"Stick with the kebabs"

Sleipnir · 18-05-2005 12:23pm #1

Another Fianna Fail-er shows his true colours.

Lenihan slammed for kebabs remark

18 May 2005 12:06
The Socialist TD, Joe Higgins, has condemned as 'snide' a comment made in the Dáil by the Junior Minister, Conor Lenihan, during a debate on Aer Lingus.

Mr Lenihan had told Mr Higgins to 'stick with the kebabs' when he raised the issue of the future ownership of the airline during Leader's Questions.

Mr Higgins, who has been campaigning on behalf of Turkish workers employed by GAMA construction, said it ill behoved the Minister for Development Aid to make snide comments in such a way.

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The remark was made as the Taoiseach responded to comments made by Mr Higgins

mike65 · 18-05-2005 12:52pm

Minister makes gaffe shock..move along. Nothing to see here.

Mike.

uberwolf · 18-05-2005 12:55pm

it's actually racist IMO. How'n'ever as with everything else, individuals in this government believe themselves immune to repercussions for their actions and refuse to be accountable.

I'm looking at you McDaid

ferdi · 18-05-2005 12:56pm

jesus i'd kill for a kebab

mike65 · 18-05-2005 1:05pm

Lennihan has already issued an appology to all who took time out to be offended.

I'm looking at you McDaid

I would'nt put the crime of McDaid on the same planet as Conors faux pas.

Mike.

cdebru · 18-05-2005 1:11pm

hardly a faux pas to refer to turkish people as kebabs

especially when you are the minister with responsibility for overseas developement

Is this the kind of rascist atitude we want representing us in the area of overseas developement

gandalf · 18-05-2005 1:16pm

And as usual he will brazen it out. Well what do you expect They drunk drive, tax evade, knock down people and none of them resign whats a bit of racism on the side :rolleyes:

Its a disgrace and if Ahern had a spine he would remove Lenihan from his Ministerial position.

mike65 · 18-05-2005 1:21pm

cdebru wrote:

hardly a faux pas to refer to turkish people as kebabs

I doubt Lennihan had Turkish people in mind when he make his remark, he was merely trying to come up with some sort of retort to Joe Higgins
and not being Stephen Fry came up well short. The remark says more about the lack of sparkling urbane wit in the Dail than the levels of racism.

Mike.

cdebru · 18-05-2005 1:58pm

mike65 wrote:

I doubt Lennihan had Turkish people in mind when he make his remark, he was merely trying to come up with some sort of retort to Joe Higgins
and not being Stephen Fry came up well short. The remark says more about the lack of sparkling urbane wit in the Dail than the levels of racism.

Mike.

come on mike for god sake it is obvious it was a reference to the the Turkish workers who joe higgins has done so much in highlighting their plight

DublinWriter · 18-05-2005 1:59pm

cdebru wrote:

hardly a faux pas to refer to turkish people as kebabs

You'd be lepping up and down if Irish people were referred to as 'paddies' in the British House of Commons.

Irish people are extremely racist.

Disgraceful, Lennihan should resign. A rotting politician in a rotting government.

dregin · 18-05-2005 2:09pm

DublinWriter wrote:

You'd be lepping up and down if Irish people were referred to as 'paddies' in the British House of Commons.

Irish people are extremely racist.

Disgraceful, Lennihan should resign. A rotting politician in a rotting government.

I think you've misunderstood what cdebru is saying.

I agree with what you say though. This kind of behavious shouldn't be tolerated in any government. I hope the GAMA workers take action on this.

Hobart · 18-05-2005 2:15pm

mike65 wrote:

I doubt Lennihan had Turkish people in mind when he make his remark, he was merely trying to come up with some sort of retort to Joe Higgins
and not being Stephen Fry came up well short. The remark says more about the lack of sparkling urbane wit in the Dail than the levels of racism.

Mike.

So who do you think he had in mind? Joe Higgins has been the most vocal of campaigners for the GAMA workers, the majority of whom are Turkish. The fact that lenihan is or is not the master of wit and retort does not excuse his blatantly racist remark. I don't care that he apologised, he should have more sense as a public representitive.

