This morning.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe leaving RTÉ studios in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, where they appeared on the Seán O’Rourke show (top) for the annual post-budget phone-in.
Meanwhile, Aaron Rogan, in The Times Ireland edition, reports:
RTE confirmed yesterday that Michael Noonan and Paschal Donohoe would be shown listeners’ questions in advance of appearing on this morning’s call-in show on Today with Sean O’Rourke.
Ministers were criticised last year when The Times reported that advisers for Mr Noonan and Brendan Howlin, the then public expenditure minister, were shown questions from the public before their appearance on the programme the day after the budget was unveiled.
A reporter from The Times witnessed conversations between RTE staff and departmental advisers after being shown into the wrong room. The unnoticed reporter watched as an adviser with the Department of Finance warned RTE personnel that the ministers would not do the interview unless the questions were provided.
Good times.
RTE preps ministers on listeners’ questions (The Times, Aaron Rogan)
Previously: A Phoney Phone-In
Rollingnews
Fair enough. I’d rather have the questions before hand too so I can give a better answer than if it is just sprung on me.
Once they don’t agree to cut questions the lads don’t like.
Smacks of Radio Sputnik during Soviet times…..
Exactly.
Finance is a huge and complicated portfolio and intelligent questions deserve intelligent and verified answers. No person has the capacity to know everything off the top of their heads about such a brief.
We can look at Vincent Browne if we want to see someone being “caught out”.
If finance is a huge and complicated portfolio (and it is) then a ruddy’ radio phone in isn’t the way to disseminate accurate information. Everybody’s circumstances are different. It’s a gimmick, it’s RTE playing along with govt ministers showing they care. As a feature it needs to be canned, toot sweet. Let RTE stick to letting kids ring Santy on Christmas Eve if they’re gagging to do ad-hoc sounding phone-ins.
And did anybody see the jaysusin’ coverage of the Baldy and Paschal arriving at Montrose, and the welcoming party at the front steps; there was less forelock tugging in the Irish flippin R.M. (One for the grown-ups there…)
it’s the other way around. It’s the politicians playing along to please people like yourself.
erm – i’m the one saying that this kind of thing won’t please ‘people like myself’. Or at least, y’know, me. Myself.
OK – they’re both in on the joke – the Ministers AND the broadcaster. That doesn’t make it any better. Doesn’t matter who’s the dog and who’s the tail, really. Joe public’s the lamppost.
Radio Teleifís Élite.
http://i.imgur.com/HUd8qCM.jpg
Gru and his minion.
Pascal Donohoe has the look of a person that’s been told how a kettle functions…….yet still is none the wiser
Right so Ted…
This is all extremely suspicious. I feel we must demand a full independent judicial enquiry.
Your nappy needs changing.
Please proceed.
This is not what a free press in a democratic country looks like.
+1000
RTE (Respect The Elite) is the national broadcaster, and I’m sure they fully reject your assessment of them, having fully looked into their payslips.
:-D
the goverment are in fact lizards with special suits that disguise their tails etc.
I think you’ve wee’d yourself again.
…those speech therapy sessions that Pascal went to are really starting to pay off
Oh, that’s really lovely. Let me guess Pascal once ate a bagel while watching a Seinfeld box set. That means he’s now fair game for sneering.
2 millionaires being “interviewed” by millionaire.
WOW just WOW.
I’d love to hear Noonan say “Would you like a sweet”
Sadly this is the internet, and so you can’t hear me but i can do a VERY good impersonation of Dermot Morgan impersonating Noonan. I use ‘lollipop’ instead of sweet, so you can kinda linger over the syllables a bit more :)
Prove it!
You can record a voice message on vocaroo and then share the link.
I challenge you
The difference in tone in these comments and the american version of this from more recently is telling.
In effect its the Puppets in Merrion St manipulating the Muppets in Montrose.
We should add a bit of pomp to this so called annual event, what about the
employment of Irish State Coach pulled by a brace horses, and Noonan and
that other flunkey beside him dressed up in feathers, wigs and frills, we could,
rename RTE “The Royal Television Establishment”, it befits them with all the
patronage that obtains there, did anyone count the “rats”