Leo Varadkar story in The Village??? - Mod Notes and banned Users in OP updated 16/05

CDarby

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118248006#Comment_118248006

Minister Harris probably believed it was "on the sly" when he became aware of it, considering, as the actual health minister at the time, he was completely unaware Mr Varadkar had given this document to O'Tuathail, and not only that, but was unable obtain a copy for himself.

Simon Harris has confirmed that he did not know that Leo Varadkar sent an agreement that was ‘private and not for circulation’ to his friend.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.extra.ie/2020/11/02/news/irish-news/simon-harris-leo-varadkar-leak

It's a site to behold blanch152 - claiming "corruption" on one thread about a political party you are clearly infatuated with (for the use of a car) to pulling out all the stops in this thread, no matter how ludicrous the excuse, to defend something the Tánaiste himself has admitted doing, and apologising for doing it and which has resulted in him being placed under criminal investigation by members of AGS.

.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118246417#Comment_118246417

Who is this "they" you speak of? And what posters are panicking, can you quote the posts that demonstrate this? Because I dont see any panic on this thread, its mainly people having a laugh at Leo who tried to pull a stroke and got caught and is now under a criminal investigation.

So can you quote the posts where you are claiming "The panic around here is palpable"? I've a funny feeling you cant and this is just another of many examples of your imagination taking over reality. But sure go on there and prove me wrong.

Brucie Bonus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118248006#Comment_118248006

Yes, on the sly.

Unofficially, unbeknownst to the parties involved in the private negotiations. Off the record, to his friend, on the sly.

on the sly

[on the sly]

DEFINITION

in a secretive fashion.

"she was drinking on the sly"

synonyms:

in secret · secretly · furtively · stealthily · sneakily · slyly · surreptitiously · covertly · clandestinely · on the quiet · on the side · behind someone's back · under cover · under the counter

BackOfMyBag

does anyone know if leo still feels the same way ?

https://twitter.com/olivercallan/status/1103384520353595393?t=xCRpnalsY5R3Q_GnLsApkg&s=19

Brucie Bonus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118251444#Comment_118251444

If one politician in another jurisdiction uses her ministerial car for party business she's 'corrupt'.

If Varadkar leaks a confidential document to his friend he's a hero :)

skimpydoo

Is Leo such a great politician that he has people on here and elsewhere defending him?

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118251444#Comment_118251444

What Leo floated in that quote is completely and utterly unconstitutional. One's pension is private property and cannot be expropriated (and indeed enjoys more iron-clad constitutional protection than real property), and any such law besides being unconstitutional would rapidly lead to political pickpocketing of pensions like in some sort of autocracy. Perhaps such an utterance could be written off as a rush of blood to the head or youthful naivety, but really, it's proof positive that he has reflexive populist tendencies that he's fond of accusing others of.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118254642#Comment_118254642

The context of that quote, which was 11 years ago was the Moriarty Tribunal which was investigating payments to politicians, many of whom had retired.

Now, why people have to go back 11 years for a quote out of context to try and have a little dig at Leo beats me.... but then again Leo is not far from many people's minds for some odd reason.

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118254860#Comment_118254860

You can put it in whatever context you like, even the one that suits your arguement and political pecadillos the best - pensions are private property,and are protected constitutionally from expropriation from populist politicians who want to surf the waves of indignation.

Leo is a reflexive populist in ways you don't want to admit.

He either:

A. Didn't know the legislature can't touch the pension of any individual, in which case he'd want to brush up on what the limitations of power in a democracy such as ours is.

Or,

B. Did know, and was throwing out unconstitutional red meat to would be supporters in a tough guy act

Either way, it's a textbook case of populism.

"And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness."

Vox populi, Vox Dei

Chiparus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118247938#Comment_118247938

Absolutely, except it is a crime to do so.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118254871#Comment_118254871

You seem to put a lot of faith in a quote from a comedian on Twitter who was posting something out of context

It was actually a quote lifted from the Hot Press interview, that the Irish Examiner was commenting on, and now for some reason 11 years later the subject of discussion in 2021...

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20119058.html

Back to serious business, he said former financial regulator Patrick Neary was appointed as a “soft touch”.

