Barry Cowen sacked

thebaz

smelly sock wrote: »

One question and I believe it needs answering. Whatever about Cowen and his mistake. How the hell did this reach the media? Who leaked it? What sanctions will they face?

The Independent seam to have an ageneda against him and his party - they have an agenda against Sinn Fein too - not sure what they want - I am not a Fianna Fail fan and have criticised Cowen brother continualy and the damage he and Aherne did to the country - but surley we should give them a chance before they start instead of bringing up skeletons from the past - judge them on what they do NOW - everyone has done something in the past they regret - everyone - including the Moral police at the Independent.

BattleCorp

The drink driving thing is public record.

How did the news of the FCPN become public news?

marieholmfan

thebaz wrote: »

The Independent seam to have an ageneda against him and his party - they have an agenda against Sinn Fein too - not sure what they want - I am not a Fianna Fail fan and have criticised Cowen brother continualy and the damage he and Aherne did to the country - but surley we should give them a chance before they start instead of bringing up skeletons from the past - judge them on what they do NOW - everyone has done something in the past they regret - everyone - including the Moral police at the Independent.

This clearly and I mean clearly is a leak from inside Fianna Fail. Look at who wanted a good job and was passed over and there's your leaker.

Did he claim mileage when he was a councillor?

expectationlost

seamusk84 wrote: »

This^^

He was asked on The Week in Politics was anything else going to come out and he said no.

Here we are two days later and this emerges?

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=113946525&postcount=280

Dempo1

thebaz wrote: »

The Independent seam to have an ageneda against him and his party - they have an agenda against Sinn Fein too - not sure what they want - I am not a Fianna Fail fan and have criticised Cowen brother continualy and the damage he and Aherne did to the country - but surley we should give them a chance before they start instead of bringing up skeletons from the past - judge them on what they do NOW - everyone has done something in the past they regret - everyone - including the Moral police at the Independent.

I wish the Independent were as diligent in following up on those missing Summons relating to Robert Troy, a lot more questions here, seemingly local gardai "forgot to serve them, and more than a few"

BattleCorp

marieholmfan wrote: »

Did he claim mileage when he was a councillor?

He would be entitled to claim mileage as a councillor. He might have gotten taxis or had someone else drive him while he was banned.

elperello

Just a thought on the informing M Martin issue.

One would think that when considering appointing people to such an important post as Minister that a questionnaire covering matters like convictions, FCPN's, court judgments, financial status etc. should be a requirement.

marieholmfan

Dempo1 wrote: »

I wish the Independent were as diligent in following up on those missing Summons relating to Robert Troy, a lot more questions here, seemingly local gardai "forgot to serve them, and more than a few"

The Independent group probably know that alot of people still hate Barry Cowen's brother and like to read about Barry's misfortunes.

Dempo1

He did

BattleCorp

elperello wrote: »

Just a thought on the informing M Martin issue.

One would think that when considering appointing people to such an important post as Minister that a questionnaire covering matters like convictions, FCPN's, court judgments, financial status etc. should be a requirement.

How would having penalty points or your financial status (as long as you weren't bankrupt) be relevant to being a Minister?

Dempo1

Not so, but look near enough to Tullamore, a lot of enemies locally, one in particular with an "Independent Streak"

Intern.

Has he explained what he means by regularising the licence

His use of that term implies there was something irregular going on

marieholmfan

Dempo1 wrote: »

Not so, but look near enough to Tullamore, a lot of enemies locally, one in particular with an "Independent Streak"

I wouldn't think so. Why now? If you're a local rival you release this at the time of the election (not that anyone in Clara would care or even understand why it might be wrong to drive drunk and without valid insurance) . This story benefits only someone in FF who could conceivably be made a minister.

Dempo1

marieholmfan wrote: »

The Independent group probably know that alot of people still hate Barry Cowen's brother and like to read about Barry's misfortunes.

I really don;t think this is the case, even the most Hardened anti FF head would have to have some sympathy for Brian Cowan, particularly during his recovery. This is very, very personal and I'm pretty sure came from a local source.

elperello

BattleCorp wrote: »

How would having penalty points or your financial status (as long as you weren't bankrupt) be relevant to being a Minister?

Just that it would mean full disclosure so the Taoiseach would be in the picture.

If you appointed a Minister who was about to have his house repossessed or had court judgments against him for substantial amounts it could be a problem.

