Minister for Agriculture attends 81-person golf event in breach of health guidelines

FrancieBrady

Why is Hogan reluctant to commit anything to writing here. Having to 'seek clarification' and now having to issue a deadline points to Hogan's fear of committing all to paper.
I suspect there is a litany of quarantine breaches out there now.

McMurphy

Gerry Hatrick wrote: »

They must have clear evidence Hogan is telling tall tales. Nobody wants a liar in charge.

There was that Brussels based Euro journalist Barry McCaffrey on CB there about 20mins ago, and he seemed to be suggesting that in his opinion anyway, that the EU would only get shot of members for a range of offences, and he said it didn't look to him like Phil had reached that bar.

Make of that what you will.

gifted

McMurphy wrote: »

There was that Brussels based Euro journalist Barry McCaffrey on CB there about 20mins ago, and he seemed to be suggesting that in his opinion anyway, that the EU would only get shot of members for a range of offences, and he said it didn't look to him like Phil had reached that bar.

Make of that what you will.

Hogan will get a slap on the wrist but no way is he been Sacked or resigning.......he's laughing at us all.....

Danzy

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

of course she is. i would expect nothing less from her. MM should be doing the same for ireland.

Ursula isn't going to let Phil go.


Varadkar and Martin are going to have to live with that.

tigger123

Danzy wrote: »

Ursula isn't going to let Phil go.


Varadkar and Martin are going to have to live with that.

She's not exactly giving him a ringing endorsement at the moment.

McMurphy

gifted wrote: »

Hogan will get a slap on the wrist but no way is he been Sacked or resigning.......he's laughing at us all.....

Kinda what I took from it, your man said that they might try and draw it out for ages and they've form in the regard.

Who knows what way it'll go tbh.

Hawthorn Tree

Has this story been covered by Prime Time or RTE Investigates yet?
Or have RTE been told to back off?

blackwhite

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

at least there is one politician with a pair of balls who won't take nonsense from Hogan.

She's the only one with any actual real power over him

His attitude towards everyone else during this suggests that he's acutely aware of that as well.

maestroamado

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Why is Hogan reluctant to commit anything to writing here. Having to 'seek clarification' and now having to issue a deadline points to Hogan's fear of committing all to paper.
I suspect there is a litany of quarantine breaches out there now.

If its not written down it didn't happen.
Thats how politicians and Lawyers operate.

elperello

Hawthorn Tree wrote: »

Has this story been covered by Prime Time or RTE Investigates yet?
Or have RTE been told to back off?

Tonight's Prime Time might answer your questions.

ChikiChiki

I think his goose could be cooked. I'm surprised at this escalation.

One thing that comes to mind is maybe she is privately annoyed at him for declaring his ambitions to jump to the WTO.

He has used the commission spokeswoman to give a false account of events. He has undermined the office he holds.

It will also send a clear message that she is a strong leader in her own right and to other commissioners not to step out of line.

Based on the finality of a 2pm deadline, I'd say he is under serious pressure to get that report right.

Loafing Oaf

Danzy wrote: »

Ursula isn't going to let Phil go.


Varadkar and Martin are going to have to live with that.

Well there's apparently very little track record of commissioners resigning or being sacked, but covid may have changed the rules, Belgium one of the most severely affected countries don't forget

maestroamado

Can she completely ignore the fact that he is totally descredited in Ireland?
Is there a precident where a country has a commissioner that home leaders have asked resign.

fenris

Maybe Leo has his eye on the commissioner role, so that he can go onwards and upwards while leaving the other two behind to clean up the mess in between naps?

Muahahaha

smurgen wrote: »

The thing is I fail to see how anyone is a winner in this arrangement. The Exchequer and the workers are losers here. Ireland is polluted, our carbon emissions are added to. We're effectively subsiding with no real cost benefit analysis done for the country. How was this allowed to develop? I'd even wonder do the individuals registered as companies in Poland working in the meat plants here filter into our employment stats to make those look more impressive.

Its an absolute joke that we've got thousands of meat plant workers here who are paying taxes to the Polish government, this loophole needs to be closed off or whats to stop anyone paying their taxes in Luxembourg for a nice 1%? Also Irish employers are not paying employers PRSI for these meat plant workers so when they get injured at work (common enough in that industry) its the Irish taxpayer picking up the cost of their medical treatment even though there is no PRSI paid by them here or by their employer.

