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

Sir Oxman

lawrencesummers wrote: »

So they can make rules but not follow them?

The shills appear to forget the people involved are lawmakers.
Not convenient for them.

ChikiChiki

FrancieBrady wrote: »

A good thing to come out of this is the now visible interconnectness of poltics, judiciary, law and media.

O'Rourke is not the first to flirt along a blurry line.

This is happening in Pandemic times, where public officials are under the highest level of scrutiny.

It actually frightens me to think how often these gatherings happen in normal times. Not to go all conspiracy theorist but it reminds me of the whole Bildeberg groupings. Gatherings of powerful people from across various spectrums that can influence a whole matter of things and the common man/woman is none the wiser.

The cosiness of FG and FF is on view at the very top table.

Gerry Hatrick

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Am I the only one who thinks a journalist shouldn’t be socialising with politicians and judges? That a journalist shouldn’t accept that invite in the first place?

He's just spent years throwing soft ball questions at TD's so i'm not surprised in the least he is buddies with lots of them.

Lots of journos and media people get jobs with government PR firms or are employed directly by TD's in this country. There is a nice little earner there for them if they keep their heads down and tow the line.

MayoAreMagic

Higgins5473 wrote: »

If you got caught on the spot today while walking into a dinner you had planned and a large crowd of 80 as you entered the room what would you, or anyone with an ounce of sense that intended to adhere to guidelines? You turn around and walk out...it’s very simple.

Maybe even go and get yourself a chipper if starvation was kicking in, which is likely to be the next excuse from one of them.

What if you were already in there though and more people arrived? What if you were halfway through your dinner at the time? What if it were some event marking your respects to someone who was important to you? What if you were down to speak at it? What if there were two rooms in the restaurant?
Not so simple all of a sudden.
I think people are being a bit harsh on them if i am honest. People saying there was a seating plan - who goes counting all the seats in a seating plan? Have you ever done it? You have to be fair.

Hawthorn Tree

Donie Cassidy made a statement and then added he has been advised not to comment further until the Garda investigation complete. More of the arrogance. Cowards.

Podge_irl

There is nothing inherently wrong with journalists socialising with politicians. It is undoubtedly how half of them build a network of contacts. Suggesting that because they have a few drinks together a journalist then won't do his job properly is a pretty baseless and damning indictment. I socialise with people who are professional competitors all the time.

bottlebrush

Just curious. Does anybody know if there are guidelines around the numbers who can stay in a hotel overnight?

the purple tin

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

What if you were already in there though and more people arrived? What if you were halfway through your dinner at the time? What if it were some event marking your respects to someone who was important to you? What if you were down to speak at it? What if there were two rooms in the restaurant?
Not so simple all of a sudden.
I think people are being a bit harsh on them if i am honest. People saying there was a seating plan - who goes counting all the seats in a seating plan? Have you ever done it? You have to be fair.

Stop projecting your personality onto everyone else please.

rdwight

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

So what?
Do you think hogan, dc etc deliberately invited all these people and sat back laughing wildly afterwards?
They are just people, the same as you and I. It is clear they didnt expect so many people to be at the thing and just got caught on the spot.

Regardless of whether they were notexpecting their dinner (Woulfe) or were given assurances everything was kosher (Hogan et al)....

how anybody receiving the invitation to this event didn't see the words Oireachtas Golf Outing and go No, No, No is what mystifies me.

ExMachina1000

FrancieBrady wrote: »

A good thing to come out of this is the now visible interconnectness of poltics, judiciary, law and media.

O'Rourke is not the first to flirt along a blurry line.

Acting CMO Ronan Glynn's wife Carla works for Rte

Jinglejangle69

Gerry Hatrick wrote: »

He's just spent years throwing soft ball questions at TD's so i'm not surprised in the least he is buddies with lots of them.

Lots of journos and media people get jobs with government PR firms or are employed directly by TD's in this country. There is a nice little earner there for them if they keep their heads down and tow the line.