How do you not see the connection between what he said to Higgins and the Turkish workers?

cdebru · 18-05-2005 2:18pm

DublinWriter wrote:

You'd be lepping up and down if Irish people were referred to as 'paddies' in the British House of Commons.

Irish people are extremely racist.

Disgraceful, Lennihan should resign. A rotting politician in a rotting government.

yes i would

i think he should resign as well

and that you quoted the wrong person

mike65 · 18-05-2005 2:24pm

Hobart wrote:

So who do you think he had in mind? Joe Higgins has been the most vocal of campaigners for the GAMA workers, the majority of whom are Turkish. The fact that lenihan is or is not the master of wit and retort does not excuse his blatantly racist remark. I don't care that he apologised, he should have more sense as a public representitive.

How do you not see the connection between what he said to Higgins and the Turkish workers?

I see the connection.

We all "know" Conor Lennihan - he's not the sharpest speaker or the most articulate. I imagine at the moment he spoke he was casting around for something, anything to reply to Higgins. He had Higgins in mind at that moment not the Gama workers. I imagine as he sat down the words he spoke sunk in. Yes he should have had more sense.

Mike.

Hobart · 18-05-2005 2:27pm

So you believe he did have Turkish people in mind then?

cdebru · 18-05-2005 2:27pm

mike65 wrote:

I see the connection.

We all "know" Conor Lennihan - he's not the sharpest speaker or the most articulate. I imagine at the moment he spoke he was casting around for something, anything to reply to Higgins. He had Higgins in mind at that moment not the Gama workers. I imagine as he sat down the words he spoke sunk in. Yes he should have had more sense.

Mike.

he shouted it as the taoiseach was about to reply to joe higgins

he was not on his feet he did not have to say anything nevermind blurt out a racist comment and he obviously had the gama workers in mind when he shouted the remark across the chamber

landser · 18-05-2005 2:29pm

mike65 wrote:

I see the connection.

We all "know" Conor Lennihan - he's not the sharpest speaker or the most articulate. I imagine at the moment he spoke he was casting around for something, anything to reply to Higgins. He had Higgins in mind at that moment not the Gama workers. I imagine as he sat down the words he spoke sunk in. Yes he should have had more sense.

Mike.

a lone voice of reason in a sea of over reaction. Lenihan beag is a fool, and his ill founded retort to higgins reflects this. even if he was referring to the turks, which is not certain, a kebab is hardly a term of major racial abuse imo. get a bit of perspective people.

BuffyBot · 18-05-2005 2:30pm

We all "know" Conor Lennihan - he's not the sharpest speaker or the most articulate.

And that's what makes it ok, huh?

Nuttzz · 18-05-2005 2:31pm

dregin wrote:

I I hope the GAMA workers take action on this.

What action do you suggest? Dail Privilege means you can say almost anything about anyone without fear.

Stupid comments from Lenihan, but no worse that Enda Kenny's unfortunate joke a few years back, it will be all gone away for him by next Wednesday

DadaKopf · 18-05-2005 2:32pm

Lenihan is our minister for overseas development. This racist remark is unforgiveable. He's a gombeen about development anyway and he should be replaced.

DublinWriter · 18-05-2005 2:45pm

Nuttzz wrote:

What action do you suggest? Dail Privilege means you can say almost anything about anyone without fear.

Only regarding remarks made against individuals. If that was said in the British House of Commons, he'd be breaking the Race Relations Act 2000.

So what if he's a gombeen man - ignorance is not a defence.

Maybe he should stick to the brown envelopes.

Trojan · 18-05-2005 2:49pm

He should be fired for both racism (which is disgraceful for a man in his current position), and for stupidity.

bonkey · 18-05-2005 2:52pm

mike65 wrote:

We all "know" Conor Lennihan - he's not the sharpest speaker or the most articulate.

I don't actually know him (or about him), but I'll take your word on this.

He had Higgins in mind at that moment not the Gama workers. I imagine as he sat down the words he spoke sunk in. Yes he should have had more sense.

