From top: Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe with RTE Director General Dee Forbes; Sean O’Rourke and at a press conference following his Today show post-budget broadcast
This morning.
Radio Centre, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Via RTÉ:
A caller aged 68 is unhappy at recently losing his and wife’s eligibility to a medical card and seeing that in yesterday’s Budget over 70s have had the income threshold limit for medical cards increased to €1,050. He asks why under 70s didn’t have a threshold increase. Mr Donohoe says he had to make changes affordable to the funds he had available. He added that he would like to make further changes in the future when funds are available.
Meanwhile…
Mr Donohoe has defended the decision to make €16.8 million available for the greyhound industry. He was asked on Today with Sean O’Rourke why this money could not be ringfenced for carers. Mr Donohoe said that €1.4 billion overall had been put aside for carers.
He told a caller that Ministers Shane Ross and Michael Creed have looked to put significant changes in place to deal behaviour that he believed was “utterly unacceptable in the greyhound industry”.
Budget 2020: Reaction and Donohoe takes questions (RTÉ)
When asked about the carbon tax, Paschal said it was like his approach to water charges, do it incrementally.
So, there you have it, confirmation that FG will try to impose water charges by stealth.
[also, no word on how much Dee Forbes, above top left, will be getting from Budget 2020. The documents published yesterday showed a total for broadcasting of €269.9m, up €5m from 2019. Any word yet on what that extra €5m is for? Is it RTE? If so, Dee coming out to personally welcome Paschal above was the fuppin’ least she could do]
Richard Bruton has just his press release about Budget 2020. Nothing about RTE in there. That doesn’t mean RTE isn’t getting extra millions though, and there’s no explanation from the shady Bruton for the additional €5m for broadcasting.
https://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/news-and-media/press-releases/Pages/-Budget-2020,-Giving-Ireland-a-Sustainable-Future.aspx
Josepha “you’re better off with a solicitor for your compo claim” Madigan has done her press release after Budget 2020
https://www.chg.gov.ie/budget-2020-minister-madigan-announces-details-for-culture-heritage-and-the-gaeltacht/
She states
“€1m is to be provided to allow for the start of the process of transferring the National Symphony Orchestra to the remit of the National Concert Hall.”
This is a direct subsidy to RTE for a service (maintaining the NSO) which it is contracted to do from its own funds.
It will be interesting to see who can tease asunder the details of this subsidy and how it fits with RTE’s remit. I’d like to see the AG’s advice on that!
he’s been told to do that dumb power stance that all politicians seem to be told to do these days. it’s so insane. they all look like complete idiots doing it.
He does look a bit of a twit alright. Did he pick that up from all his recent meetings with the British finance minister?
https://metro.co.uk/2018/04/30/tories-keep-standing-like-7510305/
he is absolutely doing that. Vardakar’s been seen at it too. Their PR guys are advising it i’d say.
I can imagine the briefing:
”OK lads, now stand like your testicles just fell off like a bullocks but its a good thing and you now feel empowered by the lack of gonads, ya?”
Bang (hah) of Gunfight at the OK Corral
He looks like he has a hand shoved up his bottom. Actual puppet? You decide.
Yeah and it doesn’t help trying that stance when you sound and look like a dweeb in every other facet of your existence.
litearlly every politician who does that stance is an absolute dweeb. it’s never looked slick or cool, and wouldn’t even if the person was slick, it’s a super dumb stance.
Indeed, it looks patently ridiculous.
Also, for someone shorter in stature, surely it would make sense to stand as straight and tall as possible(?)
only came here to comment on how he is not convincing anyone. Looks like a buffoon
+1 Came here to make this exact observation
I’m convinced it’s an elaborate plot by PR advisers to make Centre-right parties look foolish
“Utterly unacceptable ” = €16.5m
Good man Daffy
Why on earth do we have a greyhound board? Why is the taxpayers money being wasted on this nonsense?
And how many greyhounds sit on the board?
And you’d want to see the amount of waste they generate – I’ve seen the lorries.
Because the boghoppers who own such dogs (before the shoot them or send them to China for food) are FG voters. Shut it down FFS.
It’s the discordant harmony of Lies, Liars and the Lying Machine.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/dublin-city-council-paid-gangland-figures-to-stop-antisocial-attacks-cab-case-told-1.4044450
Anything in the budget for protection money?