Katherine Zappone Envoy Gig

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117878785#Comment_117878785

It is extraordinarily pathetic, its clear Barrett through Varadkar is hinting prejudice is at the heart of the infamous photo, a greater pile of Gik , I've rarely come across (apart from ......👀👀👀 🙄)

I only learned tonight, the lady who posted the photo (well done her) has put her twitter account on private and apparently gone into hiding.

There's clearly no end to Varadkars shameful deflection tactics, it's just beggars belief. Both he and his partner clearly clueless about public sentiment. Bad enough he stuck his two fingers up to the Irish entertainment industry, Bad enough he was caught picking his nose in public (not the first time I might add) but now getting his partner to pen such pathetic garbage is just mind boggling.

Christ his cabinet colleague's must be cringing, I'd say as hard as it is to believe, even Coveney must be mortified at this stage.

Night all 😏

Dempo1

Great cartoon to sign off with 😁

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117876524#Comment_117876524

One thing we do know it would have been involved is Zappone swanning around Manhattan with unvouched expenses and a credit card sponsoerd by the Irish taxpayer. No doubt she would have bashed the sh1t out of that credit card to bring any number of UN employees and diplomats out to Michelin starred restaurants to wine and dine them and brown nose her way into her next job. We would have all paid for that handsomely and FG didnt bat an eyelid to the scam that was going down, in fact they were setting it up.

Zappone had already proved herself untrustworthy by claiming extra travel expenses when she lied to SIPO about the most straighforward travel route to Dail Eireann, Her house in Brittas, Co.Dublin was 500 metres away from the N81 which is a national primary route into Dublin city centre but Zappone claimed it was not the most direct route. The only other direct route was the N7, also a national primary route into the city centre but even that route was two kilometres under the 25 kilometre threshold.

So Zappone literally went and found a route that actually drove away from County Dublin and into County Wicklow before going back into County Dublin towards the Dail all so that she could justify dipping the Irish taxpayer for an extra 80,000 euros of travel expenses that she was not entitled to. If she did that in the UK she would be in police handcuffs, they threw Tory peer Lord Taylor into prison in 2012 for fiddling 11k worth of expenses.

Whereas here FG knew all about Zappones fiddle and were trying to set her up for yet another scam on the taxpayer except this time they were giving her a free credit card in New York. Had this gone ahead she could have easily clocked a million quid on that credit card all while brown nosing whoever she wanted to as Irelands makey uppey UN envoy, of that I have no doubt. Shame on Fine Gael for even attempting to set this scam up, the absolute cheek of them.

RandomViewer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117878596#Comment_117878596

The only burgers that lad is interested in are whoppers, story is he has a fridge at one side of the bed and a microwave on the other,

Muahahaha

Varadkars approval rating in the Sunday Times opinion poll has taken quite a hit over his behaviour attending that festival in London. Even Labours Alan Kelly is now more popular than Varadkar.

I cant wait for next Sundays edition where Matt Barrett writes in a letter complaining about opinion polls 👍️

satguy

FG , a party kept in power by the D4 & RTE set,, Oh, and Micheál Martin, and maybe their brothers on the bikes, the ones that like to nod off at important meetings. 

They make the old FF of Charles Hughey look like Boy Scouts, Their owner won't pay any tax here, and now that we are all watching the little treats FG would push Dinny's way,, They have resorted to feathering their own nests,, and those of their vulture fund buddies.

Come on Mary Lou, save us from these shysters. 

Dempo1

Gosh, a little quiter last night 😁 a spot of licking of wounds I suspect.

What's all this about🤔 more deflection, not necessarily topic related but the timing quite curious as to is Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail being described as a "Friend" of Leo's 🤔

With friends like Leo, who needs enemies.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879084#Comment_117879084

The shameful Shenanigans, The cover ups, the festival photo, the picking of noses might not rattle FG parliamentary party but poll results like this will certainly focus minds 😏

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879084#Comment_117879084

I'm sure Leo & Barrett up all night already drafting their next "Woe always us Letter" 😏

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117878986#Comment_117878986

Excellent piece, honestly you need to consider writing to the Irish Times on "Most" of our behalf 😏

I wasn't fully aware of Zappone’s past & Vast Expenses gravy Train, I wondered did she also claim Toll expenses on that rather bizzare route she claimed from Brittas to the the Dail 😏

Great Post!!

tipptom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879280#Comment_117879280

+1

When you look at it that she actually gave a route that would take her away from the Dail to claim and steal that amount of the tax payer you would have to say it is criminal and she should have been in handcuffs

Ivor Callely went to jail for falsifying expenses for trivial amounts compared to this scam

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879503#Comment_117879503

Top of the morning tipptom (could be a song in that 😏)

I'd seen posts about Katherines expenses history, didn't realise it was so blatant and extraordinary 🙄

smurgen

Given the way she acted here and her subsequent hissy fit when asked questions on accountability I think it's fair to say she would have been inappropriate for the role. We need people that are trying to do good in politics not hold onto the gravy train at all costs. She would have seen it as an opportunity to have nice dinners and line up her next gig. Attend the odd meeting and give a speech or two would be the exebt of actual work she'd have done.

