Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

Newstalk’s Marc Coleman has a nice perch on the Financial Times comment page today to outline his fairly optimistic long-term view of the Irish economy despite the current property downturn.  His essential argument, to be outlined in more detail in his book, is that Ireland has two key assets for its long-term growth prospects: people [...]

I finally got my hands on it. I had trouble finding it anywhere on the internet, so someone may have already beaten me to it.
Anyways here it is. Pee Flynn destroying his political career in one interview. The quality is not the best as it was recorded on VHS nine years ago, but it is [...]

Today’s Sunday Business Post poll certainly contains some eyebrow-raising figures - particularly where it shows a majority in disbelief of Bertie Ahern’s tribunal performance to date. But to the probably relief of Ahern, and the Fianna Fáil party as a whole, this majority is not maintained when the topic moves to those who call for [...]

At the risk of moving Cian’s much more interesting post a little down the screen, it’s perhaps worth noting that the resignation of Peter Hain from Gordon Brown’s Cabinet raises yet again the very different standards for resignation in the UK and Ireland.   Hain, who clearly botched the management of donations to his failed campaign [...]

Frank Dunlop won’t tell the Mahon tribunal which person, then seeking a High Court appointment and who subsequently got it, met him in February 2000. Here’s the complete list of current justices, although in principle someone could have cycled in and out of the job during the interval and not be on this list. [...]

Noel Grealish, the rather lonely figure who comprises the PD back bench these days, has spoken out against the Mahon Tribunal in a bid to make himself some new friends. Mr. Grealish has been previously reported to have held discussions about joining Fianna Fail, and is regarded as being a good fit- part of the FF “gene pool”, [...]

Briefly, Enda releases a statment calling on Cowen to act on Bertie if he refuses to step aside and they reply against his ‘increasingly personal’ attacks. Both statements below the fold.

This might well go down as the political move of 2008. For weeks Fianna Fail have giving out about the tribunal so what do Labour do. Bring in a motion of confidence in the tribunal making Fianna Fail have to actually go ya or na over what they themselves set up. This is the txt [...]

Bertie’s tax affairs regarding the dig-outs are back in issue.  One reason he needed the dig-outs to be loans is that they wouldn’t be taxable income (although I also vaguely recall a claim that the Manchester nixer wasn’t taxable because it was received outside the Republic).  But anyway, the Irish Mail on Sunday (which really [...]

Clearly Bertie Ahern’s philosophy at Mahon today, deciding to build on what he perceives as a good day yesterday with his “none of your damn business” retort to questions about his separation arrangements.  Two Three bits of actual news so far, below [updated].

Bertie Ahern today at Mahon: Mr Ahern said he was “some fella” if counsel’s theory was true. The theory being that Bertie arranged a £19,115.97 loan from AIB before Christmas 1993 backed by a cash infusion that he knew was coming — the “surprise” legal expenses dig-out, arranged on St Stephen’s Day and delivered [...]

From Ireland.com
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told the Mahon tribunal he had “no reason” to use a bank account to deal with his income after his marital separation in 1987.
No reason? The guy was earning £60,000 a year and was willing to keep it lying around?
Mr Ahern agreed that sometimes his cheques would accumulate and they [...]

One of the mysteries of Bertie’s dig-outs is the way cash was mobilised from people of relatively modest means.  Consider Paddy Reilly, not the Plasterer.  A contributor to the Christmas legal expenses dig-out to the tune of £2,500.  He had a butcher’s shop.  He’s dead.  So now is his wife, Ellen.  Things were apparently sufficiently [...]

Not much to do but offer a quick outline of another mind-boggling day at Mahon. The 2nd dig-out in September 1994 came while Bertie Ahern had the use of an apartment at St Luke’s, a ministerial salary, and had savings in AIB and the Irish Permanent Building society totalling more than £70,000 (add: Gavin says [...]

In view of tonight’s news that Fianna Fail have registered as a political party in Northern Ireland, it’s worth reading this Slugger O’Toole post from a few days ago noting the lax regime covering donations to political parties in NI relative to the rest of the UK.  One wonders if the NI registration is really [...]