49 thoughts on “De Sunday Papers

    1. Man On Fire

      John Deasy also has a poof piece in the SINDO extolling the same bs by fg cheerleader Phillip Ryan..

  1. eoin

    Calling Mary Robinson! Calling Mary Robinson! Stat.

    Remember Mary’s intervention last year, being photographed with the heavily medicated daughter of the Dubai dictator, Mo McToom? The daughter had tried to escape by boat but was captured by Mo’s henchmen in Indian territorial waters and returned to Dubai where Mary had an all expenses trip paid so as to tell us the daughter was “troubled”.

    Well, guess what.

    Now, the missus has done a runner (with £31m in her LV, ya beaut!). She’s reportedly sought asylum in Germany. From yesterday’s British press (and today’s Irish press passing it off as “news”)

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/dubai-s-princess-haya-flees-country-after-leaving-crown-prince-husband-reports-say-a4178576.html

    The teensy country of Dubai is of course the base for the Kinahan drug trafficking organisation and it is simply beyond belief that Mo doesn’t know what they’re doing in his corrupt bribe-ridden poo-hole of a country. Maybe if our CAB were to visit his Irish stables, the penny might drop.

    1. Lilly

      That’s great! Glad she got her kids out too. Maybe now she’ll tell the world what’s going on there and get Latifa and her sister out. Is it possible Mary Robinson was part of this scheme, that what looked like treachery was a strategic move in a longer game?

    2. ReproBertie

      From yesterday’s British press (and today’s Irish press passing it off as “news”)

      What were the British press “passing it off as”?

  2. eoin

    No surprise to see platform pieces in this Sunday’s press whinging about RTE’s “funding crisis”.

    The Sunday Times tells us

    “Communications minister Richard Bruton is expected to bring recommendations for the reform of TV licence fee collection to the cabinet in coming weeks. His department said these recommendations will include the “consideration of the introduction of a broadcasting charge”.”

    And. That’s. What. It’s. All. About.

    The RTE report last week, published two whole months earlier than normal, wasn’t aimed at informing us about RTE in 2018. It was aimed at persuading decision makers in government to extend the TV licence to all homes, regardless of whether they have a TV or ever use RTE services. It’s a money grab, and in the shady Richard Bruton, RTE has an ally.

      1. GiggidyGoo

        Oh yes. But twice as worrying he is the Chairman of Tulsa. Sure they love liars there.

      1. eoin

        The SBP editorial:

        “RTÉ provides a good service, it deserves a licence fee increase
        By Post Editors”

        [PS RTE, you know that RTE Guide tingy you’re trying to sell to the owner of the SBP, Enda O’Coineen, could you knock a few euros off there, mates rates loike]

          1. Al Bin Man

            Question for you I put to Eoin ( but he’s too full of it to bother reply)

            Are we really having worse politicians these days or is it the case we are all more media aware and can actually see things more clearly? I think more the latter and clientilism was always there, in fact it is just so ingrained the poor hoors can’t tell the difference except for the odd exception like that Catherine one over in Galway

          2. bisted

            …when you see how easily and cheaply individuals and whole institutions such as the unions can be bought it should not come as a surprise that the media and politicians are corrupt…

          3. Vanessa the Holy Face of Frilly Keane

            I dunno

            This is a bitta’ve generalisation now
            But the majority of Main Party Politicans and their Independent Allies form two strong majorities demographically speaking
            Family Business (Include Naughton, Lowry & Son and Healy Raez )
            Or lads looking to get prominent head starts fast Varadkar Harris, and Mary Lou as well tbh

            Then you have the genuine representatives, those committed to public service, the Catherines – Connolly & Murphy, Clare Daly, and although they’re both eFFers, Declan Breathnach and current CC Sean Comhairle,

            To be perfect honest with ye, the standard of Local Level reps, right across the spectrums- age, party, non party, urban rural , gender
            That I witnessed during the Presidential Pitches was pathetic. Downright pitiful.
            Particularly the Shinners and the PbPs. And the behaviour of one SocDem was a disgrace, imo he should have been suspended from both that particular Council Chamber and the party

            The Gender Quota carry on hasn’t helped either

            I personally wouldn’t have the patience for local level
            So tis worth saying again; fair play to Dan for going back into it

  3. eoin

    There was a ruling at the High Court last week when Judge Peter Kelly sided with two former INM employees in their request to use certain information in forthcoming proceedings involving hacking at INM.

