Blogging from the Bog

   Blogging about the Politics here in Ireland is like yelling at sheep.  There is very little reaction and absolutley no improvement in behaviour, they just get worse.

   The recent lining of everyone’s pockets in government and the civil service represents the prevailing attitude that the country is in a strong financial position.  This is delusional and nothing could be further from the truth.  The precarious economic situation we find ourselves in is the result of bad government and bad policies for many years.

   Brian Cowen getting a bonus when he cannot even guess within a Billion Euros what the nations annual revenue is going to be for each of the past five years?  A job well done indeed!

   Riding high on the back of the Celtic Tiger these eejits have abused the trust bestowed upon them by the voters.  Now that we are entering the dawn of the Bankrupt Badger era (Celtic Tiger 1995-2007 RIP) the population will be made to suffer yet again.  So be it.  We’ve suffered before.  No invader or occupier has been able to break our spirit; but, now we are the victims of a crueler breed who could do just that.

   Both sheep and politicians need to be well fenced or they will cause damage.

  Bankrupt Badger

   The best thing that happened during Michael McDowell’s tenure as Minister of Justice has to be the appointment of Boston’s Top Cop Kathleen O’Toole to the Garda Inspectorate.  In the position of Chief Inspector of the Garda Siochana for just over a year Ms. O’Toole has recently released her latest report called "Policing in Ireland".

   In the document Chief O’Toole plots out an organisational scenario that is much needed, a long time in coming, and shows some common sense towards assuring accountability in the force.  Similar suggestions might be needed for Education and Health, and hints at a structure that Minister Gormley should introduce into his reform of local government.

   The harp is a symbol used by many groups and organisations in Ireland including the major political party Fianna Fail.  In recent weeks FF have had at least four of it’s members in the national papers for financial improprieties.  It seems that money problems are endemic within the party going back a generation, if not more.  They should just give up their auld harp and use a fiddle as their party symbol. 

   According to the article on the It @ Cork website this crowd at SAS figures there is roughly €4billion in assets being fiddled each year in Ireland.  I figure that this is at the low end of the spectrum.  €1000 per year for each and every one of us, are you getting your share?  Of course not everyone is at it; but, then again some are at it big time like yer man Collins who had his day in Limerick Circuit court.

   Beyond in Galway the councillor Michael "the Stroke" Fahy is doing jail time in the big house in Castlerea for fraud and the Council is only happy to take him back after he is sprung in January, go figure.  Not only is fraud endemic in Fianna Fail but it is acceptable to all the parties in the Galway Council and apparently the voting public at large, are you getting your share?  That embezzled money and /or equipment could have financed lights for the dark pathway that the young foreign student was walking just before she was murdered, too bad it wasn’t avaliable thanks to the "Stroke" and others like him.  Fiddle on.