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Same as it ever was
Read more about: Fianna Fail, Government, Limerick East, Local Government, Scandal, Sinn Féin 
There’s the old line about the Bourbons when they got back in power after Napoleon that “they had learned nothing and forgotten nothing”. Then there’s Fianna Fail. The Willie O’Dea confidence motion debate today was mercifully short because it showed a government that, after years of scandals and concerns about conduct in public office, has no inclination to behave any differently. To the extent that Brian Cowen’s speech wasn’t spent attacking Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore, he made two substantive arguments on behalf of O’Dea.
One was that O’Dea’s role as a minister was irrelevant to the case. This is just factually wrong. The source of the row was Maurice Quinlivan’s original claim that O’Dea is using 6 civil servants that he gets as a minister for constituency work, including for matters that are the domain of local government. And of course, as the Opposition pointed out, this all took place in the context of a race for elected office where council is the stepping stone to the Dail.
Second, Cowen (presumably correctly) pointed to the fact that Ireland has no perjury law. It is only governed by common law. So in the past year, not to mention the past 5 years, Dermot Ahern has found time to pass a blasphemy law and get working on one for begging, but not formalise the law governing sworn statements to a court. Even the Tribunals of Inquiry have somehow found a mechanism to penalize untruthful testimony, although some bright spark might now be wondering whether there is scope for a legal challenge to those findings.
Incidentally, the Taoiseach today announced that Catherine McGuinness will spend another year as President of the Law Reform Commission. Maybe suggesting a perjury law should the first item on her extended agenda.
The Willie ODea confidence motion is stuff and nonsense. FG are a yard off the pace all the time; If they tabled a motion of no- conf in the Tanaiste the electorate might take that seriously and show some interest.
Sending Flanagan onto prime time was an own goal. Flanagan for justice OR Dermot Ahern? only one answer; thats a contest FF would win if it came to a choice.
FG siding with SF on a point of law and order? mirabile visu!
It’s strange bedfellows for sure.
But I think O’Dea could and should have put this one to rest 2 months ago, or even 1 month ago. A quick statement to the Dail in January, with some actual hint of humility, and it would be long gone as an issue now.
I half-expected Willie O’Dea to drive up Kildare Street perched on top of on of ‘his’ army tanks yesterday bellowing through his moustache: “Is it confidence ye want, ye basterds? I’ll show ye confidence, ya bunch of eejits!” before blasting his way through the gates of Leinster House, terrified Oireacthas members, reporters and Gardai scattering in his wake as Willie and his tank advanced menacingly on the front door. Then with one bound….
Between last week and this week, we’ve had some astonishing displays of playacting from our public representatives. Entertaining stuff to be sure, but nothing to do with the problems that beset our ordinary lives. The Houses of Oireacthas have turned into a freak show. Small wonder that the public has become mired in cynicism and turned off by politics.
Maybe someone should do a post for a competition to identify the chief freaks, citing performances that justify their favourite political choice? There’s no shortage of candidates for the top prize on all sides.
Veronica: I’ll borrow some cameras if you can get a small tank and a moustache. This is worth pursuing. You’re right of course: this kind of show-politics does nothing about what it is we are concerned about but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he and his FF colleagues (and the Greens apparently) believe that abuse of privilege is acceptable.
If George Lee had voted today in the dail we would have had an election and G would have been a minister —-what might have been.I wonder is he sick.
Eoin,
Can’t help with the moustache apart from improvising with the bristles from the sweeping brush, but might see what I can do about the tank since there are a couple of barracks not too far down the road. If I knew anyone with the nerve to break in, since I’d have to hide outside the barracks’ wall what with the moustache and everything, and…But Willie’s gone now, so it would be a futile escapade at this stage.
And Betty, I’m not sure if it was a financial motion that the Government almost lost today and, of course, they can lose as many other motions as they care to put up with and still stay in power. Charlie Haughey had lost four Dail motions, or thereabouts, in his ’87-’89 administration before he packed it in and went to the country, which presented us with the first FF-PD coalition. The rest, as they say, is our unhappy history.
V. I think it was a financial motion but it all got lost in other storey and I think an election would have been a great chance to break the link with developers , banks and FF and have a new look at NAMA and bank bailouts–we will never know the truth while FF are in power. We know the budget position, another 4billion next Dec. All very sad.
Betty,
According to today’s Indo, it was a ‘procedural’ vote, so would not have led to a collapse of the government. The IT is more circumspect stating that it might ‘potentially’ have precipitated the government’s fall. I think that technically the Indo is right, but politically the Irish Times is right too. It’s all a bit academic now and I think we can be pretty certain that no-one on the government side will be going AWOL in Dail votes for the foreseeable future
Betty,
George Lee didnt make much of a difference. I think 7 was the no. of opposition TDs who were paired for that vote