Danzy wrote: »

Ursula isn't going to let Phil go.
Varadkar and Martin are going to have to live with that.

No matter what happens Varadkar has to remove him from Fine Gael. If Phil faces no consequences then thats a massive slap in the face to the entire country who obeyed the lockdown restrictions.

ChikiChiki wrote: »

I think his goose could be cooked. I'm surprised at this escalation.

One thing that comes to mind is maybe she is privately annoyed at him for declaring his ambitions to jump to the WTO.
.

The Irish Examiner reported that Ursula was furious and she was the one who told him to quit his application to the WTO. This was because he wouldnt have been able to take up the post until next year and in the mean time he would have had a conflict of interest as EU trade commissioner. So basically he couldnt have actually filled his duties of trade commissioner at a time of Brexit, she saw that as a slap in the face.

Edgware

Hawthorn Tree wrote: »

Has this story been covered by Prime Time or RTE Investigates yet?
Or have RTE been told to back off?

It has been done to death in everything media outlet in the country, Isn't that enough.
Of course we could always start a new show, Sean Rourke Investigates.

Edgware

maestroamado wrote: »

Can she completely ignore the fact that he is totally descredited in Ireland?
Is there a precident where a country has a commissioner that home leaders have asked resign.

When you have to explain you have lost.
If an issue is so disruptive and just wont go away then someone must do the surgery and finish it off. I dont hear much support coming from Brussels for Big Phil.

ChikiChiki

Muahahaha wrote: »

Its an absolute joke that we've got thousands of meat plant workers here who are paying taxes to the Polish government, this loophole needs to be closed off or whats to stop anyone paying their taxes in Luxembourg for a nice 1%? Also Irish employers are not paying employers PRSI for these meat plant workers so when they get injured at work (common enough in that industry) its the Irish taxpayer picking up the cost of their medical treatment even though there is no PRSI paid by them here or by their employer.




No matter what happens Varadkar has to remove him from Fine Gael. If Phil faces no consequences then thats a massive slap in the face to the entire country who obeyed the lockdown restrictions.





The Irish Examiner reported that Ursula was furious and she was the one who told him to quit his application to the WTO. This was because he wouldnt have been able to take up the post until next year and in the mean time he would have had a conflict of interest as EU trade commissioner. So basically he couldnt have actually filled his duties of trade commissioner at a time of Brexit, she saw that as a slap in the face.

I believe this is the case. Also - who knows what antics Big Phil has been at around the EU. He has displayed some very underwhelming character traits including towards women. I don't believe it is just his trip to Ireland under scrutiny. He travelled between Nederlands and Belgium aswell where there are advisories/restrictions. Therefore it becomes a Europewide issue of non compliance.

This may be an opportunity that Von Der Leyen won't pass by. Sounds like she has played it very smartly and given him enough rope. Time will tell.

Hawthorn Tree

Edgware wrote: »

It has been done to death in everything media outlet in the country, Isn't that enough.

Nope. Never enough. Still loads of questions.

Sean might be able to shed some light on the Clifden Elite coronaparty

Edgware

Edgware wrote: »

It has been done to death in everything media outlet in the country, Isn't that enough.
Of course we could always start a new show, Sean Rourke Investigates.

Investigates - or Investigated. It's an easy typo to make, what with the "s" key being right next to the "d"

Oops.

Muahahaha

ChikiChiki wrote: »

I believe this is the case. Also - who knows what antics Big Phil has been at around the EU. He has displayed some very underwhelming character traits including towards women. I don't believe it is just his trip to Ireland under scrutiny. He travelled between Nederlands and Belgium aswell where there are advisories/restrictions. Therefore it becomes a Europewide issue of non compliance.

This may be an opportunity that Von Der Leyen won't pass by. Sounds like she has played it very smartly and given him enough rope. Time will tell.

yeah also Ursula seems to be saying he needs to go before the media and do an interview. So far he has issued six statements about his movements and correcting his previous lies but he has refused an interview despite all the radio and tv stations trying. Clearly Phil has been dodging an interview for fear he would get caught out red handed in yet another lie.

