As well as the appointments made by the European Council last night (more on that later), another recent appointment has come to my knowledge. Dick Roche, the current Minister for Europe, has been made a Vice-President of the European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party (ELDR) . From what I am hearing, a lot of people are not happy about this. Pat Cox, the former President of the ELDR is not a happy man from what I hear, and the youth wing LYMEC (who I have blogged previously about here) are also not a happy bunch. LYMEC are actually threatening to vote en masse against anything Fianna Fail put forward at ELDR Congress (which is currently ongoing in Barcelona) meaning that nothing Fianna Fail want will happen.The Dutch Liberals, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)... Similar posts

A snippet from this week’s Bray People newspaper. An elderly woman from Delgany is housebound and in agony, squeezed in to an undersized wheelchair at her home, because there is no funding available for an orthopaedic wheelchair. ‘All I want is a comfortable chair,’ said a tearful Dorothy Leopold of Delgany Park, the sides of her small chair visibly pressing into her body. She had a suitable seat but the back broke. Dorothy is 79 and a former matron at Wesley College had a bad fall 16 years ago and has experienced immense pain since then, particularly in her hip and spine. ‘I’m sitting sideways in this chair because it’s too small.’ Her friend and former home-help Helen explained that Dorothy is extremely distressed and incredibly sore. ‘There... Similar posts

Do these people have a track record in competence, morality, patriotism, humility, charity or sincerity? Have their actions over their careers indicated that they give a damn about Ireland or its people?Have they bickered and scored cheap political points while the economy goes down the swanny?Have they failed to explain why the Lisbon Treaty is supposed to be such an obviously good piece of legislation or have they fudged matters by scaremongering and pretending that we'll be kicked out of the EU if we don't bow to their superior intellect?Why should we trust them when they unite to command us to sign away our constitutional rights on October 2nd?If in doubt - vote it... Similar posts

Naturally one feels enormous sympathy for the family of the late Michael Dwyer who was shot dead by police in Bolivia last week. Complete and accurate information about the incident is not yet available and we may never know the full facts.   Michael Dwyer (1985-2009) (more…) Share...... Similar posts

Tom Cooney, a law lecturer at University College, Dublin published the following letter in the Irish Times today. Madam, – Aengus Ó’Snodaigh TD’s use of hate speech against Alan Shatter TD and Dr Zion Evrony, Ambassador of Israel, at the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee was evil. That a member of Sinn Féin should spit out this toxic venom comes as no jolt of surprise. After all, the... Similar posts

Yesterday Dick Roche had a very bad day. I’ll be the first to admit that Dick Roche has had quite a few bad days recently, or at least what the rest of must might have seen as a bad day for him. Various occasions when he was wheeled out before, during, and after that Lisbon malarky to be the face we could throw proverbial pies at. But yesterday was a different kind of bad day. The kind when you wake up, go for your usual morning swim, and end up with a sawn-off shotgun pointed at you. No matter how bad a day the rest of us were having, most of us were lucky enough not to be faced with one of those. I understand that things have gotten very tough very quickly for a lot of people here. I think it’s equally important to remember that things have been very tough for a lot of... Similar posts

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Nine people, including an Irish junior minister, have been held hostage at gunpoint during an armed robbery at a luxury hotel in Co. Wicklow today.The Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche (right) and his driver were leaving the Marriott Hotel in Druids' Glen (photo below left) when they were confronted by three masked men, one of whom was armed with a sawn-off shotgun.Roche, who is also a TD for the Wicklow constituency, was at the Druids' Glen - one of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in Ireland - as a private citizens, "just going for a swim" in the fine pool of the establishment's fitness centre.Afterwards he said that he was "used as a human shield" by the armed gang who carried out the robbery. He also described his experience as '"fairly threatening" and "not... Similar posts

Good thing the raiders in the Druids Glen had Dick Roche to use as a human shield. That big head of his could protect a batallion of peace keeping troops at a GAA match between Glenealy and Rathnew. Word on the street is that: Dick’s head is so big he has to step into his jumpers. Dick’s head actually shows up on radar and military people refer to it a snow white. Dick’s head is sooo big he has to wash it at Powerscourt waterfall. Dick’s head is so big that Ripley’s Believe it or Not want to do a feature on it. Yes, they are all lame jokes you’ve heard before. They aren’t as lame as the fact Dick Roche, Minister of state for something or other (without a cabinet seat), has a civilian driver. A civilian driver that takes him to the plush Druids Glen for his “regular... Similar posts

The Meath Chronicle carried a report yesterday on the controversy surrounding the massive rezonings in the parts of South Drogheda in Co. Meath. As you may recall the story broke in the Sunday business post where the focus was put on the Drogheda Utd aspects of the deal. The Meath Chronicle piece now puts the focus on the fact that there has been so much development in East Meath generally without any schools etc and that this is what is driving the politicians’ call for an enquiry. Deputy McEntee, whose call to the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, for appointment of a planning inspector and an examination of planning decisions in Meath over the past decade was highlighted in a Sunday newspaper at the weekend, totally rejected any suggestion by county councillors that he was impugning their... Similar posts

