Paschal Donohoe expenses controversy

It's not a hotel room, it is a room rented from a taxpayer-funded body, who never made a fuss about not being paid. I wonder why. Did they grants while SF were running Dublin City Council? Have they got other favourable deals from the local authority? Who knows, but that is the type of question that would have Pearse Doherty bursting a blood vessel asking in the Dail.

The value of the two rooms not paid for in this single case - €1200 - is greater than the amount that SF supporters were shouting about Paschal for. And it is only the tip of the iceberg it seems. Remember only last week, they adjusted their 2020 election expenses for €7,000 because of a Covid oversight.

This isn't without even mentioning the hundreds of "volunteers" (otherwise known as paid employees of SF in the North) who get shipped in from outside this jurisdiction every election to canvass, put up posters, and generally annoy voters.

My view is that the election rules are a complicated mess and if anybody claims that they are fully clean, then they are hiding something serious because it is close to impossible to make a full return and cover anything.

On the Paschal thing, it seems that because Stone paid the guys to put up posters, there is a breach. So if I was a Green party member and paid my kids (who let's say were not party members) a few Euro to deliver leaflets for the Greens, that would have to be declared. A ridiculous requirement and one of many such overly detailed and complicated requirements and pretty much guaranteed to ensure every politician breaches the rules at some point or another.

I can see now why SIPO is ineffective. It spends its time up and down every tree counting acorns while the wood is being burned down elsewhere.

As for most people here, the mob with pitchforks soon disappeared once SF got dragged into this mess. Look back in the thread and the loudest voices condemning him have gone eerily silent in an enormous display of hypocrisy.

Income earned should always be declared. Its not that ridiculous. And it should be declared by the relevant party too.

SIPO is ineffective by design.

Ministers and TDs spend their weekends in their constituencies. Easy to grab five minutes with them any time.

The party HQ out in force today it seems.

Couple of key points:

Investigate all parties if this is as wide spread as it seems.

Anyone making donations, like Mr Stone, are already required to register their interest. It's time to police this properly and no more of this "I forgot" nonsense.

SF seem to really get under a lot of people's skin.

PD told fibs and has been caught out. Not a big deal is what I keep hearing but look at what ministerial brief he currently has and tell me he's not in an untenable situation.

Politics in this country has long been done with a nod and wink attitude. That needs to change.

i think PD is more guilty of arrogance than deceit in this case. I suspect he didn't pay enough attention to what was being done in his name and his initial comments didn't do him any favors.

Was / is he corrupt? No more so than any other politician in an environment where political patronage is a part of life (rightly or wrongly). When SF are in the next government watch the appointing of their supporters to various Boards and Quangos (as we see with every party when in power).

Unless someone can show a direct link to PD influencing the awarding of commercial contracts I would rather he stay than go. If he is shown to have influenced the awarding of commercial contracts then he would have to go. I would be disappointed if he is shown to have behaved corruptly, he has always seemed like a straight politician (in so far as a politician that makes it to cabinet can be considered as straight, they are ruthles b@stards)

The Independent have gone after him to try and take some of the glory from The Ditch I think (and possibly to ingratiate themselves with our new imminent overlords in SF).

I have to say I was surprised to see SF go after him over this issue. They are treading on very thin ice given their own background around funding and donations and it was only a matter of time before their own transgressions were bound to come to light. A party that has taken donations from a gangland criminal, has openly stated that it has no issues with criminals becoming political advisors, resorts to libel cases against journalists, and has a poor record on issues such as the supreme court should be picking its morality battles a bit better. SF would have been better served to let the gormless plebs in Labour do the heavy lifting on this issue.

We can talk all we want about the behavioral standards we want from our politicians but all parties will ensure that the status quo of a toothless SIPO remains in place as there is no genuine appetite for change.

It's in the way you approach them. Don't go straight to the Minister, approach one of the henchmen, I'm with such and such, could I have a quick word with the Minister/TD.

Once you have met them once in a situation like that, easy enough to chat to them in other situations. Politicians seem to have the memory of elephants, they'll remember you.

When FF were destroying our economy in 2007, Sinn Fein had 4 seats.

When FG won the 2011 election after writing their now infamous New Politics document to fix all the problems FF had caused including cronyism, corruption and waste, Sinn Fein had only 14 seats.

Fast forward 12 years and FG have shown as much corruption, cronyism and waste as FF ever did in their height. FG have completely destroyed the housing market and the health system. Disasters. Our young people including much needed doctors and nurses are leaving in droves. Look at the CAMHS report this week alone - shocking stuff. Children's Hospital cost anyone? Sinn Fein now have 37 seats and are on track for much more in 2 years.

The FG rot has pushed desperate voters to SF and other parties or Independents. I voted FG for 20 years (like an idiot) but I cannot vote for SF personally. Will a SF led govt be any less corrupt than FFG? Who knows...We'll see. The "I'm-alright-Jack" folks with zero vision will continue to vote for the power swap status quo but FG will not be able to buy a transfer in the next election and they will lose more seats. I can only hope for better days and a better political system.

FFG don't know the meaning of the word reform. Having a minister for reform is a complete sham.

For the younger visitors, or those that might have forgotten amongst the other scandals, Frank Flannery is a former director of strategy for Fg.

The party distanced themselves from him when it was found he had been paid 400k in consultancy fees from the same charity he was director of. He refused to come before the PAC and explain himself.

He was brought back to the fold to help with the 2016 elections, maybe because Stone wasn't putting up posters fast enough.

Just prior to helping Ffg with that election he was lobbying ministers on behalf of Johnny Ronan and the Bartra property group.

His name was since leaked as part of the Panama papers, showing involvement with offshore firms connected to money laundering.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/alan-kelly-meeting-with-developer-not-unusual-says-spokesman-1.2605658

So what!

Stone is a local party supporter of Donohoe, it'd be far less likely to believe that they don't often meet!