Denis O'Brien, Catherine Murphy and the threatening lawsuit letters....

Baggy Trousers

Banjo String wrote: »

Its anyone even surprised at this ?



I'd say this inquiry will be lucky if it ever sees the light of day, never mind before the general election.

It's disgraceful. The Siteserv deal was supposed to be assigned priority in this inquiry. It's a sham.
DOB is way too powerful in political circles. The sooner people wake up to that, the better.

Happyman42

Banjo String wrote: »

Its anyone even surprised at this ?



I'd say this inquiry will be lucky if it ever sees the light of day, never mind before the general election.

Not a mission will it happen before a GE. Silly boy!

satguy

His buddies in power turned a blind eye when he got that phone licence, they did nothing when Michael Lowry had some extra cash in his off shore bank account... they said nothing when he sold that phone licence for €350 million and paid no tax.

He just keeps getting away with stuff, now because of the fools that said/did nothing to stop him, he is now too rich to take on, it seems he owns them now,, and we are paying the price..

And all this time the The Labour Party sat at the cabinet table while FG just kept on greasing the wheels on the DOB express, he will hit €10 Billion soon, maybe that is the real FG target..

It may well be too late to make DOB or FG pay now,, But we can send Labour to the same place the PD's went, and good riddance to them..They should have had our backs,, It now seems only the Independent TD's were doing that..

Banjo String

Happyman42 wrote: »

Not a mission will it happen before a GE. Silly boy!

But Enda said it would.

DeVore

When it comes to voting time, remember who questioned the powers... support her party and put some integrity back in the dail.

Zebra3

Where the fck are CAB in all of this?

Man bribes government minister and becomes wealthy as a result. Surely they should be trying to seize his assets.

Or maybe our beloved guards are actually just corrupt.

ohnonotgmail

satguy wrote: »

His buddies in power turned a blind eye when he got that phone licence, they did nothing when Michael Lowry had some extra cash in his off shore bank account... they said nothing when he sold that phone licence for €350 million and paid no tax.
...

He paid no tax because he wasnt an irish resident at the time. Nothing illegal there at all. Not defending the guy just pointing out facts.

hatrickpatrick

This along with sham politics is why I'm advising everyone to vote against not just our current government, but mainstream parties in general at the next election.

Ireland needs some Bernie Sanders types. No connections or loyalties to any vested interest, no interest in kowtowing to anyone other than the general population.

Vic_08

satguy wrote: »

And all this time the The Labour Party sat at the cabinet table while FG just kept on greasing the wheels on the DOB express, he will hit €10 Billion soon, maybe that is the real FG target..

It may well be too late to make DOB or FG pay now,, But we can send Labour to the same place the PD's went, and good riddance to them..They should have had our backs,, It now seems only the Independent TD's were doing that..

I just love this typical Paddy logic. It was/is FF and FG involved in the corruption but we should send Labour to oblivion because they did nothing about it.

Not supporting Lab in any way but this hypocritical attitude is at the heart of why Irish politics is doomed to be mired in the same corrupt sh!ithouse it has always been. The two main parties are the source of the vast majority of cronyism and corruption but all you hear is how the political minnows have let us down by not standing up to the bad guys.

We all sneered at the stupid Italians for repeatedly electing Berlusconi but we do the exact same. FF did their best to bankrupt the country and saddle generations with paying back the debt of private companies but they are likely to be in power again soon, DOB's deals were "facilitated" in the main by FG cronies, didn't stop them being swept to power though.

We can criticise DOB and every corrupt politician out there but when we repeatedly re-elect these same parties to power what the fukk do you expect them to do but carry on with business as usual.

kidneyfan

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

He paid no tax because he wasnt an irish resident at the time. Nothing illegal there at all. Not defending the guy just pointing out facts.

He was a resident. His house didn't have a kitchen. Mary Laffoy (FG stuck her on the High Court in 1995 and then kicked her upstairs 18 years later -- all above board I am sure) agreed with Bertie Ahern's brother in law Ronan Kelly (a surprising appointment to Appeals commission) that Dennis O'Brien shouldn't have to pay tax in Ireland.

stoneill

martingriff wrote: »

Oh it is but you have hit the nail in the head tribunials have no power they are a truth commission if you like where what come out (unless it is adjudicated to have not helpfull for want of a better word) then nothing of what you have said or the finding can be acted upon

This is why there are so many tribunals here.
They have no judicial power to act on their findings - and their findings cannot be used in a judicial process! Win/Win.

ohnonotgmail

kidneyfan wrote: »

He was a resident. His house didn't have a kitchen. Mary Laffoy (FG stuck her on the High Court in 1995 and then kicked her upstairs 18 years later -- all above board I am sure) agreed with Bertie Ahern's brother in law Ronan Kelly (a surprising appointment to Appeals commission) that Dennis O'Brien shouldn't have to pay tax in Ireland.

he made sure he was resident in portugal at the time of the Esat sale so he wouldnt be liable for capital gains tax.

kidneyfan

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

he made sure he was resident in portugal at the time of the Esat sale so he wouldnt be liable for capital gains tax.

