see a post civil war party.

However, she is right in that the Greens have lost all credibility with the electorate between propping up FF and GoGos outbursts - the guy is Irelands own Prince Phillip.

RoundyMooney

I like Prince Philip. I wouldn't cross the road to engage with Gormless, or De Burca for that matter.

mike65

She's taking her time to respond....

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

IrishTonyO

eVeNtInE wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

No you can leave a party and still remain in the Dáil/Seanad

Macha

Thar she blows:

De Burca resigned over failure to secure EU job

The two Green Party Ministers actively lobbied Taoiseach Brian Cowen in favour of Pat Cox’s appointment as EU Commissioner but were persuaded to support Maire Geoghean Quinn on condition that a Green would be appointed to her cabinet, former Senator Déirdre De Búrca has insisted.

In a detailed statement today Ms De Búrca, who is still a member of the Greens, said she wanted to put the record straight abut a number of inaccurate claims that had been made since her resignation from the Seanad last Friday.

She said one of the inaccurate claims that had been made about her was that the Greens had only agreed to lobby on here behalf with the Taoiseach in relation to a position in Ms Geoghegan Quinn’s cabinet.

“In fact, John Gormley told me clearly that he had negotiated a position for a Green in her new cabinet as a basic condition of Green Party support for her nomination. The Green Party had favoured Pat Cox for the position of Commissioner, and the two Green Ministers actively lobbied Brian Cowen to have him nominated for the post.

“However, Fianna Fáil was insistent that one of their own be nominated, and favoured Maire Geoghegan Quinn. The Green Party eventually agreed to support her nomination subject to the condition that there be a position for a Green in her cabinet,” said Ms De Búrca.

She added that she had queried John Gormley at the time as to whether this was not a decision that the new commissioner-designate herself would have to make.

“John told me that Brian Cowen had telephoned Maire Geoghegan Quinn last November and made her aware of this condition before she was officially nominated. I asked how she had reacted to the news and he told me that she had agreed because she was very interested in the nomination.

“This occurred last November and while there were obvious sensitivities about discussing the matter publicly before the Commissioner was appointed, there was no uncertainty about it. Any suggestion therefore that my party had merely agreed to lobby Brian Cowen for me in relation to the position is very misleading.”

Ms De Búrca added that the news that the Research and Innovation portfolio had been assigned to the Irish Commissioner was very welcome to her as the portfolio will be critical in assisting the EU achieving its most important strategic objective of becoming an internationally-competitive, low-carbon economy based on innovation in many new areas of green enterprise and technology.

She added that a Green presence in that cabinet would have been valuable and Mr Gormley’s early insistence on having a Green in the cabinet seemed a very sensible one.

“It is indicative of the weakness of the Green Party’s position in government at present that, given the opportunity to influence the momentum in the EU towards a greener low-carbon European economy, my party allowed itself to be ‘shafted’ (to quote John Gormley). It indicates a particular attitude towards green policies that became very familiar in dealing with our government partners in Leinster House.

“I regret that John Gormley seems willing to allow the party to be so regularly outmanoeuvred in this way in the interests of remaining in government, rather than asserting the interests of the Green Party and its constituency,” she said.

Ms De Búrca said the past few weeks leading up to her resignation had been extremely difficult ones for her. Three weeks ago a senior Fianna Fáil Minister had stopped her on the corridors of Government Buildings to tell her that the position in Maire Geoghegan Quinn’s cabinet had been offered to another individual.

“This was the first indication I had that the position was not going to be offered to me. I immediately spoke to John Gormley but it took a further week to confirm that the agreement had been breached by our government partners.

“I encouraged him to insist on the agreement being honoured but he told me that he was powerless to do so. “He told me that our government partners were willing to offer me a position as chef de cabinet in the European Court of Auditors.

“I turned the position down on the basis that I do not believe I have the necessary skills or experience to carry out the important work of ensuring that the EU Budget is correctly implemented,” she said.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0215/breaking43.htm

Well, at least she's acknowledged that her not getting the job was the deciding factor.

Laminations

taconnol wrote: »

Thar she blows:

Well, at least she's acknowledged that her not getting the job was the deciding factor.

How do you get that from what she said? It seems the government reneging on the promise to give the position to a Green (any Green) and John Gormleys acceptance of this was the last straw in all this

DeBurca wrote:

Any suggestion therefore that my party had merely agreed to lobby Brian Cowen for me in relation to the position is very misleading.”