FF/FG/Green Government - Part 3 - Threadbanned User List in OP

This part was the most frustrating. The fake accountability.

Council chamber secrets: Misconduct, falsehoods & waste (rte.ie)

Our investigation details failures in the local government sector, including allegations of employee fraud, false accounting, the misleading of other public bodies in grant applications, and the shocking waste of taxpayers' money.

In our analysis, two predominant themes persist in the local government sector.

One is the lack of accountability. Another is the persistent absence of real transparency.

Each year, every local authority is subject to an audit from the Local Government Audit Service, a division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which publishes its reports.

And while the Local Government Auditor highlights examples of poor practices or waste of public money, its impact can be limited.

It can make "recommendations" to local authorities to get their act together – but that's about it.

"The implementation of recommendations made is a matter for the management of the local authority," the department told RTÉ Investigates.

"However, the lack of action on recommendations made at previous audits may be referred to in subsequent audit reports."

But our analysis of audits from the Local Government Auditor indicates that there are no repercussions for councils that habitually ignore audit recommendations.

The absence of accountability and transparency is evident at several councils in recent years.

In examining various council-related controversies, a distinct pattern emerges.

A controversy erupts, painting the council, or a council employee, in a less-than-favourable light.

The council – or in some cases, a government department – responds and says it is investigating the controversy.

Sometimes, it appoints an external investigator to do this – for example, a retired senior official from another local authority. And sometimes it does this in-house.

It is seen to be doing something.

While the investigation is taking place, the council can easily swat off any Freedom of Information requests, media queries or queries from its councillors by saying that it cannot comment on the matter or provide any further information until its "investigation" is completed.

Time marches on. Media and political interest in the controversy wanes.

Eventually, with the investigation completed, the council often refuses to release the investigation report, perhaps because of privacy grounds or because the report contains "personal information".

On other occasions, a Garda investigation provides the council with a rationale for not disclosing information about a particular issue – a situation that can sometimes last over several years.

And there, the matter is put to bed – but with no answers given to the public.

This Septic Isle.

It was a homophobic statement in the context that MHR used it. Given that, you can figure out the severity of it.

Lest we have another few pages of arguing with dictionaries again.

It's not up to you or Leo to decide what is or isn't a homophobic statement, especially when it is a commonly used phrase and never been used as a homophobic slur by anyone ever - unless you can prove otherwise.

It's only a handful of buffoons that seem to want to find offence in it, and to use it as a tool. If that's what they want to do, well then maybe they should crawl back into their holes underground, or wherever it is trolls live and discuss it there.

Will anyone be pushing your local FG and FF TD to resurrect the 2015 Public Sector Standards Bill that got shelved even though it had broad support?

In the context MHR used it, it was homophobic.

MHR is currently in the process of attempting to dig up, as are some on this thread.

No it wasn't. MRH said it wasn't and judging by the responses online, the majority would accept that. The context and what he was referring to was fantasy land and those that habit it. It is only a tiny minority who have decided it was offensive.

I'm not even sure where you get off trying to claim that something somebody else said to somebody else in the context that it was said in, was homophobic. Do you realise how ludicrous that sounds.

MRH should have retorted with Leo's initial response since Leo had just repeated him:

"The fact that you didn't like it quite understand it, is more of a reflection on you than it is on me, quite frankly"

And you completely ruin any argument you had by having to sink to lies and misrepresentation.

I didn't say that, I said very clearly (and explained to another poster who was attempting to lie about it) that it 'may have been banter' and none of us knew the context.

So common is that phrase (like airy fairy) you can buy it on a greeting card.

Try again.

Because you did lie.

Because they did too.

One of the present governing parties FG stood up in Dáil and promised to implement the recommendations of the Mahon Tribunal.

We know what they are 'doing', next to sweet FA.

The focus of the discussion is the promise of the governing party to sort it out and implement the recommendations that they promised to (Jan O'Sullivan and Phil Hogan) implement. 7 years later and many of them haven't been.

And on a government thread the question is asked WHY has the government not done anything about it, when they promised to 7 years ago?

Do you think they should have lived up to their promise? Given they are the ones vested with the power to change the system are they the ones to blame for ongoing abuse, lack of accountability and cover-ups in some cases?

Please answer and don't try and censor the discussion, there are two questions there.

Christ you are naive. Do you realise that you don't have to be an elected councillor to work in the council?

Watch the program and educate yourself before you visit the ballot box again. Read up on the Mahon report too. It did cost the state a huge amount to produce it.

Council chamber secrets: Misconduct, falsehoods & waste (rte.ie)