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

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 [...]

On no less a day than national Dig-Out Day, the Mahon tribunal team was its most explicit yet about its own theory of the legal expenses contributions to Bertie Ahern, or at least most explicit in their scepticism that the dig-out ever occurred.  Charlie Chawke (who, God bless him, is essentially working with one leg) [...]

Another day at Mahon – and another “dig-out” contributor who had no idea that the payment was a loan, and another of Bertie’s “repayments” remitted to a charity linked to Bertie Ahern (the Mater).  This time it’s Maureen Gunne, speaking for her late husband Fintan.   Much like Padraic O’Connor, her view is that Bertie was [...]

Further deterioration today in the Dail relationship between Bertie Ahern and Eamon Gilmore (Bertie: “Is Deputy Gilmore deaf as well as stupid?”).  The underlying issue in the extremely testy exchange seems to be that Bertie may well have diary commitments at Mahon beyond what is currently evident from the website to which Bertie kept referring: [...]

The Independent today has a story which seems to cast further cloud over Bertie Ahern in the period while he was Minister for Finance. With Mahon unlocking a lot of information from NCB and Des Richardson, it seems that further fuel has been added to the fire when it emerged that Ahern authorised the National [...]

Padraic O’Connor’s contribution to the Bertie Ahern dig-out is proving to be one of the most awkward points of the Planning Tribunal so far. All sides agree that the donation — the largest individual contribution to the (December 1993 “legal expenses“) whip-around — was given on a NCB cheque on foot of an fake [...]

Another day in the witness stand and more bizarre revelations and inconsistencies from Des Richardson.  Today at the planning tribunal we learned that Bertie’s dig-out repayments — when he decided that they were loans — were remitted, via Bertie, to a charity in which Miriam is involved.  It’s a strange type of loan to give [...]

If the Planning Tribunal was being run like an episode of Law and Order, we’d have had a scene already where the tribunal lawyers ask for Des Richardson to be declared a hostile witness.  Nonetheless, the paper trail that does exist plus admissions that have been extracted from Richardson are highly revealing — especially in [...]

Its not a cartoon but its better than satire considering more allegations of loans etc.
Hat-tips all round to: Harry, Anthony, the dig-out lads,

Bertie Ahern received an unsecured loan for £19,000 from AIB, which also had no repayment schedule, in December of 1993 which was to be used for expenses accrued during his marital separation.
According to former assistant manager Philip Murphy the original loan application cannot be found, there was no letter of sanction, no agreed repayment schedule [...]

The Tribunals of Inquiry Bill (2005) has been put back on the order paper. The bill was introduced in late 2005 and resurrected again last year following the original leaks to the Irish Times about Bertie Ahern’s payments. The bill gives government power to rationalise the tribunals, including closing them down and comes back on [...]

Journalists ordered to comply with Mahon

The High Court today ruled in favour of the Mahon Tribunal and against the Irish Times in the Bertiegate case. The tribunal is seeking to have the paper and its journalist, Colm Keena, reveal the source of the material which sparked Bertiegate earlier this year in September 2006.
The planning tribunal sought the order against [...]

He didn’t do it on the Late Late so can he really do it now?
(If the Mail bothered putting Oirish Irish stories up on their website, I would have posted this sooner)
Edit: The Irish Times cover it and to be honest as heresay goes its fairly weak stuff and there was little more in the [...]

Enda Kenny this morning suggested Bertie had lost the moral authority to lead this country, a suggestion Bertie thumbed his nose at this afternoon suggesting in his own inimitable fashion that they can pfo. However in Ahern’s response (short and inarticulate tho it is) there is a nugget of insight, as there is with most [...]

The uneasiness that seemed evident last week (not with government itself rather the contortions positions its forces them into) is set to go on. Eamon Ryan was door stepped this morning and has again committed the Greens to seeing this whole government thing through.
No doubt they are a little disappointed that Gormley’s raising of litter [...]