Revenue said he was liable Bertie's brother in law disagreed and Mary (FG appointed me to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court and that's fine by the way just fine) Laffoy agreed that FG's owner wouldn't have to pay tax here.

jezzer

Dennis O Brien is a really nice man

ohnonotgmail

kidneyfan wrote: »

Revenue said he was liable Bertie's brother in law disagreed and Mary (FG appointed me to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court and that's fine by the way just fine) Laffoy agreed that FG's owner wouldn't have to pay tax here.

Do the people involved change the facts of the case? Revenue claimed he was resident at a house that was undergoing renovations. Neither O'brien or his family were living in the house at that time. The revenue argument was that the house was available to him and he could have lived in it. a particularly weak argument if you ask me.

Berkieahern

Zebra3 wrote: »

Where the fck are CAB in all of this?

Man bribes government minister and becomes wealthy as a result. Surely they should be trying to seize his assets.

Or maybe our beloved guards are actually just corrupt.

And Denis o Brien is now awarding contracts to Michael Lowry's air conditioning company. The wheel keeps spinning for fine Gael and there buddies!

hatrickpatrick

Vic_08 wrote: »

I just love this typical Paddy logic. It was/is FF and FG involved in the corruption but we should send Labour to oblivion because they did nothing about it.

Not supporting Lab in any way but this hypocritical attitude is at the heart of why Irish politics is doomed to be mired in the same corrupt sh!ithouse it has always been. The two main parties are the source of the vast majority of cronyism and corruption but all you hear is how the political minnows have let us down by not standing up to the bad guys.

How is any of this untrue? Labour could have put their foot down over any of these issues and chose not to. They're 100% legitimately regarded as co-conspirators.

We all sneered at the stupid Italians for repeatedly electing Berlusconi but we do the exact same. FF did their best to bankrupt the country and saddle generations with paying back the debt of private companies but they are likely to be in power again soon, DOB's deals were "facilitated" in the main by FG cronies, didn't stop them being swept to power though.

We can criticise DOB and every corrupt politician out there but when we repeatedly re-elect these same parties to power what the fukk do you expect them to do but carry on with business as usual.

Nobody is suggesting that we should abandon labour in favour of FG or FF. Read the post you quoted - it's suggesting we torch all three mainstream parties (four if you include SF, who I imagine would be every bit as bad as any of the others) and vote for small parties and independents.

Zebra3

Berkieahern wrote: »

And Denis o Brien is now awarding contracts to Michael Lowry's air conditioning company. The wheel keeps spinning for fine Gael and there buddies!

And DOB companies are still being awarded state contracts!!!!

Banana Republic.

And yet the morons will still line up to vote for the facilitators of all this corruption.....

Berkieahern

Zebra3 wrote: »

And DOB companies are still being awarded state contracts!!!!

Banana Republic.

And yet the morons will still line up to vote for the facilitators of all this corruption.....

I'm awaiting one particular poster here any minute to defend he's beloved FG/DOB against these scurillous allegations!

Grab All Association

Berkieahern wrote: »

I'm awaiting one particular poster here any minute to defend he's beloved FG/DOB against these scurillous allegations!

Maryanne
Kermit
Bojack?

satguy

Vic_08 wrote: »

I just love this typical Paddy logic. It was/is FF and FG involved in the corruption but we should send Labour to oblivion because they did nothing about it.

Yep,, Labour should have had our backs, and stood up to FG..

We vote for Labour in Ireland so as not to let the big two run riot, that is their only job, If they can not do that job, we have no need of them, and they can bugger off,, even the unions are looking to cut ties with them.

The Labour Party of old, always had our backs, but this shower are useless.

Vic_08

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

How is any of this untrue? Labour could have put their foot down over any of these issues and chose not to. They're 100% legitimately regarded as co-conspirators.

Not sure if co-conspirators is correct. They certainly have looked the other way and deserve no support from the electorate going forward but unlike FG and FF they are not the ones who actually participated in the corruption.

Focusing on their pathetic performance just deflects from the crimes committed by members of the 2 main parties and their associates.