Dempo1

marieholmfan wrote: »

I wouldn't think so. Why now? If you're a local rival you release this at the time of the election (not that anyone in Clara would care or even understand why it might be wrong to drive drunk and without valid insurance) . This story benefits only someone in FF who could conceivably be made a minister.

Not Clara, head up the mountains a little , Cowan had very little axes to grind internally, but certainly locally and not within FF

BattleCorp

Intern. wrote: »

Has he explained what he means by regularising the licence

His use of that term implies there was something irregular going on

He drove unaccompanied on a provisional licence. So did I. So did most people over the age of 40 and a good few under 40 too.

He got penalty points for breaking the speed limit. So did I. So did an awful lot of people. I think the vast majority of people who drive have broken the speed limit somewhere.

He drove while over the limit and got caught. Fair enough, not everyone does this. But he was punished accordingly and served that punishment.

Intern.

BattleCorp wrote: »

He drove unaccompanied on a provisional licence. So did I. So did most people over the age of 40 and a good few under 40 too.

He got penalty points for breaking the speed limit. So did I. So did an awful lot of people. I think the vast majority of people who drive have broken the speed limit somewhere.

He drove while over the limit and got caught. Fair enough, not everyone does this. But he was punished accordingly and served that punishment.

Ya I get all that

His wording implies there was something else amiss aside from having a learner permit

smelly sock

So how did the indo get a hold of this?

Intern.

smelly sock wrote: »

So how did the indo get a hold of this?

Was.known about and then shared with the indo

Pintman Paddy Losty

Did he claim all his expenses while he was off the road?

BattleCorp

Intern. wrote: »

Was.known about and then shared with the indo

The drink driving conviction would have been know about but how would the FCPN be known about? The only people who can access this as far as I'm aware are the Gardai and the insurance companies.

hetuzozaho

Intern. wrote: »

Ya I get all that

His wording implies there was something else amiss aside from having a learner permit

Yeah what does regularising it mean? Feel it means he didn't pass his test

dundalkfc10

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I didn’t say anything for or against drink drivers

Just saying your faux outrage is laughable.....

This has nothing to do with SF. There is another thread for that (every thread is about Irelands largest Party these days though)

BattleCorp

elperello wrote: »

Just that it would mean full disclosure so the Taoiseach would be in the picture.

If you appointed a Minister who was about to have his house repossessed or had court judgments against him for substantial amounts it could be a problem.

I don't tell my boss in work that I have penalty points nor do I tell them about my financial statement as they aren't relevant to the work I do.

I get that if someone is bankrupt they can't be a TD but that's different. That would have to be disclosed but if you weren't in that situation, why would you have to tell your boss about your financial affairs?

Also, having a drink driving conviction in your past isn't something you necessarily have to disclose to your employer unless you are driving a company vehicle.

Jinglejangle69

BattleCorp wrote: »

He drove unaccompanied on a provisional licence. So did I. So did most people over the age of 40 and a good few under 40 too.

He got penalty points for breaking the speed limit. So did I. So did an awful lot of people. I think the vast majority of people who drive have broken the speed limit somewhere.

He drove while over the limit and got caught. Fair enough, not everyone does this. But he was punished accordingly and served that punishment.

Were constantly told public reps need to be held to a higher standard?

BattleCorp

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

Were constantly told public reps need to be held to a higher standard?

I don't subscribe to that.

They are people, the same as the rest of us. They just chose a job that requires a lot of publicity. They aren't any more saintly than the rest of us.

elperello

BattleCorp wrote: »

I don't tell my boss in work that I have penalty points nor do I tell them about my financial statement as they aren't relevant to the work I do.

I get that if someone is bankrupt they can't be a TD but that's different. That would have to be disclosed but if you weren't in that situation, why would you have to tell your boss about your financial affairs?

Also, having a drink driving conviction in your past isn't something you necessarily have to disclose to your employer unless you are driving a company vehicle.

I take your point about an employer in a company but we are talking about politics here which is a different animal.

I'm not suggesting that the information should be given on an official form but that it would be between the Taoiseach and prospective appointee.

Cute Hoor

CowenGate

BattleCorp

elperello wrote: »

I take your point about an employer in a company but we are talking about politics here which is a different animal.

I'm not suggesting that the information should be given on an official form but that it would be between the Taoiseach and prospective appointee.

Mountain out of a molehill is what this is.

Politicians should be judged by what they do in office, not what they did before (and on the scale of things, what Cowen did was hardly at the top end of the scale. Mandela put bombs in schools FFS before becoming a politician).