There was a report in the August 31 edition of the Sunday Business Post that both Dick Roche and Meath TD Shane McEntee have asked Taoiseach Brian Cowen to investigate planning corruption in Meath. The former environment minister Dick Roche and a local politician have called for an inquiry into recent planning decisions in Co Meath, after a Dublin developer threatened to take a multi-million euro High Court case against Meath County Council. Dick Roche, Minister of State, confirmed he had written to environment minister John Gormley last week calling for a formal investigation. Serious allegations regarding the way in which the planning authority has operated were made to Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Roche, who has expressed deep concern. The allegations were made after the recent... Similar posts

It now looks as if the Government may adopt Danish strategy from 1993, whereby that country voted again on a previously-rejected EU treaty, approving it the second time with a number of opt-outs.  But a second Irish referendum seems unlikely to be held  until the local and European elections are out of the way next summer. (more…) Share...... Similar posts

It seemed to be just another Monday morning.As I was having my breakfast, the news on the radio was mostly about the Olympics and the All Ireland Semifinal at Croke Park from the previous day.One little report from the wonderful world of Irish politics, however, caught my ear. Seemingly Opposition parties were accusing the Government of sneakily introducing new taxes outside the Dáil session, something I didn’t even know was possible.Well, I thought, that’s quite an allegation, and surely Taoiseach Without Mandate Brian Cowen will have to respond quickly. Yeah, right.I suppose they say the best form of defence is attack, and before we could say “oh no not another bloody tribunal”, the talk in the press was no longer about stealth taxes, it was about Dick Roche threatening... Similar posts

It’s not every day you see prominent Fianna Fáil people disagreeing in public. This was the spectacle provided by the Humbert Summer School in Co Mayo (the programme bilocates between Ballina and Killala).  (more…) Share...... Similar posts

Dick Roche has announced his (’personal’) opinion that a second referendum on Lisbon is the only way to go. We got the answer wrong, or something. So if the fine people of Wicklow accidentally re-elect him next time around, does this mean we can ask them to try again til they get it right? FF are now clarifying that he was expressing a personal opinion and not the party policy (yet) - which scares me, if only because they are clearly relying on the electorate’s inability to remember this moment in six months time when they decide the dust has settled and start printing ballot papers.... Similar posts

Even before the Irish people’s democratic decision to reject the fatally-flawed Lisbon Treaty, (which would have deepened the democratic-deficit in Europe still further), the source of Libertas funding was a bane of “yes” campaigners. To the elite, the possibility of the ‘mainstream’ parties being so decisively outspent by this upstart pro-business group with financial interests abroad (like many FF/FG benefactors) with no elected representatives was tantamount to heresy. Note the observations of the ‘Paper of Record’ on the matter today: “Of the €11.8 million spent during the last general election campaign, less than €2 million could be publicly traced. This gap in legislation can encourage external meddling in our domestic... Similar posts

Even before the Irish people's democratic decision to reject the fatally-flawed Lisbon Treaty, (which would have deepened the democratic-deficit in Europe still further), the source of Libertas funding was a bane of "yes" campaigners. To the elite, the possibility of the 'mainstream' parties being so decisively outspent by this upstart pro-business group with financial interests abroad (like many FF/FG benefactors) with no elected representatives was tantamount to heresy. Note the observations of the 'Paper of Record' on the matter today: "Of the €11.8 million spent during the last general election campaign, less than €2 million could be publicly traced. This gap in legislation can encourage external meddling in our domestic affairs. Spending by the "No" campaign in the Lisbon... Similar posts

Ireland's Minster for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said that none of the other EU states have pointed the finger of blame at the Irish government over the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, he said that all member states wanted to work with Ireland to find a solution to the situation.He told a news conference that solidarity was the overwhelming message given to him by the other ministers and said "there was no talk of the other 26 states going ahead and leaving Ireland behind".In particular, he mentioned the German Foreign Minister (and Deputy Prime Minister) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who told him that Germany wanted to work with Ireland.There has been no discussion of putting the Lisbon Treaty to another... Similar posts

It seems the No campaign has finally got legs, a voice and a brain at last. I can understand how some can see the No campaign as nothing more than a few archaic parties more interested in putting a lid on this thing called the EU than in deciding what is best for this country. It is clear that many of the No campaigners are going about things the wrong way entirely (Sinn Féin and Libertas, I refer to you here), but that doesn’t mean they are ultimately wrong on Lisbon. Independent TD, Finian McGrath, yesterday sent a letter to President Mary McAleese asking for her to call a Council of State to decide on the constitutionality of the Lisbon Treaty. Being that I am not a political aficionado, I didn’t know this was an option open to us. McGrath is suggesting that the Treaty... Similar posts