People like her undermine the public's perception of supranational institutions and before you know it the majority of Irish people will be questioning why we give funding to the EU to the UN etc etc.

Beechwoodspark

Let’s be honest, zappone would’ve been dreadful in the role

would’ve been a very very hefty bill for joe taxpayer by the end of her term though ...

Dempo1

https://www.thejournal.ie/opinion-polls-sinn-fein-most-popular-5547225-Sep2021/

Fascinating reading across most media websites this morning.

Barrett's going to be busy writing cross letters to a lot of editors 😏

RandomViewer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879664#Comment_117879664

What's he to Justin Barratt?

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879849#Comment_117879849

Who's Justin Barratt 🧐🧐

McMurphy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117878785#Comment_117878785

One of the best comments I've read on this site in years, I wholeheartedly agree, it's quite clear what Varadkar and Barrett are at here. Wouldn't he (Dr Barrett) be better off concerning himself with the optics of his partner, who happens to be Tánaiste, telling representatives of the live entertainment industry that he “definitely” didn’t think that Britain was “an example to follow” – days before he travelled to a London festival.

That's the real story here, (not Leo looking for boogers up his nostrils) after all.

RandomViewer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879849#Comment_117879849

He's a Racist turd

smurgen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879664#Comment_117879664

Some nothing burger hehe.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879971#Comment_117879971

A whopper as another poster said 🤣🤣

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117879907#Comment_117879907

I'm not aware of any connection, hadn't heard of this Justin character, just checked out 😳

Suckit

So will KZ hand over her texts? I hadn't seen this before.

https://mobile.twitter.com/newstalkfm/status/1433569174194831379

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117880116#Comment_117880116

I saw this at the time and my sense was MM got an assurance from Coveney all and any information would be released and a proper full account would be made on his second attempt at telling the truth to the FA committee.

Of course we all now know how that ended 🙄

FG and in particular, Coveney have made fool's out of MM & FF and now he's in the position, back or sack but of course we also know how that went.

MM literally danced his way into this shambles.

We'll likely only ever see these infamous texts if Katherine gets a book deal on the back of this debacle.

tipptom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117880173#Comment_117880173

If Zappone was willing to "do anything to help Ireland" as she said in her messages to SC then she should release all messages from her phone but that aint gonna happen

She will leverage that incriminating evidence though to achieve what she set out to do when 100 people a day were dying in Ireland and Simon and Leo will get her that role through back channels for her silence

Politics is optics. How do FG (and Leo) repeatedly fail to grasp this.

Yes, you will be held to rules that don't impact the general public. You are meant to implement the spirit of your laws/recommendations as opposed to the lettering. The moment you are seen to sneak around your own rules then your entire position crumbles.

Keeping the entertainment industry here shuttered (for COVID reasons) only to then fly off to a gig in the UK is not only against the spirit of your laws but also admitting that the laws are not required

smurgen

Not looking good for the AG at all. Do they work for the people of Ireland or are they simply a FG political plant?

https://twitter.com/Philip_Ryan/status/1437019285218631684?s=19

Dempo1

Hadn't realised the FG think in is actually today, in Trim of all places.

There'll be some grim looking heads at this event given today's and weeks of horrid headlines and recent Poll Number's

It will be more like a wake than a think in, actually calling it a think in quite ironic, given few in the parliamentary party actually bother to spend anytime........

THINKING 🤔

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117880236#Comment_117880236

When has the AG ever made a statement to the public before?

Elmo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117880236#Comment_117880236

The AG (Attorney General) is the government's legal advisor, their office is there to assist and advise the government of the day. For example the government has a bill that it wants to implement the AG and their office will examine it and will question weather or not it is constitutional or not, and recommend changes. The AG does not write the rules and IMO should not be brought into figure out if an event is illegal or not, that really should go to .... The DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and their reading of the law.

I am open to correction on the above.

And yes (because of the above) the AG is a political appointment and I feel it makes sense that it is.