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Nobody is suggesting that we should abandon labour in favour of FG or FF. Read the post you quoted - it's suggesting we torch all three mainstream parties (four if you include SF, who I imagine would be every bit as bad as any of the others) and vote for small parties and independents.

Lumping them all in together is not correct and as much as it damns Lab (and SF) by association it also waters down the seriousness of the actions of the bent politicians by lumping them all together.

Being a corrupt politician is not the same as being a lazy useless one or a (probably would be as bad as the rest because I don't like them anyway) politician.

While no-one on this thread has suggested sticking with FF or FG that is exactly what the electorate will do. Lab will get the kicking they deserve as every junior coalition party has done in recent history however either FF or FG are practically guaranteed to be in a position to lead the next government in some form, no matter what these crooks get up to they keep a core support and a large % of the rest of the public just drift back to them after a few years as if it is all really no big deal.

I fully support the idea of getting behind (certain) Independents and small parties such as the Social Democrats and abandoning for good the entire spectrum of our current political elite.

Only through a complete removal of these sh!tehawks and their cronies can we ever have proper reform, sadly I don't see it ever happening with the cute hoorism that is rife particularly in rural Ireland. In a country where the incumbent FFer being a great lad with the local GAA has more weight than him being publicly outed as corrupt, incompetent and thick as sh!t what chance is there of ever seeing real change.

Zebra3

satguy wrote: »

Yep,, Labour should have had our backs, and stood up to FG..

We vote for Labour in Ireland so as not to let the big two run riot, that is their only job, If they can not do that job, we have no need of them, and they can bugger off,, even the unions are looking to cut ties with them.

The Labour Party of old, always had our backs, but this shower are useless.

No, they haven't. Labour screwed the taxpayer back in the 80s lumping them with the bill for bailing out AIB's insurance wing.

Self-serving Mercs & Perks mob.

satguy

DOB can get very rich, our two main parties are front loaded with guys that will take bribes, From CJ, to that weasel Lowry and so on, they are all too quick to hold out a hand.

But DOB could never have handed out brown envelopes to the Labour Party of old, they did not take bribes, they had our backs, our cop cars would get gas elsewhere, thank you very much..

But the Labour Party we have now, under Joan,, They sat at the table while FG pockets where stuffed with cash, and did nothing..

Catherine Murphy had to stand up and look out for us, while cop cars and fire trucks got gas at DOB pumps, and a bank we own gave him low cost loans, or loan write downs, or paid out that 5 mil to some un named siteserv shareholders.

Maybe it is time we looked at our Independents and Small Parties, and gave them some votes.

FG are about to ask that guy from rehab lotteries to come back and show them how to work these off shore account thingy's properly,,, ?
Or maybe ask Angela Kerins to stand in Dublin SW

opiniated

satguy wrote: »

Catherine Murphy had to stand up and look out for us, while cop cars and fire trucks got gas at DOB pumps, and a bank we own gave him low cost loans, or loan write downs, or paid out that 5 mil to some un named siteserv shareholders.

Maybe it is time we looked at our Independents and Small Parties, and gave them some votes.

I'm hoping some of the small parties will run some candidates in my area, tbh.
At least it would give me a choice, rather than the same old "least worst" candidate, and trying to guess what the various parties are really going to do, if elected.

One thing is certain. FG and FF will be at the very bottom of the list.

Grab All Association

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2015/11/11/the-brazen-heads/

Vic_08

Grab All Association wrote: »

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2015/11/11/the-brazen-heads/

Mr Lowry’s argument in the High Court seems to be that Haughey gave the tribunal even more of a run around than he himself did so it’s unfair that he should have fewer costs awarded to him than were awarded to Haughey. I trust his legal costs have left him some cash to invest in some decent moisturiser for his neck which appears to resemble the nether regions of a jockey.

I suppose if that doesn't work then he could apply to the court for maintenance funding. The logic would be that as he is corrupt he should be in prison where the state would pay for his upkeep, as he is not in prison he has to pay for his own food, housing and buggery so it is discriminatory for the state to not compensate him for those expenses.

Berkieahern

Vic_08 wrote: »

I suppose if that doesn't work then he could apply to the court for maintenance funding. The logic would be that as he is corrupt he should be in prison where the state would pay for his upkeep, as he is not in prison he has to pay for his own food, housing and buggery so it is discriminatory for the state to not compensate him for those expenses.

Jesus Christ!

Don't even give him the idea!

Baggy Trousers

Vic_08 wrote: »

We can criticise DOB and every corrupt politician out there but when we repeatedly re-elect these same parties to power what the fukk do you expect them to do but carry on with business as usual.

