[Labour leader Eamon Gilmore at the publication of the Government’s programmes of Dáil Reform in Government Buildings last September]
Gilmore: It would be “helpful” if Alan Shatter were to withdraw his remarks about Garda Whistleblowers
— Today FM News (@TodayFMNews) March 24, 2014
Related: ‘Politcal faultlines have opened’ over Garda Commissioner statement (Irish Examiner)
Gilmore: Shatter should ‘clear up’ his remarks on whistleblowers (Independent.ie)
[Top: Albert Reynolds and Dick Spring; above: Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore]
Further to the cabinet decision to appoint a a senior counsel to review claims in Garda Whistlebower Maurice McCabe’s ‘dossier’ and Labour’s continuing confidence in Justice minister Alan Shatter, Political commenter Johnny Fallon writes:
“The crux of matter is why do the cabinet feel that matters are worthy of an investigation now? What merits this? Clearly Alan Shatter did not feel the matters warranted such action at any stage up to now and clearly he never believed cabinet had to be informed.
So, if that’s the case how can government have confidence in him while at same time taking an axiom that suggests he should have done things differently? A second issue is that Enda still has not shared the dossier with cabinet so in effect none of them know what they are talking about.
You might remember the ‘passports for sale’ issue in the early ’90s? Albert Reynolds’ business had availed of a government scheme at the time whereby if somebody invested over £1 million in an Irish firm resulting in jobs, etc. then that person could apply for a passport.
Reynolds maintained that his firm acted appropriately, followed the rules and there was no wrongdoing…In the midst of the media storm Albert Reynolds met with Dick Spring.He assured Spring that everything was above board. Then, to underline his point Reynolds told Spring he could have full access to the files and see for himself that everything was handled as it should be. To Reynolds shock, Spring replied that he had already sought and got the file and he was satisfied that there was no impropriety.
Reynolds was pleased but he learned that Dick Spring was not a man to hang about. When Spring and the Labour party were under pressure they did not wait for invitations or explanations.
Also remember Ruairi Quinn demanded Albert Reynold’s head over a delay by an official in the AG’s office. Here the minister [Shatter] himself is implicated for not taking an approach that the cabinet made today. yet it’s OK for him to stay on?”
(Photocall Ireland)
Meanwhile:
“Enough is enough. After more than two weeks of drip fed allegations that continue to undermine public confidence in our systems of Garda accountability, nothing short of an independent statutory inquiry under the 2004 Commissions of Investigation Act will do. The Department of Justice and Equality have direct access to extensive legal expertise and have had ample opportunity to produce a convincing rebuttal of the disturbing allegations that have been levelled against An Garda Síochána. This has not occurred and to prolong the agony for the public, whistleblowers and alleged victims by appointing a barrister to spend more time looking at internal paperwork is simply not credible.”
Mark Kelly, Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties
Meanwhile…
FYI .At UCC Model Dáíl an hour ago, Labour Youth joined Sinn Féin in opposition and together passed a no confidence in the government! #vinb
— Odran Ó Corcráin (@OdranCO) February 25, 2014
Peace activist Colm Reddy (in orange) protesting the jailing of Margaretta D’Arcy during Eamon Gilmore’s arrival at Government Buildings on Merrion Street, Dublin this morning.
Meanwhile…
From left: Joan Collins TD, Mary Lou McDonald TD, Clare Daly TD and Catherine Murphy TD at the gates of Leinster House, in support of Margaretta D’Arcy also this morning.
Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland
Labour party leader and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore appeared on The Week in Politics last night on RTE 1 from his party conference in Killarney.
Presenter Aine Lawlor asked about top ups in the charity sector and the decision by the coalition government to breach pay caps for their own advisers.
Aine Lawlor: “The other big issue that has been causing concern is the issue of top-up payments and The Taoiseach has been very clear, he says that The Governent is going to weed out sweeteners. How much credibility do you have? For instance, you and The Taoiseach both pay your advisers more than the pay-cap for government advisers – you’re breaching it for yourselves – what right do you have, morally to tell the hospitals they can’t breach it too?”