“Neary did a lousy job for five years, got paid a fortune, and then got a golden handshake, and now gets a massive pension. I think there should be a law that would allow the Oireachtas to take pensions away from people. That would go for corrupt politicians, it would go for public servants who failed miserably, or were incompetent... it would have been known around here that people didn’t think that he was really up to the job, that he was almost appointed deliberately not to be up to the job,” he said.

You bang on about it is not constitutional, you may or may not be right, but we have changed the constitution plenty since 2010 have we not? It is not some ace in the hole you think it is..... but anyway..... I would never have thought you would be defending the goings of appointments by FF that led up to the crash.

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118260132#Comment_118260132

I'm not 'may or may be not right', there is settled and well known constitutional case law on this. A citizen's pension is iron clad protected and enjoys even more protection than real property in that respect.

There's nothing 'out of context' about it. The context is a politician throwing populist red meat out in the media with a barking raving unconstitutional suggestion.

Put down the blue pom poms for a second and digest what your Great Marshall is suggesting. Not a constitutional amendment (which would be completely shot down by any electorate, and unworkable in the context of the balance of rights our Constitution affords in any case), but the legislature empowering itself to expropriate property on a political basis.

It would make Mugabe blush. Populist to its very core. You know it too.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118260640#Comment_118260640

Oh yea, the hot press interview 11 years ago........ again, it's not some ace in the hole you think it is. This is the same interview where he admits to smoking cannabis. But again, I am surprised you are taking on the sides of Neary and the Bankers in this debate...... ROFL!

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118260770#Comment_118260770

Who's taking the side of bankers? Do you think it's advisable, legally possible or indeed anything other than populist for the legislature to institute laws to expropriate property from any targetted individual? Do you think it would stop with bankers? In your imaginary constitutional order where one could actually target pensions (and you most certainly can't), how do we institute laws that expropriate property from flavour of the week villains and not slide into legislation that allows for the expropriation of pensions for other sections of society? The answer: You couldn't.

It's silly dumb dumb talk and populist gunge.

The road to hell isn't just paved with good intentions, it's also paved with braindead utterances from politicians trying to burnish tough guy credentials with a dangerous disregard for the constitutional order.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118260796#Comment_118260796

You are pretty much repeating the same post again and again. We get it, you dont like the idea.... an idea uttered to a Music Magazine 11 years ago.....

Must be nothing much else to talk about in regards Leo if we need to drum that one up...

Yurt2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118260842#Comment_118260842

Do you like politicians who fling out unconstitutional proposals to expropriate property flying in the face of the law?

Are you sure you're not a Khmer Rouge member who got lost on the way to Phnom Penh and somehow accidentally landed in a Fine Gael cuman?

Criticise what deserve to be criticised. For all the world it appears that Fine Gael turned into some sort weird personality cult of late hijacked by Varadkarists. Folk who can't quite articulate what the man stands for or why is of benefit to the party never mind the country at large and worthy of such all-out prickly defensive action.

We all understand the 'protect the King' instinct of party supporters whatever their hue, however there's something off about the way certain quarters of FG will broach absolutely no criticism of Varadkar.

Theory (and probably very close to the truth): Leo is the manifestation of the cleverest boy in the class self-image syndrome that FG supporters fall afoul of. And when Leo comes back with some failing grades on his mid-term report card hinting he's not as clever as he thinks himself to be, it rattles many in the wider party.

Yurt2

I also have to chuckle at the 'it was in a music magazine so it doesn't count' line of defence.

Hot Press is well known for ambitious politicians ready to strike for the crown for 'in soft focus' interviews where they set their stall out. Everything from 'oh yeah I used to have a Pearl Jam poster on the wall of my Trinity dorm' to 'I'm an avowed europhile who believes in free enterprise' and their thoughts on the death penalty blah blah. Basically a don't scare the cows interview that pumps them up as a leadership material with a face interspersed with their values.

Leo, perhaps unwittingly - and he has done this many times since so I don't give him the benefit of the doubt on this - revealed himself to be one with populist tendencies that's willing to tickle the lesser angels of our collective nature. "It's the rapacious banker, the moribund civil servant, and the feckless dole scrounger why you're not happy. And I'm just like YOU, and I'll lead you out of that unhappiness that these people have created for you. I'll take the honour they stole from you and restore it to you. The constitution is no barrier."