Soft ball questions like the Maria Bailey interview?

Truthvader

Sorolla wrote: »

I think Dara deserves a lot of kudos for resigning as soon as he realized he made an error of judgement.

I can only imagine he went to that meeting in very good faith and out of respect for the late Mark Killilea.

Dara is the only politician in this country that has shown leadership in the last 24 hours.

It is time for a heave in the FF party - I’m afraid to say the Taoiseach is not leading from the front.

Maybe in the fullness of time when this little incident is forgotten about Dara could make a bid for the leadership of FF

Really??? FF are truly finished

ExMachina1000

Podge_irl wrote: »

There is nothing inherently wrong with journalists socialising with politicians. It is undoubtedly how half of them build a network of contacts. Suggesting that because they have a few drinks together a journalist then won't do his job properly is a pretty baseless and damning indictment. I socialise with people who are professional competitors all the time.

Politicians and journalists aren't competitors.

The interlaced relationship between them sounds like something you would find in a South American banana republic

FrancieBrady

ChikiChiki wrote: »

This is happening in Pandemic times, where public officials are under the highest level of scrutiny.

It actually frightens me to think how often these gatherings happen in normal times. Not to go all conspiracy theorist but it reminds me of the whole Bildeberg groupings. Gatherings of powerful people from across various spectrums that can influence a whole matter of things and the common man/woman is none the wiser.

The cosiness of FG and FF is on view at the very top table.

Yes I agree on that except the words 'various spectrums'.
These are 'select spectrums'. The inner workings of the 100 year power swap laid bare, I woukd contend

ChikiChiki

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

What if you were already in there though and more people arrived? What if you were halfway through your dinner at the time? What if it were some event marking your respects to someone who was important to you? What if you were down to speak at it? What if there were two rooms in the restaurant?
Not so simple all of a sudden.
I think people are being a bit harsh on them if i am honest. People saying there was a seating plan - who goes counting all the seats in a seating plan? Have you ever done it? You have to be fair.

Pádraig, is that you? I couldn't help but imagine the bolded bit is the exact type of thing he would say.:pac:

boomshakalaka

Podge_irl wrote: »

There is nothing inherently wrong with journalists socialising with politicians. It is undoubtedly how half of them build a network of contacts. Suggesting that because they have a few drinks together a journalist then won't do his job properly is a pretty baseless and damning indictment. I socialise with people who are professional competitors all the time.

I disagree. It's, at absolute minimum, questionable when considering the Journalistic code of conduct.

https://accountablejournalism.org/ethics-codes/irelands-national-union-of-journalists-code-of-conduct

Personally I think it's downright unethical

Podge_irl

boomshakalaka wrote: »

I disagree. It's, at absolute minimum, questionable when considering the Journalistic code of conduct.

https://accountablejournalism.org/ethics-codes/irelands-national-union-of-journalists-code-of-conduct

Personally I think it's downright unethical

What part of it does it breach?

Podge_irl

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

Politicians and journalists aren't competitors.

The interlaced relationship between them sounds like something you would find in a South American banana republic

They are to a degree, though the relationship is different I will grant you.

You think every time, across the globe, when journalists report based on sources in govt, in cabinet etc that they are getting info from people they have only ever interacted with in a purely professional capacity and avoid at all costs outside of work? Because that is insane.

FrancieBrady

Podge_irl wrote: »

There is nothing inherently wrong with journalists socialising with politicians. It is undoubtedly how half of them build a network of contacts. Suggesting that because they have a few drinks together a journalist then won't do his job properly is a pretty baseless and damning indictment. I socialise with people who are professional competitors all the time.

George Lee was allowed to go off on a sabbatical with a political party and when it went tits up breezed back into his key journalist role expecting us to think he was impartial and neutral.

Podge_irl

FrancieBrady wrote: »

George Lee was allowed to go off on a sabbatical with a political party and when it went tits up breezed back into his key journalist role expecting us to think he was impartial and neutral.