Gilmore: “The Taoiseach and I reduced the salaries that we pay ourselves, reduced the salaries that of all of the staff who work for us are paid. We have set down what The Government pay guidelines are – and all of the agencies that are funded by The State are expected to comply with those guidelines.”
Lawlor: “…Are expected – so does that mean that mean that’s a given -because there are existing contracts and so on – there are legal constraints, broader sector entities and so on. So do you think – now, you’ve got a salary cap, I think €136,000 per hospital – for one of these hospitals for instance, do you think that’s going to be implemented across the board in these hospitals in the year ahead?”
Gilmore: “Yes – I do, and I expect it will..
Lawlor: {interrupts} “..Would that be a condition of signing contracts?”
Gilmore: “In many cases – these agencies are funded by The State, they get tax-payers’ money – we set out, and The HSE asked each of these agencies to report to them what the salaries were and whether there were top-ups and what these top-ups were. That’s where this information is coming from – The Government is determined that the pay guidelines that we have set across the Public Service will apply in the bodies that are funded by The State.”
Lawlor: “So, say for instance Thomond Children’s Hospital, Holles Street Hospital – the most the person running that hospital would be able to be paid would be 136,000 – is that right?”
Gilmore: “The salary guidelines that were set down, that were set out – the public pay guidelines, those public pay guidelines, our intention is that those guidelines will be complied with..”
Lawlor: “In 2014?”
Gilmore: “We’ve heard each of the agencies in the last… – to make their report to The HSE – that’s done – in most cases they’ve complied, in some cases they are not complying. It is The Government’s intention that there will be compliance across the board.”
Lawlor: “And that would be a condition of funding for these institutions?”
Gilmore: “There are a number of instruments that are available to government if the agencies don’t comply.”
Lawlor: “Such as?”
Gilmore: “Such as cases that are being funded and reduce that funding correspondingly.”
Lawlor: “And you’re determined to go through with that?”
Gilmore: “Yes we are determined – we have set public service pay guidelines and we are determined that those public service pay guidelines are already applied in the main public service and we are now talking about agencies that are funded by the public purse – that are funded by the tax-payer and we are determined that those guidelines will be complied with in those agencies as well.”
Lawlor: “So, there’ll be no exception?”
Gilmore: “‘We don’t intend that there will be exceptions – each agency has to report to The HSE – that process is underway, but The Government’s determination is that the pay guidelines will be complied with.”
Lawlor: “Even though there has been exceptions for instance in government with your own advisors despite having breached your own cap?”
Gilmore: “No,there aren’t exceptions, if you look at the levels of pay that are paid to anybody who is working in the government system, you will find that the level of pay is down – was reduced from what it was before – when we came into government, significantly reduced in each of those cases.”
Watch here
Frequent visitor Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore laying a wreath at the US Embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin today marking the 50th anniversary of the death of JFK.
The embassy’s unusual design (by John Mac L. Johansen and Irish architect, Michael Scott) was personally approved by President Kennedy when he took office in 1960.
Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland, US Embassy (top)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1J_YK2rl3E
Eamon Gilmore on last night’s Irish Pictorial Weekly on RTÉ One.
Alternatively…
Watch the full show here.
The *new* clip.
From Tuesday’s Tonight With Vincent Browne.
Feel the power, the passion, the conviction in Enda’s and Eamon’s speeches from the Senior Citizen’s Protest in 2008.
But that was then sure.
Yesterday’s Sunday Times reported about a scheduled photocall with Labour leader and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore and Denis O’Brien which took place on October 9.
A spokesperson forLabour’s deputy leader Joan Burton told the paper
“Photocalls for the Tánaiste are a matter for the Tánaiste’s office and the minister has no objection to the same.”
Meanwhile…
“There has been considerable public and political unease about the fact that Mr. O’Brien has continued to pop up at various public events, most recently at the New York Stock Exchange. However, the Taoiseach was invited to attend that stock exchange event. The organisers of the event not the Office of the Taoiseach decided who was on the balcony for the bell ringing ceremony. It is perhaps time for the Government to reflect on how it should in future interact with people against whom adverse findings have been made by tribunals.”
