The Sargent Affair

Trevor Sargent resigned over unlawfully contacting the gardaí about a constituent's case. Good. It's right that he resigned - he did wrong. It was corrupt.

He resigned immediately without trying to spread blame or lessen his action. As he did, I remembered a time when I felt respect for the Green party. Of course it was only a memory. Before the U turns on the M3, the Corrib pipeline and REPS. Before the managing of the vote on NAMA and the Programme for Government. Before the Greens demonstrated that it cares for urban voters only. Before the utter ignorance of the light blub saga and putting developed world environmentalism over developing people's lives and the right of women to live in a world free of rape.

Now that memory is gone too. I'm still contemptuous of the Green contribution to Irish politics. I thought Sargent wasn't so bad given that he would not lead the party in a coalition with Fianna Fáil. At least he did not try to insult the people by hanging on by his fingernails. Compare his actions to John O Donoghue or Willie O Dea - The former vindictive and bitter, the latter victimisating his own actions. Contemptible.

There are brass necks and then there is JOD

From the Sindo

JOHN O'DONOGHUE asked the Irish Sports Council for two tickets to the Rugby World Cup final, it was revealed last night.

Mr O'Donoghue was Ceann Comhairle at the time, and had ceased being minister for arts, sports and tourism for five months. He offered to pay for the tickets but the council gave them to him for free in recognition of his efforts on behalf of Irish sport.

The cost of the pair of tickets, for Mr O'Donoghue -- and it is thought his wife, Kate Ann -- came to nearly €1,000. The tickets were ultimately paid for by the taxpayer.

A week is a long time in politics

As the old saying goes, a week is a long time in politics so what has changed?

Gilmore's remark of the Frontline was classic "Kenny would make a better Tánaiste"

Enda wants to abolish the Seanad. At least he's talking bold changes. Something our gov is incapable of.

Pat Kenny still doesn't realise that the people are angry about the Bull. His leaving speech was an embittered self-indulgence rant not oratorical brilliance. He didn't have to pay back the money he wasted.

Lenihan kept on the "NAMA is the only option" bullshit. It's scary to think that he believes his own bullshit.

Same shit, different day

School can't afford toilet paper

It's not just that the bubble has burst, or that many people are two paychecks from homelessness, but it's also that we do not have enough money to provide toilet paper for our schools. From the Irish Times:

It is a cost-cutting measure that could have come from the era of Frank McCourt's misery memoir of poverty and deprivation, Angela's Ashes. As the Irish government tries to plug the black hole in the country's public's finances, a school in Cork, which declares itself strapped for cash, has asked its pupils to bring in their own lavatory paper.
Parents with children at St John's Girls' national school, in Carrigaline, County Cork, received the request last week.

The school's principal, Catherine O'Neill, wrote: "Dear parent, from time to time we will request your daughter to bring in a toilet roll to her class teacher. These rolls will be specifically for your daughter's class and will be dispensed by the class teacher. We would also request that your daughter has tissues in her sack at all times."

But JOD gets to fly first class, go to racemeetings and fly from Dublin to Kerry. Rody Molloy gets his pension topped up, a free car and a million euro bonus. A little perspective please, government.

Old news is new news

While this is all very shocking in our current economic crisis, the people of Kerry South were well aware of "The Bull"'s antics with the garda driver and the flights.

It was whispered in the pubs of Killarney, Dingle and Kilgarven. I wanted to blog on it last March ago but there was no proof.

Kerry people knew but nobody said a word. I'd wager that Jackie Healy-Rae was well aware of his colleague's flights but he did not out O'Donoghue. Nothing goes on in Killorglin or Castlemaine that the community doesn't know about. It's probably the same with all the smaller towns in Ireland. I bet there is enough information out there to bring down a government.

We must blow the whistle and call time. Enough. No more cosy cartels, political parties or senior public servants. Cut off corruption at the top.

How about this: every TD gets a credit card for expenses and each charge is immediately posted up on the government websites. No more profits off miles and meals. No more disguising the trivialities under miscellaneous subheadings. TDs need to be accountable to their constituents.

Hell if the British Foreign Minister can fly Aer Lingus, and the Dutch Crown Prince and Princess ride bikes then why can't Irish Ministers fly steerage with the rest of us plebs?

*image from the Tribune