Who Are Those Guys?

at

joanburtonruth

Tanaiste Joan Burton and Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger in the Dail today

What guys?

Those guys.

I don’t see any guys.

Siteserv DOMINATED dáil proceedings today.

Justice minister Frances Fitzgerald has announced an independent inquiry to be set up independently by, cough, Michael Noonan.

Meanwhile Ruth Coppinger pressed Joan Burton on her depth of knowledge about the Siteserv transaction. To wit:

Ruth Coppinger: “The secretive sale of this company Tanaiste has been raised in this house, by the way, for years – on numerous occasions. Deputy Catherine Murphy has done us all a huge service and I commend her aswell for her work, she raised it before. Other deputies raised it to the Taoiseach and to the Minister for Finance. I raised it myself actually, in a Leaders’ Question, and had my mic switched off. Hope it won’t happen today.But, of course, Denis O’Brien is so well connected to Fine Gael, owns large swathes of the media, that it’s taken this long to get us this far. Now Tánaiste specifically, on the issue of Siteserv, and if your baying hounds could stop shouting over the deputies that are here. Can you please answer the following questions: Richard..”

[Bell rung]

Ceann Comhairle: “Sorry, order please”

Coppinger: “Richard Woodhouse, an alleged acquaintance of Denis O’Brien..”

Ceann Comhairle: “Sorry, deputy..”

Coppinger: “…who’s also..”

CC: “Sorry, deputy please, I, I, I just, I know…”

Coppinger: “Who’s also..”

CC: “Sorry, no, there are people’s names in the public, in the public arena but I don’t want people making accusations against people who aren’t [inaudible]…”

Coppinger: “These are facts, Cathaoirleach these are just facts. He was also the head of specialised asset recovery at IBRC and oversaw Denis O’Brien’s borrowings at IBRC. Brian Harvey, the CEO of Siteserv.”

[ At a press conference on Friday April 24 former IBRC chairman Alan Dukes said Mr Woodhouse was excluded from the Siteserv sale because he was “handling Mr O’Brien’s finances”]

CC: “Deputy…”

Coppinger: “Received a personal lump sum of €800,000, as a result of the sale to Millington, €800,000. Siteserv’s chairman…”

CC: “Please respect the rule I’m asking you, that’s what I’m putting to you today. OK, continue.”

Coppinger: “Yeah these are facts Cathaoirleach. Siteserv’s chairman Hugh Cooney was also obviously involved in the NTMA, Enterprise Ireland and reportedly also was on an American trip that the Taoiseach attended with Denis O’Brien and we know lawyers Arthur Cox represented both O’Brien and IBRC.”

CC: “Question please?”

Coppinger:”`But why Tanaiste was there no independent representation for the Irish taxpayer. Why was there no legal representation for the Irish taxpayer? The sale was processed we know by people with many connections to people in Siteserv, Davy and KPMG and, of course, the big question, why were other bidders making much larger offers not even considered?
For example, Tanaiste, can you comment that the only tender, and this is very important, that included a payment to directors was the Millington tender. Now if that’s the case why would it not be in the interest of shareholders to take that bid. And if it is true then this was obviously the company that was being positioned to get the water meter contract that’s going to be a license to print money, if you can force through the water charges. What other sweetheart deals took place or are happening and have happened recently at Anglo? From Fine Gael’s bankers? We’ve already heard about Topaz and Beacon Hospital, etc…”

Joan Burton: “I don’t know who they are.”

Jaykers.

Earlier: “The €5million Was An Essential Component”

Screengrabs via agenda.ie

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71 thoughts on “Who Are Those Guys?

    1. Fergus the magic postman

      Well it absolutely should. Whether it does or not remains to be seen.
      A lot of FG supporters would continue to actively support & defend them through anything.

  1. Disgruntled Goat

    These guys are….. [REDACTED] who is best pals with [REDACTED]. They were both on the board [REDACTED] who got preferential treatment in a bidding process from [REDACTED] who [REDACTED] on Tuesdays at the [REDACTED] Club. Sure every dog in the street knows that!

  2. Kevin M

    Well done Deputy Coppinger, Dont give anyone on the government benches a minutes peace about this. Time and again the Siteserv deal has been mentioned in the Dáil, time and again the government have waved it away.
    If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck…

  3. ahjayzis

    The government are looking proper shook over this, methinks there’s definitely a smoking gun here…

    1. Clampers Outside!

      Joan is wearing a white business suit with floral patterns; the white symbolising her purity and the flowers to give people the impression she’s not the wagon she is. While Ruth wears a cigarette smoke coloured doily that’s been through the wash too many times.

  4. JimmytheHead

    I’d like to shove a [REDACTED] so far up Joans [REDACTED] that she [REDACTED] all over the floor til people were slipping on it as they walk past the Dáil

  5. Unreconstructed

    This is a perfect storm…a nexus of Irish Water, Anglo Irish Bank (IBRC) and Denis O’Brien of Moriarty Tribunal fame. There will be some media firefighting over this, hoping to dampen down a story that could take down not just FG but a good part of the establishment…

  6. jeremy kyle

    I was reading up on how the dinosaurs died out, but I couldn’t find out who was to blame because all the names were pteredactedyl’d.

    ….I dunno help me out here!

    1. scottser

      i hear irish water are fixing the leaky pipes with duct tape. yep – those pipes were reducted.

      *gets coat

  7. Fergus the magic postman

    A lot of the regular “what do you want?” commenters have gone uncharacteristically very quiet.

    1. Kieran NYC

      You’re attaching the people (whom you usually attack for defending the government) for NOT defending the government on this?

      Right so.

      Maybe they weren’t actually shills after all!

      1. Fergus the magic postman

        Nope. I wasn’t attacking you, or even attaching you. I’m sure you haven’t been briefed yet.