“We do not want to return to the days of, “uno duce, una voce“, the immortal phrase which the former Fianna Fáil press secretary P.J. Mara, himself a tribunal veteran, used to describe Charles Haughey, nor do we want a Berlusconi style media-political complex with its attendant codes of omertà undermining the principles of transparent democracy. In this regard I welcome the statement by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, on the introduction of legislation to deal with the registration of lobbyists, ethics for public representatives and office holders and transparency in public life. We should look back to the 1830s in the United Kingdom and the great reform Acts which were introduced to clean up politics and end the rotten boroughs for election to Parliament.”
“We live in a Republic and the representation of each citizen should be what counts rather than the amount of money a particular citizen can spend. We can look forward to a period of reform in which this Government will change the political landscape and our capacity to report and hold to account lobbyists.”
“The Ten Commandments prohibited murder and envy but they did not put an end to sin. Similarly, this House needs to legislate for transparency and accountability from all elected representatives and office holders.”
Joan Burton, March 2012
Previously: Mwhahaha
Phew.
Not so fast.
Eamon Gilmore went on RTE R1’s Morning Ireland earlier to explain [to presenter Gavin Jennings} the budget cuts stuff that’s happened to benefits to people under 26.
Caution: It gets a bit ORWELLIAN.
Gavin Jennings: “How will cutting a young person’s dole payment incentivise them into work?”
Eamon Gilmore: “It’s not about incentivising them into work. This government believes that young people should be at work, in education or in training. And that is why we have committed to the Youth Guarantee, this is the idea that no young person under the age of 25 should be out of work or out of education or training for more than four months.”
Jennings: “But then why are you cutting their benefits?”
Eamon Gilmore: “We’re not cutting their benefits.”
Jennings: “But you are. From 188 to 144 or 144 to 100 Euros.”
Gilmore: “Those payments are already in place. What we are doing is extending the age at which those payments will apply.”
Jennings: “You’re cutting the payments to people between 22 and 25 this morning. “Just to be clear.
Gilmore: “Well to be clear about it, what this Government is about is ensuring that young people have a job or have education or training. We do not believe, let’s be very clear about it, this government does not believe that somebody should go on to an employment payment at 18 and still be on it continuously at the age of 25 -26.”
Jennings: “Are you saying it is their fault that they’re not taking up places in jobs and you’re going to punish them for it?”
Gilmore: It’s not their fault. It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that employment and education and training is provided
Jennings: “But you’re punishing them?”
Gilmore: “And that is why in this Budget we have provided for an additional 500 million Euros package to create employment and generate the jobs into which these young people go. But we also know that for young people to take up employment opportunities they have to have the appropriate education and training and that is why too this budget has 740 million Euros in it for the further education and training sector and why we have in addition provided for 14 million additional Euros for the Youth Guarantee Project for which there is matching European funding.”
Listen here
(Photocall Ireland)
(Eamon Gilmore and Joan Burton at the Labour parliamentary party’s think-in last month)
Beyond that, the country can’t stand Labour. Or its leader. Within the party, Eamon’s leadership is under threat from Joan Burton. Somehow, Joan has positioned herself as the protector of old Labour values, while attacking the unemployed and their lifestyle and slashing away at the social protections that we – in our work and our taxes – have already paid for.
As if Eamon hasn’t enough to worry about, last week he and his comrades got a kick in the teeth from the German SPD. The SPD is negotiating to go into coalition government with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats. And they’ve been laying down conditions that involve this country.
No deal, they told Merkel, until you force the Irish political classes to stop mollycoddling big business. And, Angela – you know how the Irish politicians expect help with reducing the banking debts they’ve heaped on to their citizens? If you want the SPD to prop up your government, knock that on the head.
…In short, Eamon is being shafted by his comrades abroad, his comrades at home are waiting for the appropriate moment to slip a knife between his ribs and the Irish electorate look on him with the kind of distaste usually reserved for a genital rash.
(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)