    The ruling is worth a read. While it doesn’t reach adverse conclusions about Denis O’Brien, it certainly asks pointed questions about his conduct.

    “It is difficult to see what the interrogation of information concerning at least some of the 19 persons had to do with a cost reduction exercise in respect of legal services being provided to the Respondent. For example, two Senior Counsel were amongst those whose data was interrogated. They acted for several years as counsel to the “Inquiry into Payments to Politicians and related matters” presided over by Mr. Justice Moriarty. That tribunal was involved in investigations into allegations relating to the awarding of the second GSM licence to ESAT which is an entity controlled by Mr. O’Brien. In a letter of 30th April, 2018 to Mr. Buckley the Respondent’s solicitors described the names of those searched against as persons who may be regarded as having acted adversely to Mr. O’Brien. The rights and entitlements of some or all of the 19 people may have been transgressed in a most serious way by this activity. So also may have been the rights and entitlements of Mr. Gavin O’Reilly.”

    http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/09859e7a3f34669680256ef3004a27de/8481555434b66c9780258426004b5d4c?OpenDocument

    And remember, this FG government wants to award a €3bn contract to a consortium which now includes Denis’s Actavo (formerly called Siteserv, and which is the subject of an ongoing commission of investigation, specifically around the circumstances in which Denis bought the company from state-owned Anglo).

    Actavo was swapped into the consortium at the last minute just before bidding ended last year, and just after the disgraced (now fired former) minister, Denis Naughten had a secret meeting with the lead bidder at which Naughten agreed to the swapping.

      1. eoin

        Hi Johnny, I’d take some of the Digicel reporting by our brave media with a pinch of salt, especially around debt which was $6.8bn in Q3 (q/e Dec 2018), given the new $600m issue and the retirement of some short term borrowings, I’d expect debt to be around $7.1bn in Q4 (q/e March). If EBITDA is indeed $951m, that’s debt:EBITDA of 7.5 and you have our brave media talking about Digicel breaching 7.0 in 2020!

        The Q4 revenue ($570m per Irish Times ,compared to 554m in Q3, 571m in Q2 and 565m in Q1) looks decidedly dodgy because of the collapse in the USD/HTG and the unrest in Haiti in Q4.

        The chaps at the Gleaner often have a better inside insight and maybe they’ll give us better figures in the next few days.

  4. eoin

    The Telegraph gives Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s leader in the House of Commons a platform today in which he demands the £12bn assets belonging to the Libyan people be used to compensate unionists in northern Ireland who were victims of explosives allegedly supplied by Libya to the IRA.

    Frankly, any world leader having to shake hands with Theresa May when it is she who is holding onto this money while Libya returns to the medieval ages, should give her the same glum expression she gave Putin on Friday. It’s a moral disgrace to hold onto this money for more than half a decade and at the same time, the Irish navy has to go to the Mediterranean to rescue refugees/asylum seekers from Libya.

  5. eoin

    This week, the SBP goes largish on cannabis.

    There’s a sprinkling of interesting stories elsewhere including a 6-month delay in the establishment of a register of beneficial owners of Irish companies and trusts because PPS numbers of the beneficial owners can’t be verified, this all has echoes of the US investigations which found large numbers of Irish companies owned by Latvian plumbers and such. Also, Click.ie is in the doghouse again, with “complaints piling up” but Irish consumer protection not applying because Click is a UK-registered business.

    1. GiggidyGoo

      Speaking of drugs – Varadkar was quick to admit taking cannabis in his younger days. However he wasn’t as quick to confirm whether he took class A drugs or not. ‘Not since elected’ is the best he can come up with.

      Remember now that before he was elected, he was a working doctor. Think about that for a second.

      1. Daisy Chainsaw

        So what. Who hasn’t done drugs? They get ratfaced in the Dail bar, grab a colleague by the pussy and then vote. Some drugs are just more socially acceptable than others.

        PS: A lot of doctors, nurses, surgeons etc drink too.