It's populism. He decries it, but he's one of the more prominent peddlers of it in modern Irish politics.

Brucie Bonus

TBF to Varadkar, this was when him, Kenny and his whole party conned the electorate into thinking FG would be different to FF.

Making populist suggestions with no possible way or will in following through.

We already know Varadkar is a liar and full of it. Article reminds us he's been that way a long time.

Brendan Bendar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262388#Comment_118262388

The auld water charges lingo rearing it’s ugly head again………..😴

Brucie Bonus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262582#Comment_118262582

Important to call out these charlatans. 'An end to cronyism' is the most apt for this thread methinks.

Brendan Bendar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262713#Comment_118262713

If we called them all out Bee, there would be nobody left.

Just you and me shouting at the moon……..🤣

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262388#Comment_118262388

There is a certain laissez-faire attitude to the Constitution on this thread. The hypocrisy stinks.

We have posters who ignore the Constitutional provisions in relation to justice being done in public and condemn others for legitimately discussing the court affairs of Paddy Cosgrave, yet they suddenly criticise Leo for proposing something that would require Constitutional change.

I must point out on the United Ireland thread that nobody can call for a united Ireland because it would require constitutional change and that is populist and not allowed on this thread.

Let's be clear, there is no crime in thinking, there is no crime in looking for constitutional change. Floating an idea once is very different from crusading on a populist theme, refusing to follow the law and organsing protests and marches for the populist idea.

At one end of the spectrum, you have a politician in this instance floating an idea that would require constitutional change, at the other end of the spectrum you have politicians encouraging law-breaking by not paying water charges, organising protests to intimidate ordinary workers doing their job and engaging in civil disobedience. One is civil discourse about the issues, the other is not.

Those that equate the two ends of that spectrum don't have a clue.

Brucie Bonus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262823#Comment_118262823

Ah, we should seek better. Settling for the same chancers will surely end up disappointing us. 'But at least you know what you're in for' isn't a great comfort.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262914#Comment_118262914

The point is, the alternatives are far far worse. A government of Healy-Raes, Cullinanes and Alan Kelly should fill every Irish citizen with dread.

Brucie Bonus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262888#Comment_118262888

Stop telling lies.

You were talking about paddy far beyond any court statements.

Varadkar was being populist.

Protest is all many people have when faced with FG, especially when the government allows Varadkar get away with leaking confidential documents to his friend with not even a rap on the knuckles.

Protoman

....

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262944#Comment_118262944

There are no lies in my post, stop calling me a liar.

My post expresses a genuine solidly-based opinion on the nonsense that has been posted in this thread. Feel free to disagree with my opinion, but don't call me a liar.

Protest isn't all many people have, there are courts, there are elections, we are a democracy. That is a dangerous road you are travelling arguing for those who protest loudest to be listened to the most. At the end of the day, we have a process for dealing with alleged criminality, even if those who allege it are ignorant fools bent on a revenge crusade (and feel happy to tag along with them). When that process has concluded, you may be vindicated, but I expect you won't, but the point is, that is the democratic process.

CarProblem

well if Varadkar wants change on certain issues, hopefully one day he'll be in a position of power to actually elicit some of these changes

Hold on...........

BKelly21

There was a well known quote of Varadkars in relation to Bertie and it related to his suitability to hold any particular job, it hasn't aged well.

Can't recall it word for word, so would be wrong to parse it.. Just see if I can dig it out.

Brucie Bonus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118262974#Comment_118262974

You lied were you claim to have only mentioned paddy in relation to his court case statements.

I also find your post to be dishonest based on you making the claim:

My post expresses a genuine solidly-based opinion on the nonsense that has been posted in this thread. 

Protest is a foundation upon which democracy stands. When appointments are rigged and a minister can leak confidential negotiation documents to his friend with no penalty, we need to call out these chancers. Its our duty IMO.

Your pal paddy is not the one responsible for Varadkar being under criminal investigation. Its Varadkar for what he did. Going after a critic to try make him somehow key to Varadkar's criminality shows an ignorance of the law. Varadkar is either guilty or not. Paddy has no say.