Yeah I hear people at work saying they will vote FG despite very obvious misgivings, concerns and disgust around waste (e.g. IW, HSE management). I say to them, if you ever want to clean up politics and reform the political system, you have to break the stranglehold of the civil war parties.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I will not vote FG, FF, Labour or SF. I will probably pick an honourable Independent. We have to break the system to rebuild it.

Banjo String

jezzer wrote: »

Dennis O Brien is a really nice man

I couldn't eat a whole one.

Alf Stewart.

O'Brien lost his case.

Rightly so.

THE HIGH COURT has ruled against Denis O’Brien on all grounds in a case he took against the Dáil and the State.

The action concerned certain statements made about O’Brien’s business dealings in Dáil Éireann by TDs Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty on 6 May 2015 during a debate on the sale of Siteserv.

The businessman alleged that those statements breached his constitutional right to privacy. He also said that they were prejudicial to another legal action he had taken against RTÉ.

Those same statements were subsequently declared to be protected under privilege by the Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privilege, the committee against which this action was based.

However, Judge Úna Ní Raifeartaigh today said that the statements did not decide the RTÉ case. Ruling against O’Brien, she also said Dáil utterances are immune from judicial condemnation or court interference.

El Weirdo

Alf Stewart. wrote: »

O'Brien lost his case.

Rightly so.

Fucking delighted.

jimgoose

Ruddy good! :cool:

WoollyRedHat

D'OB!

nice_guy80

all that money wasted on legal eagles

vicwatson

Supreme court anyone? He has the money and its a little hobby of his to spend loads of it in the courts

ohnonotgmail

vicwatson wrote: »

Supreme court anyone? He has the money and its a little hobby of his to spend loads of it in the courts

he has the money but he would be wasting it. I'm not even sure why he took it this far.

vicwatson

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

he has the money but he would be wasting it. I'm not even sure why he took it this far.

Who knows if he would waste it, supreme court could easily not agree with the HC, simples.

ohnonotgmail

vicwatson wrote: »

Who knows if he would waste it, supreme court could easily not agree with the HC, simples.

you think the supreme court would overturn Dail privilege?

Ulysses Gaze

When I think of O'Brien and all the spurious legal actions he takes, i think of this scene from The Simpsons.

Swap the Hot Dog vendor with Lawyers and Homer for DOB. And hot dogs for Legal writs.

Kristopherus

Great news. Might, just might, teach him to keep his dosh in his pocket (cave).

Zebra3

nice_guy80 wrote: »

all that money wasted on legal eagles

Not for DOB.

It's a way to intimidate anyone else thinking of standing up to him.

The threat of the cost of legal action against you.

The system works.

For our oligarch.

Alf Stewart.

Good old Uncle Dinny.

DeVore

He never expected to win that. Its purely for the chilling effect it will have on the next people to dare to stand up to that bloated windbag.

R P McMurphy

DeVore wrote: »

He never expected to win that. Its purely for the chilling effect it will have on the next people to dare to stand up to that bloated windbag.

Kindly redact the word bloated ... idle speculation about Dennis's gastrointestinal circumstances

McMurphy

DeVore wrote: »

Denis O'Brien's lawyers have had a busy day sending letters to various media outlets (including the Broadsheet, who have bravely refused to cave) regarding his interactions with IBRC (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation).

Funny thing... the Oireachtas debates enjoy a privileged position in Irish society in that they are protected speech and TD's cant be sued for what they say on the floor. Neat huh!

That extends to the records kept of those debates.

Some of those records are even kept online.


Page 27, paragraph 3 is fascinating.

She's been at it again.

NEW ALLEGATIONS ABOUT Denis O’Brien’s finances have been made in the D by Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy.

Speaking under D privilege this afternoon, Murphy claimed that O’Brien offered to guarantee a €5 million loan to property developer Paddy McKillen in 2012.

Murphy said that the loan was subsequently granted and occurred at a time when the men already had “huge” and “significant” debts to the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

“Essentially, a man with huge debts to IBRC was granted a loan from the IBRC on the guarantee of another man who owed significant sums to IBRC while there were questions over both men’s financial ability to fulfil original loan agreements with IBRC,” Murphy said.

Siteserv under the spotlight once again too.

It is interesting to note that the AIB group chief credit officer at the time the loan was advanced went on after leaving AIB to join the boards of Siteserv, Topaz and the Beacon Hospital, all owned by Mr. Denis O’Brien. Why was that? My point has always been that while there may be perfectly legitimate answers to these questions, they stand out as very obvious questions to ask.

]http://www.thejournal.ie/catherine-murphy-denis-obrien-paddy-2868944-Jul2016/?utm_source=shortlink