Mary Lou McDonald's interviews today

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955122#Comment_119955122

Ah sure Charlie Haughey probably had savings and inheritances as well when he bought his estate in Kinsealy and his island and Charvet shirts too.

We don't know that he didn't so we can't ask questions about it.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955122#Comment_119955122

She's been asked many times and never answers. Around 2010, build costs were still quite high, and going by the scsi figures from 2010, the works would have cost in excess of €250,000. https://namawinelake.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/scs2010.jpg

Funny, when it came to bertie, she and sinn fein were extremely vociferous in asking for him to explain where the money came from.

Seems they don't want to answer the EXACT same questions.

And why won't she say whether convicted criminal Dowdall was the electrical contractor?

Seems there are a lot of questions she doesn't want to answer

Augme

She has explained where the money has come from though. A mortgage.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955738#Comment_119955738

Absolutely was a lightweight human interest style interview as all the party leaders have got on this show.

The absolute disgust among the fanfolk of FG FF (and some of their TDs as well as some of the media and political commentators like Michael Lehane, Ruth D Edwards and Mairia Cahill) that it didn’t turn into a modern day Nuremberg Trial or Salem Witch hunt is a joy to behold.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955964#Comment_119955964

In 2010 there was ZERO chance of getting a mortgage for seven times your income.

Even in the banking heyday you might have managed 6 times earnings.

Remember she took the average industrial wage as her salary and was very very clear on that. Did she lie on her mortgage application or was she telling people fibs?

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955988#Comment_119955988

Why are you completely ignoring her husbands income?

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955927#Comment_119955927

Bertie was the subject of an Inquiry. There is no onus on her to explain if the agencies of the state have not raised a red flag.

I can’t rock up to Heather Humphreys to demand to know how she paid for her house.

Don't be silly Walter.

Galwayguy35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955718#Comment_119955718

Did you even read what I said?

I'm not talking about some auctioneer, its the Construction Federation saying developers are struggling to find skilled workers to build the houses.

And yet here you are with "SF will still build more than FF and FG", how can it be done if the labour isn't there to achieve those figures.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955996#Comment_119955996

I'm not.

She claimed very very publicly that she only took the average industrial wage as her salary.

Let's say 50k to be very generous.

His position was circa 45k and max scale of €52k.

Why is she so coy and secretive?

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957050#Comment_119957050

Because it's none of yours or my business. There are agencies of the state whose job it is to make sure we are all compliant.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957007#Comment_119957007

The same federation who do not want Sinn Fein anywhere near power as they will lose huge amounts of profit if they are. Yep, I'll definitely trust their unbiased take on the situation as well.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957050#Comment_119957050

So a combined salary of at least €80k at 3.5 times is 280k. How is she coy and secretive? She said it was a mortgage.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957075#Comment_119957075

I certainly think it is my business.

She is leader of one of the main parties here. She publicly stated that she only took the average industrial wage.

She certainly has no issues questioning the private lives of others.

But remember, in 2010 she was not a TD. She was vice president of Sinn Fein. possibly they paid a substantial salary

Her husband was in a mid ranking position in bord gais.

Her family background is not of money (they rented the house in rathgar)

What is she hiding and was Johnathan dowdall the electrical contractor on the house?

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957229#Comment_119957229

It's none of your business. Why do you think we don't know how Michael Martin, Leo Varadkar, Roisin Shortall, Eamonn Ryan, Ivana Bacil etc etc paid for their houses?

Because we are only entitled to know isfthe agencies of the state discover impropriety. Or if a journalist can present evidence o impropriety>

Insinuation doesn't cut it.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957264#Comment_119957264

Nothing suspicious about their houses and it's very easy to see how they bought them. So no questions to be asked as there's nothing that doesn't add up.

But Ms. Mc Donald buying a €500,000+ house and then spending €250k on extension and not having any obvious earnings to show how it was funded

That is of public interest and and she refuses to answer

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957453#Comment_119957453

It has nothing to do with the public unless she didn't declare it to SIPO or broke the law in some other way.

