Incompetence rules Ireland

We all are humans, and human beings make mistakes. That's normal.

Some of us make more mistakes, others less.

In the real world those who make more mistakes than they should pay the price for it.
They are demoted or even sacked, and then have plenty of time to ponder over their abilities and skills while signing on for the dole.

Only in Irish politics - and especially in Fianna Fail - those who make more mistakes than others are promoted. And the more mistakes they make, the higher up they get.

So we have an arrogant Taoiseach, who is nothing but a rude bully boy from the sticks who got into the Dail at the age of 24 and has not done a decent day's work since.

Mary Coughlan, the woman he chose as his Tanaiste, is Ireland's answer to Sarah Palin and the most clueless and useless politician one can imagine. Bad enough that she's a TD, even worse that she's been a minister for quite some time. But Tanaiste? That's a bad joke.

Looking through the Cabinet, there are not more than three or four people in it who are actually up to the extremely well paid ministerial job they are holding. The rest is a bunch of chancers and fools.

This morning Brian Cowen called a snap press conference "to explain changes to the rules about medical cards".
He appeared shortly before 10 o'clock at government buildings in Dublin, with Green Party leader John Gormley at his right, and Mary Harney at his left.

Never was there a more unholy trinity in Ireland than those three, trying to pull the wool over the people's eyes. But even though our politicians are fools, the people are not. So the attempt to shut the stable door after the horse had bolted was an utter failure, as you might have expected in the first place.

The current government is simply incompetent and not up to the job. They brought the budget forward to deal with the crisis, and by delivering a messy, over-bureaucratic and totally unfair budget, they created an even bigger crisis.
Now they want to talk their way out of that, and what do they do? They insult the intelligence of the majority of Irish people. And behind their backs they have at the same time the next plan ready to screw us ever more and more.

Can you still trust those clowns?

I can not, and in all fairness, I never did and have criticised the present regime for all the eleven years they have ruled us so far. I'm not in any party, and most of them are pretty useless anyway. But I'm Irish, proud of it, and take a very keen interest in the matters of my country.

The way I see it, the members of the current government are breaking their oaths of office they have to say when they are appointed by the President. They are supposed to serve Ireland and her people, defend the country and its interests, and perform their duties to the best of their abilities. On all three elements of the oath the current government is falling short.

At this stage I would not go as far as calling what they do treason, but it comes pretty close to that at times.

None of the three government parties are now led by the person who was party leader during the last general election in 2007. So the people the electorate voted for are no longer in charge, even though most of them are still in politics and in the Dail.

After all what happened in recent weeks and months, I think there is only one fair action for a government in such a deep shitehole: Call a general election! Let the people decide who they want to lead them through the crisis and out of it. Anything else is neither wise nor democratic.

Turning in their Graves...

"The leaders of 1916 must be turning in their graves
over the mess Fianna Fail has made of Ireland..."
Joe Behan, TD (from Co. Wicklow)
who resigned from Fianna Fail over the 2009 Budget

Failing Fianna Fail is heading for China

Taoiseach Brian Cowen was due to leave for China today, heading a large delegation of politicians and businessmen from Ireland.

But the crisis he and his Finance Minister Brian Lenihan caused with the 2009 Budget made him to stay home for another while. And at lunchtime he appeared on This Week, a Sunday current affairs programme on RTE Radio 1, trying to defend his policies and the budget.

He did a bad job, defending the indefensible, and demonstrated once again that he does not derseve the title Taoiseach, which is the Irish word for leader.

Meanwhile the delegation left for China without Cowen and is now headed by his Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe.

It is rumoured that the happy Corkman and former teacher will not only negotiate with the Chinese about trade issues, which is the main purpose of the trip. O'Keeffe may also explore if China is willing to give political asylum to leading Fianna Fail politicians in case they are losing power in Ireland, a possibility ever more likely now.

Shooting from the Lip

Willie O'Dea, TD, Ireland's Minister for Defence,
has now got a new job, defending the indefensible fiscal
atrocities inflicted on the Irish people by the 2009 Budget.
While Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is hiding behind a
'huge workload' in his department, Willie is sent out into the
media as new government spokesman, shooting from the lip
and thus adding insult to the injuries Fianna Fail is inflicting
on us. Often seen as the comedian in the Cabinet, Willie O'Dea
is anything but funny when he tries to tell us that we all have
to bear the extra taxes a wasteful and ignorant government
is settling us with now, ten years after they squandered all the
wealth of the 'Celtic Tiger'. We won't forget this, Willie!

Lenihan robs the Poor and spares the Rich

What do you expect from a lawyer?
- To be taken to the cleaners.

And what do you expect from a lawyer who is Minister for Finance?
- To be taken to the cleaners even more.

So today's Budget should not really surprise you.

We are in recession and the economy is shrinking, thanks to ten years of clueless government that was too busy with filling its own pockets and those of their millionaire cronies. They simply had no time to look after the people and the country, or prepare for the rainy days that inevitably come in Ireland after a period of sunshine.

But now that it not just rains, but pours, Brian Lenihan - a Dublin lawyer, TD and Minister for Finance - has to deliver the bad news to everybody, except Fianna Fail's millionaire cronies of course.
They are getting away with the loot from the 'Celtic Tiger' scot free, laughing all the way to the bank, if they can still find one that is trustworthy.

So, after the government, that was still swimming in extra billions only two years ago, has lost all credibility and squandered all the money, we - the people of Ireland - will have to pay for it.

Well, that's only fair, isn't it? After all, we elected the scoundrels, and kept electing them, since we were too blind, too drunk or both to see what was happening around us.

We all will pay more income tax, which is fine with me. In a crisis we all have to pull together and make a contribution. But what is not correct is that we all have to pay 1% extra, while those with an annual income over € 100,000 pay only 2% extra. They could easily afford 3% or even 5% as a contribution. Or Lenihan could have made a sliding scale: 1% for everyone; 2% for those with more than € 100,000; 3% for those over € 200,000; 4% for those with € 300,000 or more; and 5% for those over € 500,000.
But no, the rich and super-rich are still untouchable in Ireland, at least as long as Fianna Fail is in government.

Instead the over 70-year-olds will be robbed of their medical card, which Fianna Fail gave them seven years ago to buy the grey vote. This - so Lenihan says - will save € 100 million a year. It's a very bad joke. While we are bailing out the corrupt and incompetent banks with up to € 400 billion of state (= taxpayers' money) guarantee, we now have to scrap the barrel for an extra € 100 million from the old age pensioners.

This is not only scandalous, it is declaring war on the old and sick! Almost a kind of state-educed fiscal euthenasia.

There is a lot more, but I won't bore you with the details, as you can read them all in tomorrow's newspapers. As usual cigarettes, wine and petrol will get dearer, and the farmers and millionaires will keep their perks.

Thanks a lot, Brian! You had the chance to make a real mark with your first budget, and you had the opportunity to be seen as a man who cares and can handle money well. Sadly you missed the golden opportunity to unite the people and make the rich pay their share to the national recovery funds. You have not. Instead you prefare to run down the same lane all your shabby predecessors - from Haughey over Bertie to Biffo - have chosen: rob the poor, the old and the young, squeeze the hard-working middle classes, but leave your fat cat cronies in joy and luxury.

It might take another while, but after this budget - on top of all the other bad decisions Fianna Fail made over the past ten years - you will have your come-uppence in good time. Anyone who will still vote Fianna Fail in future deserves to be stripped and robbed of everything and left by the wayside. That's also the place where you will find yourself, after the Irish voters are finished with you and your ilk.