I said nothing inherently wrong, I didn't say it was always 100% above board. All professions will have chancers after all. That is also a completely different scenario so has zero relevance.

I would be amazed if the journalists who actually broke this story have never once socialised with a politician...

MayoAreMagic

the purple tin wrote: »

Stop projecting your personality onto everyone else please.

By asking if anyone has honestly counted the number of seats in a seating plan, rather than just looking for their own seat, and then saying we should be fair? What are you talking about?

rdwight

FrancieBrady wrote: »

George Lee was allowed to go off on a sabbatical with a political party and when it went tits up breezed back into his key journalist role expecting us to think he was impartial and neutral.

You're right: given his perception of how FG treated him we could have expected him to be hostile to them thereafter.

the purple tin

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

By asking if anyone has honestly counted the number of seats in a seating plan, rather than just looking for their own seat, and then saying we should be fair? What are you talking about?

I'm talking about the 'let he who is without sin' bit you are pushing.
It's been done.
Do yourself a favour and drop it Mayo, nobody is falling for your patter.

mr_edge_to_you

FrancieBrady wrote: »

George Lee was allowed to go off on a sabbatical with a political party and when it went tits up breezed back into his key journalist role expecting us to think he was impartial and neutral.

In fairness to RTÉ, when George went back to RTÉ he was given a very junior brief compared to his previous role of Economics Correspondent - something wish you washy like Environmental and now he has Science. Very much away from the really important political stuff. Always thought he was an excellent economic commentator!

Cal4567

MayoAreMagic wrote: »

And your guess would be wrong. Im not political at all. I find people who are, see the thing through a political prism only and it limits their view. They are all the same anyway.

What i am is a realist.
We are all breaking these rules. Chasing after others to resign for things you are guilty of yourself is gobsh*te behaviour. We are going to need a solid government to get out of this well. We are going to need people well up in Europe also. Chopping and changing in a temper isnt going to give us that.
Im also experienced enough to know that this thing is probably a stitch up to some degree by someone else with some other interest, and that we are all swallowing the bait.

'a stitch up to some degree by someone else with some other interest, and that we are all swallowing the bait'.

What a load of complete bollox. Perhaps you may want to tell us who in your opinion is this 'someone else'?

Higgins5473

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

Soft ball questions like the Maria Bailey interview?

The Maria Bailey interview was very much an exception and she was clearly surprised that she wasn’t getting an easy ride from him which speaks volumes about his approach to interviewing FG members in the past. I doubt she’d have agreed to an interview like that from anyone other than O Rourke. As I said, he probably knew they wanted to be rid of her before the interview, hence his tough stance on it.

tigger123

Sean O'Rourke was the opposite of a soft interviewer.

FrancieBrady

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

In fairness to RTÉ, when George went back to RTÉ he was given a very junior brief compared to his previous role of Economics Correspondent - something wish you washy like Environmental and now he has Science. Very much away from the really important political stuff. Always thought he was an excellent economic commentator!

Wishy washy...when you have a key party in the government promoting environmental concerns?

Not getting bogged down in Lee...the point is the interconnectedness of select parts of the state on full view and in all it's elite glory.

Sorolla

I think it is time we grow up as an electorate - we’re always putting pressure on the local TD to attend funerals - sometimes even rescheduling the funeral of we get word from the Monsignor that the local TD is away on business.

Putting pressure on the local TD to present the medals to the local GAA team

Putting pressure on the local TD to fix the road

Each one of us is responsible for what happened in Clifden because we would be bitching to the local radio station if we heard our local TD missed an opportunity to meet the EU commissioner

We are the ones who should be hanging our heads in shame

mr_edge_to_you

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

In fairness to RTÉ, when George went back to RTÉ he was given a very junior brief compared to his previous role of Economics Correspondent - something wish you washy like Environmental and now he has Science. Very much away from the really important political stuff. Always thought he was an excellent economic commentator!

I think this was epitomised during one televised episode where he was holding a chicken. That image has never left me, I think RTE we're having a go at him.