As I said, insinuation gets you nothing here. Not of your or my business.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957482#Comment_119957482

So it's fine for shinners to harass others about private issues but not for them to be questioned themselves.

Notice the near silence of Sinn Fein about the dowdall phone conversations. If it involved another party you can be certain that sf would be baying at every opportunity asking questions.

Ever read George Orwell's Animal Farm? - all animals are equal, but Sinn Fein animals are more equal than the others

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957611#Comment_119957611

When has a Shinner asked somebody how they paid for their house?

You are having a laugh.

Mary Lou addressed the Dowdall issue. Again, if there is any proof/evidence then I trust those vested with scrutinising these things will find it.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957649#Comment_119957649

Classic sinn fein deflection.

She has simply said "nothing to see here".

Frankly it's an absurd reply and it's why sinn fein members have almost gone underground in terms of being available to the media

Why?

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957892#Comment_119957892

No, you deflected.

What Shinner has asked somebody how they paid for their house?

 it's why sinn fein members have almost gone underground in terms of being available to the media

We are talking about her giving an interview to RTE's prime TV programme and BBC NI's prime political slot with Mark Carruthers and she has also been on with Paul What'shisname on UTV. 😁

Chips Lovell

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blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955084#Comment_119955084

Thanks for this information.

Had a look through the drawings and documents included in that plan. Based on the cost of work I got done at the time, that was a huge job. Certainly more than 200k and, depending on the finish, possibly a lot lot more. For a person on the average industrial wage at the time, which would have been around 40k, (see link) that would have been out of reach, especially as it would have been a top-up mortgage.

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-hes/hes2015/oe/

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955679#Comment_119955679

Perhaps, but he knows the industry better than you.

20,000 social houses a week is 385 houses a week.

Where are the labour going to come from to build these?

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119955718#Comment_119955718

So right off the bat, you concede that SF cannot build those houses that they are telling us all that they will build.

Anyway, how would an auctioneer lose money if SF built 20,000 social homes per years?

FrancieBrady

What 30,000 bought you in 2010 was quite amazing.

80,000 for a 2 storey extension?

https://www.houseandhome.ie/news-events/five-incredible-council-house-renovations-90

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119959092#Comment_119959092

Thanks for that link, very interesting. The renovations outlined in MLMD's planning application are far more extensive than those in this article, as essentially she was adding on a first floor to an existing bungalow and completely renovating the existing bungalow as well. Such internal workings are also far more expensive than the add-on type extensions mentioned in that article, not to mention the added features for MLMD such as solar panels etc. Thanks to that article, I would revise the estimate for the MLMD renovations to upward of 250k.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119959019#Comment_119959019

The eagerness to just ignore the husbands income in this thread is quite impressive..its almost like certain people have no interest in trying to look at the situation in an honest and unbiased fashion but who have an agenda instead!

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119959129#Comment_119959129

I'm involved in supply to the trade and my father had a contracting firm in the trade, I have worked on many a bungalow project in my time.

Extending a bungalow upwards sounds more complicated to the general public than it actually is, once the roof is off there are many things that make it easier than building from scratch, in fact. It can also actually save on some of the expensive underground works (Foundations, services etc) too.

Also, if you review even this forums building section you will see that in 2010 and after and before, there was a huge variaition in pricing of work. Many people got ripped off or were happy to pay inflated pricing, so anecdotal 'I built at the same time' evidence really isn't worth much.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119959044#Comment_119959044

Do I think they will build more social houses than FG and FF? Yes, absolutely. There's no question about it.

More supply = less demand = reduction in house prices = less commission for an auctioneer and less demand to even use an auctioneer in the first place.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119959308#Comment_119959308

My, you have a very simplistic take on life.

Why would house prices reduce on a large scale? Also, are there going to be no more private houses being sold?