  8. Pablo

    Lots of unanswered questions here. Ex CFO of IBRC Marteen Van Eden resigned from IBRC primarily because he could not work with the dept of finance. What was that all about? Neil Ryan was was the senior civil servant from the dept of finance who was supposedly brought in to keep an eye on senior management in IBRC following siteserv deal. Who was he and how did that work out…smoking gun for sure!

  9. soundmigration

    Richard Woodhouse
    “Ireland’s once-richest man Sean Quinn threatened to sue the daughter of a senior executive of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), formerly Anglo Irish Bank, for defamation after she called him “a f***ing c***” when chatting with a friend on a social networking site.

    The tweet by the 20-year-old daughter of Richard Woodhouse, IBRC’s head of specialised asset management, was made after her father cancelled a family holiday in order to concentrate on the bank’s multi-jurisdiction case against the Quinn family to stop asset-stripping in their international property portfolio worth €500m.” more at

    http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sean-quinns-libel-threat-to-bankers-girl-over-tweet-26885998.html

    Then this question in the Dail by Stephen Donnelly
    “To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 171 of 10 June 2014, where he acknowledged an arrangement between the joint special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation and two unidentified parties, whereby the latter will be given 3% of any assets recovered through the provision of their information, if any other similar arrangement has been struck by either IBRC or the JSLs with respect to any other sum owed to IBRC.”

    Noonan replies
    I have been advised by the Special Liquidators that Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Limited (“IBRC”) engaged with foreign companies to assist with the recovery of assets beneficially held by the Quinn Group. This was disclosed in the Affidavit of Richard Woodhouse (Group Head of Specialised Asset Management of IBRC at that time) dated 31 October 2012 for the purposes of apprising the High Court and the Quinns about the proposed arrangement with A1 Group Limited, a local asset recovery specialist in the Russian Federation and the Ukraine, an arrangement which was subsequently entered into by IBRC. I am advised by the SLs that they are not aware of any other similar arrangements in relation to sums owed to IBRC.

    https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-06-24a.301

  10. Joxer

    i doubt it but i really hope this results in the smack-down of FG and LAB and [REDACTED]. even if there was blatant fraud/thievery/illegality there will be no one serving time in the chokey – thats only for the scapegoats and the little people. but its lovely to sit and watch them squirming

  11. SOMK

    None of this is new and yet it’s always new.

    It’s apparently fine to shoot a traveler if they’re on your property, you can even go inside reload and finish them off on the road execution style, as they’re crawling away from your house on the road outside. Fine Gael will call you a hero if you do that. The idea being that if a traveler is on your property… well you know what they’re up to don’t you? That’s the principle as I understood (assuming it had nothing to do with a deep and virulent hatred of travelers), someone engages in an activity that suggests they wish to take what’s yours in Ireland on your property they have forfeited their life to you (especially if you’re a shotgun owner).

    Denis O’Brien doesn’t need to trespass on your property to take what’s yours, when people object to this (without resorting to shooting anyone it should be added), oddly enough they are not hailed as heroes by Fine Gael. Denis O’Brien owns a good chunk of the media and if you assume too much what he’s up to (publicly), he can and will sue you for libel.

    It would be nice to see something done about this, but we had a tribunal into what Mr. O’Brien was up to when he got the mobile phone licence, it’s there in black and white, he gave Michael Lowry at least 50,000, then he got the phone licence. The findings came out in 2011, Siteserve was sold in 2012.

    Here’s a reminder of what fearless leader had to say about the Moriarty findings…

    ““A devastating critique of a powerful elite, exposing a gross abuse of privilege. A rank abuse of public office, a devastating abuse of public trust.”

    That is exactly how I described the first Moriarty report when I was sitting where Deputy Martin is now.
    Across Ireland, four years later, people might be thinking, “Here we go again.”

    But today, as Taoiseach, I can assure them that is certainly not the case. Because the recent election did matter. Their vote did bring change. They were right to give us their trust.”

    Here we go again, none of this is new and yet it’s always new.

  12. Lilly

    And Arthur Cox, Ireland’s dodgiest law firm, in the middle of it all as usual. Better Call Saul.

  13. DeDeluded

    plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
    (the more things change, the more they stay the same)

  14. Tá Frilly Keane

    Ah here. I’ve had enough of the oul’bhoys
    Time for talking and asking questions is past

    Get the Criminal Assets Bureau in

    In the meantime
    Gaw’help any blueshirts that come near my door

        1. Tá Frilly Keane

          Nah.
          I’d say he’s just sick as a pig Catherine Murphy is one leading the charge

          There isn’t a mic or camera he wouldn’t have bin’on top of since last August
          Sur he’d a’got a book out’ve it n’all

          Ross is off pouting somewhere

          1. Lilly

            You don’t think it’s because of his INM connection and the influence a certain O’Redacted now wields there?

          2. Tá Frilly Keane

            Since the Redacted family haven’t filled his pockets with
            Shares
            Bonuses
            Fancy appointments
            Handy money gigs
            Pensions and payoffs….
            Yet

            I’d say he’d rather be at what Catherine Murphy is at than have his grand a week (if its even that) from INM

            But that’s just my opinion

    1. fmong

      anyway, don’t forget pay your water bills, all the protestors are drug addicted dole scroungers, do the right thing, it’s only fair, water isn’t free, we could’ve invested this money in the local councils, but we didn’t, don’t hit the meter installers, give us your PPS number and we’ll you 100 quid later, oh wait what’s your address again?

    1. italia'90

      Thank goodness you didn’t say annoying c*nt.
      I got censored earlier for describing the AIB c**t as a c*nt and I don’t understand why?
      Because quite obviously, he is a c**t!

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