Lets say you're correct Mike, and that it was a case of his brain catching up with his mouth, resulting in a genuine apology for an unintended slight.

Now, imagine he made a comment like that in Turkey, in front of Turks, while promoting Ireland. Or that in any foreign location, his mouth gets in front of his brain again, and he insults whichever people he's trying to woo as an official representative of Ireland.

Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity.....sure.....this seems to be the defence of the man.....but we surely should conclude that at best we have a Minister who is in charge of overseeing foreign development and who is too stupid to know what is and isn't acceptable to say about foreigners.

I'm really not certain what type of a defence it is to say "the minister wasn't malicious...just stupid". I'm not sure a stupid Minister is something we should want any more than a malicious one.
I'm not sure I'd be calling for his resignation just yet, but I do think an apology is insufficient. An explanation, followed by a statement of intent describing what he is going to do to help ensure he never makes a screw-up of this nature whilst representing our nationp would be a start.

jc

DArcy · 18-05-2005 3:03pm

Lenihan has to go - there's no excuse for his comment. What a fantastic apology though - "if I offended anyone, I'm sorry". Does that mean he's not sorry if nobody was offended?? He doesn't regret what he said at all!!! :rolleyes:

landser · 18-05-2005 3:30pm

DArcy wrote:

Lenihan has to go - there's no excuse for his comment. What a fantastic apology though - "if I offended anyone, I'm sorry". Does that mean he's not sorry if nobody was offended?? He doesn't regret what he said at all!!! :rolleyes:

this is the report from eircom.net

He later returned to the Dáil chamber to apologise and say he regretted the incident. "During the Order of Business this morning I made remarks that I now regret having made. I regret the remarks made and regret sincerely if any offence was caused."

I reckon that counts as an apology.

It's nice to see the outraged of clontarf or wherever brigade are out in force on this once agian. Lenihan should go, but not beacuse of these remarks, but beacuse he is an idiot.

In fairness to him, the remark was in retort to a "silence of the lambs" jibe at fianna fail backbenchers over the airport.... kebabs are made from lamb and are associated with turkey... hence the "joke"... unfunny but not racist.

*note to self... they are meat and salad filled flat bread savoury snacks, not kebabs

eigrod · 18-05-2005 5:06pm

Hypothetical scenario : Had a Tory MP told Chris Mullin MP to "stick to the potatoes" in the House of Commons in the 80's, how would Deputy Lenihan's late father have viewed such a comment ?

Trojan · 18-05-2005 5:17pm

Landser wrote:

It's nice to see the outraged of clontarf or wherever brigade are out in force on this once agian. Lenihan should go, but not beacuse of these remarks, but beacuse he is an idiot.

Ah, so people of Clontarf (or wherever) have no right to feel outraged that a public representative, in charge of Development Aid no less, has made racist remarks in our official place of government?

daveirl · 18-05-2005 5:19pm

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Dublin8 · 18-05-2005 6:06pm

I am a forigner my self
but i would not agree with that idea that all irish people are racist
you get good and bed people everywhere
well you can say tendency is more here than anyone else
i have some lovely friends here
who treat me no different than anyother irish person

everyone is not same

mostly all the uneducated people are racist or those who havent travelled out of the country

i am depressed by the ministers remarks.its a shame for him and i think he shud be ashamed of him self.when you re representing the country you dont do things like these

not sure he shud resign or not but he shud offer a writen appology who are offended. and i think he shud have the courage to do that

DublinWriter wrote:

You'd be lepping up and down if Irish people were referred to as 'paddies' in the British House of Commons.

Irish people are extremely racist.

Disgraceful, Lennihan should resign. A rotting politician in a rotting government.

Hobbes · 18-05-2005 7:47pm

DadaKopf wrote:

Lenihan is our minister for overseas development. This racist remark is unforgiveable. He's a gombeen about development anyway and he should be replaced.

I agree. They showed it on TV, fupping muppet. Looked like he only apologised because he got caught and his job was on the line.

daveirl · 18-05-2005 11:51pm

This post has been deleted.

"Stick with the kebabs"

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