        1. GiggidyGoo

          I haven’t ‘done drugs’ Daisy. Class A drugs I’d surmise could be taken at any time without being detected in ordinary course of events. Alcohol however would be detected quickly by people in the vicinity. By smell. So if doctors were under the influence of alcohol on duty they’d not be allowed practice at that time. If under the influence of class A drugs on duty would detection be possible by the ordinary joe soap or even colleagues?

          1. GiggidyGoo

            I don’t think it was said. I made the point to think for a second about a doctor who might take class A drugs. Are class A drugs socially acceptable? Are they professionally acceptable?
            Why would he hide from the answer?
            As with alcohol the effects could last into work time?”

          2. Daisy Chainsaw

            You said it. – “if doctors were under the influence of alcohol on duty they’d not be allowed practice at that time. If under the influence of class A drugs on duty would detection be possible by the ordinary joe soap or even colleagues?”

          3. GiggidyGoo

            As I said Daisy- not Only do you need to read but also understand what’s written. Someone doesn’t need to take anything while on duty. It could be in their system prior to coming on duty. So, no, I didn’t say anything about taking drugs while on duty.

  6. eoin

    Adrian Weckler: ‘Nice try Eir, but no thank you’

    Cheerleader-in-chief for the National Broadband Plan bidder, the Boston private equity group (which held inappropriate meetings with the decision-making minister before the minister was fired, and whose funding is unclear and which will cost us up to €3bn in a procurement from which, even the civil servants are distancing themselves) Adrian Weckler goes large in the Sindo to diss the Eir €1bn proposal.

    Nice try Adrian, but no thank YOU!

    1. GiggidyGoo

      Wreckler and some minnow FGer and Newstalk tried a similar attempt on Thursday. No mention by Newstalk of any conflict of interest. (Dinny owns Newstalk, owns INM and owns FG).
      Wreckler spewing out all sorts of lies with no basis for them. Minnowman couldn’t put two sentences together. And the presenter of the show licking the clogs of Dinnyman by allowing the lies to go unchallenged.
      It was unbelievably biased, and didn’t provide anyone with an alternative view on the program.

    2. Chucky R. Law

      Or we could ignore all of them, wait a few years, and there will be low cost high speed satellite broadband from commercial operators at no cost to the taxpayer.

  7. Bertie Blenkinsop

    To be fair, the band Inhaler that Bono’s son is in are alright.
    It’s nothing you haven’t heard before but that have some decent tunes.

  8. GiggidyGoo

    Remember the fear factor about Brexit and the possibility of non european or non british beef being imported into the UK, and making its way into Ireland/the EU?
    Well Sell-out Hogan has made sure it happens anyway.

      1. bisted

        …mind you…after 800 years of treachery from perfidious albion…things can hardly get any worse…

      2. ReproBertie

        Remember when Charger was telling us there’d be deal done before the March 29th deadline and Ireland would be chucked under the bus to save trade with the UK?

        Here we are 3 months past that deadline and the EU are still standing firm while the UK are being fed the same old lies about renegotiating the deal by the teaboy. Will they never learn?

        1. Charger Salmons

          Hi ReproBertie – you’re been quiet of late.
          Were you busy with your Junior Cert ?

          1. ReproBertie

            How embarrassing for you if the poster consistently exposing the Sasamach garbage you post was a Junior Cert student!

        2. Al Bin Man

          Have you not been reading the news this morning?
          We’ve just been thrown under the bus in Mercosur

          1. ReproBertie

            A trade deal that will be massive for the pharmaceutical and services industry is Ireland being thrown under a bus??

            I didn’t realise Ireland was the only EU country with beef farmers.

  9. Charger Salmons

    Sub-standard ?
    Argentinian steaks are superb especially washed down with a feisty Malbec
    Lovely country too and nice people,despite that spot of bother down in the Falklands.
    Still, it does look like Irish farmers are going to be on a sticky wicket for a while.
    That nice Mr Macron will look after you though,when he’s taken care of his own.
    Heh,heh,heh.

    1. bisted

      …can’t speak for your mouldy steaks or pound shop malbecs but back in my student days I have to confess to gaining sustenance from a frey bentos steak and kindey pie and a couple of slices of batch loaf…

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