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So The Green Party were Right – McDowell Calls for Full Public Statement on Finances, Sinn Fein (and now Fine Gael) get Blamed?
Read more about: Bertiegate, Fianna Fail, Progressive Democrats, Scandal, Tribunals 
PD leader McDowell decided that it was Trevor who, in the end, had it right in calling for a full public statement. IT must be ‘comprehensive’, ‘credibe’ and go beyond the Mahon tribunal. We know the PDs received their information from Corcoran yesterday and at this stage are between getting out and hanging on.
FF press conference at three.
EDIT: Frank Connolly is on Newstalk exclusively listen live at newstalk.ie
Edit: This interesting point on Sinn Fein gets more and more prevalent. The Independent were hammering the idea that it is only Sinn Fein who will benefit from the Taoiseach’s difficulties. Coleman raised it on newstalk with Frank Connolly. It seems party handlers are mooting strongly that this has Sinn Fein involvement in terms of leaking and getting documents. Willy O Dea ran this line on the radio mid week too. So how does it work?
If Fianna Fail wanted to go into government with Sinn Fein (or vice versa) there needs to be 67-69 FF seats. Sinn Fein could go for 10-15 seats. They cannot really afford to be behind a collapse in confidence in FF. Equally this looks like a diversionary tactic to focus elsewhere. Ideas?
Edit: It now seems Tom Parlon has suggested this is being instigated by the Fine Gael party, newstalk reporting him as having spoken to an FG TD who alleged that they are ready to ‘drop a bomb’ on the 21st day (either of May or of the campaign, which aren’t much different either May 19 or May 21). FG deny it, challenge him to name the TD.
Politicans in the US in the 50′s and 60′s were able to divert scandal and human rights abuse away from them by claiming “communist plot”. The soviet bloc countries would deal with demands for freedom of speech and democracy by denouncing dissidents and students as being under the influence of foreign agents and zionists.
We have our own version, the green scare, that has been used to deflect and at times defend corruption and human rights abuses and freedom of speech limitations.
For democracy sake people should not entertain this latest version being peddled out by the Sindo and some FF’s.
As the old adage goes who benefits from this. As you say it is not Sinn Fein. So who?
“As the old adage goes who benefits from this. As you say it is not Sinn Fein. So who?”
The Sunday Independent?
If this business results in seat losses for FF and the wipeout of the PDs then a lot of people will benefit, so the leaks could come from anywhere. Perhaps it’s somebody who knows the full details of Ahern’s finances and is horrified by the thought of his being returned to a third term in office without the public being aware of them.
Tom parlon alleged that this is driven by Fine Gael. Allegedly a TD from FG told him he will ‘drop a bomb’ on the 21st day of the campaign (or of May I wasnt quite sure).
Joe is right though, winners abound in this. Its tough to pick any single winner out
The Sunday Independent?
other papers leaking as well
who knows the full details of Ahern’s finances and is horrified by the thought of his being returned to a third term in office without the public being aware of them.
What some one with a social conscience in Irish politics. You smoking?
“What some one with a social conscience in Irish politics. You smoking?”
Not necessarily in politics – it could be a tribunal lawyer or somebody else who is a party to the tribunal.
Not necessarily in politics – it could be a tribunal lawyer or somebody else who is a party to the tribunal.
an honest Lawyer Joe Seriously you feeling ok
This is down to a bitter angry man in the form of Frank Connolly. The fact that he headed up the Sinn Fein IRA judicial branch in the CPI is the limit of the link to Sinn Fein IRA. He lost his job due to the actions of this government when McDowell got it shut down. His brother was left to rot in a stinking Colombian jail. He is an angry bitter man who gathered all these files through his time in the CPI. He is now leaking the files around the place. He is spending 3-4 hours a day on Newstalk not because he has any credibility but because Newstalk is a Fine Gael radio station owned by a man who made billions off the back of Fine Gael corruption
You don’t have to be honest not to like Bertie Ahern.
Interesting that Stephen mentions Connolly and McDowell in the last post; the latter, a member of the FF-PD coalition, and Minister For Justice, no less, had no problem admitting that he leaked tribunal information to damage another individual (sorry, inform the public whose right to know, etc…etc…); now, the moral high ground is being taken by Fianna Fail complaining about how wrong it is to leak tribunal documents….oh! the hypocrisy of them all would turn the stomach.
Now, about the stinking Colombian jail: how many other ornitholigists have been thrown into jail in Colombia? gimme a break….
McDowell leaked Garda files not tribunal files as far as I am aware.
It is a FF leak and when Bertie makes his statement towards the end of the week we will all know the origin and the reason for the leaks.
Al is that cryptic as in “i got a theory” or cryptic as in “i know this is the case”? Cos if it is the latter, do go on…..
Paul, I thought it was obvious to all but clearly you missed it. The lads in Columbia were not in jail because they were ornitholigists. They were terrorists sent by Sinn Fein IRA to Columbia to act as consultants to a group of drug dealing thugs who wanted to diversify into large scale bombings.
Sure, it’s FG fault according to Tom Parlon and the PDs have a secret plan to fight inflation too.