I wonder who Phil might want to interview him. Catriona Perry gave Michael Martin a soft interview last Friday, she didnt even ask when he knew about the golf piss up so maybe she would be a favoured candidate for the job.

Hawthorn Tree

Muahahaha wrote: »

yeah also Ursula seems to be saying he needs to go before the media and do an interview. So far he has issued six statements about his movements and correcting his previous lies but he has refused an interview despite all the radio and tv stations trying. Clearly Phil has been dodging an interview for fear he would get caught out red handed in yet another lie.

I wonder who Phil might want to interview him. Catriona Perry gave Michael Martin a soft interview last Friday, she didnt even ask when he knew about the golf piss up so maybe she would be a favoured candidate for the job.

Might Phil's report be published?

Cute Hoor

I think I heard somewhere this morning that she wanted Hogan to provide her with a detailed report, including a log of all his movements around the country over the relevant period, and that she wanted that log published – smart lady Ursula.

Having to publish a log of all his movements around the country is obviously a huge issue for Hogan, any porkies will become immediately obvious to anybody who came in contact with him during the period. Phil issuing a report of any description without including porkies must be a real challenge to him.

jmayo

fenris wrote: »

Maybe Leo has his eye on the commissioner role, so that he can go onwards and upwards while leaving the other two behind to clean up the mess in between naps?

This is exactly why I don't want Hogan to go.
That sniveling snake Varadkar has his own plans.

FFS it was rumoured earlier in the summer that Varadkar's sleeveen in chief Murphy would be next commissioner.
Either that or Bruton who couldn't organise a p**s up in a brewery never mind a hotel in Cliften.
Maybe Varadkar himself now that he knows ultimately his goose is cooked here.

Long term we may be shooting ourselves in the fecking feet in order to assuage our thirst for blood.
Hogan is Commissioner for Trade and pivotal in Brexit trade talks.
The replacement Irish commissioner will probably be in one of the mickie mouse commission placements like Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management or Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

Wippee we get rid of a FGer and show them how great we are and then we get to see someone from France or Germany decide how all our trade with Britain is handled from now on.

Hogan might not do anything for us, no one might be able to, but at least he is in the fooking room.

Oops!

Pull your head out of the sand....

Loafing Oaf

Cute Hoor wrote: »

Having to publish a log of all his movements around the country is obviously a huge issue for Hogan,

Well yeah, if he had to log every visit to Dunkin Donuts Ursula could be waiting a while...

blackwhite

Muahahaha wrote: »

yeah also Ursula seems to be saying he needs to go before the media and do an interview. So far he has issued six statements about his movements and correcting his previous lies but he has refused an interview despite all the radio and tv stations trying. Clearly Phil has been dodging an interview for fear he would get caught out red handed in yet another lie.

I wonder who Phil might want to interview him. Catriona Perry gave Michael Martin a soft interview last Friday, she didnt even ask when he knew about the golf piss up so maybe she would be a favoured candidate for the job.

It would be highly unusual for a Commissioner to be sacked over domestic issues. I get the impression that Ursula is trying to give Hogan enough rope to hang himself. Getting caught lying to her, or using a Commission spokesperson to put out false statements, would allow her to claim he had breached her trust and sack him on that basis.

The Commission has always been very resistant of allowing domestic pressures come to bear on the Commission, hence she wouldn't appear to be setting a precedent if she had an EU-level offence to sack him for.

Barbeapapa

Is there any reason why Phil Hogan would break form and start telling the truth at this stage?

He seems to have a loose relationship with facts and truth and with being straightforward so I'm not sure I would believe him if he told me today is Tuesday.

I imagine he has just published a 20 page novel for his boss.

Edgware

Cute Hoor wrote: »

I think I heard somewhere this morning that she wanted Hogan to provide her with a detailed report, including a log of all his movements around the country over the relevant period, and that she wanted that log published – smart lady Ursula.

Having to publish a log of all his movements around the country is obviously a huge issue for Hogan, any porkies will become immediately obvious to anybody who came in contact with him during the period. Phil issuing a report of any description without including porkies must be a real challenge to him.

"a log of all his movements" Ooooh Matron!

Cute Hoor

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Well yeah, if he had to log every visit to Dunkin Donuts Ursula could be waiting a while...

Well he could have logged his trip to Adare Manor and Dunraven Arms, tisn't easy rememberin all these places you've been