Looks like the new Sports job isn't affecting Bertie's Dáil attendence one bit...

squonk

...because he wasn't bothered showing up anyway. This article from the IT is very damning in my opinion. At a time of crisis in Ireland it's shameful that a paid public representative is getting away with this. It's a lack of representation for the people who elected the clown as well. No wonder 'de brudder' didn't get a council gig, maybe people have copped on.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0811/1224252361043.html?via=mr

ednwireland

not exactly inspiring from the 'father of the ruination of the country' but sure all other taosaich did it so its ok

Riskymove

Dail attendance is a joke .... period


even when all TDs show up to vote, they appear, vote as instructed and leave again without any involvement in debate

SeaFields

I think Berties body language in the last budget said it all....thrown down in his chair at the back and couldn't even be bothered opening the bloody budget document. He was like a bored school boy at the back of the class. :mad:

The contempt so many of our public representatives have for the Dail is staggering, across all parties. The double jobbing is incredible too.

Bertie is the pin up for both problems, and rightly so. It is disgusting. I just wish he was the only one.

butterormayo

The thing that annoys me the most about him is his 'man of the people' routine, even worse than that is people were fooled by it and voted for him on that account, if he'd spent less time in Old Trafford and more doing his job things mightn't have been so bad.

SeaFields

butterormayo wrote: »

if he'd spent less time in Old Trafford and more doing his job things mightn't have been so bad.

Ah shur all those trips to Manchester did result in a lot of money coming into the country....

(it was in his back pocket tho...:mad:)

juuge

And guess what - Mary O'Rourke and 'little dick' Roche will defend him to the hilt. That's the scary bit!!

FlutterinBantam

Look! Mary O'Rourke is irrelevant in todays scheme of things.

Anyone who takes the slightest heed of what she says or does is ,well, challenged.

All she is is a convenient ready mouthpiece for the various radio programmes she takes part in.

When she had the chance she made a mess of the Eircom flotation and since then had acted as if she had nothing to do with events over the last ten years.

I'm surprised anyone takes her for anything else other than a figure of fun trotted out when the radio stations need a bit of a laugh.

goldenbrown

real courage by fintan otoole here :

Ahern's malingering scorns public service ethos
In this section »

* It makes sense to draw closer to EU now
* Key decisions on public sector facing Government and unions
* Downturn makes survival a media priority
* A radically humble priest who overcame formidable obstacles
* No-frills account unveils Afghan realities
* August 11th, 1984: Not just the end of democracy but a takeover too

FINTAN O'TOOLE

OPINION: Like the worst public service skiver, he cites ‘custom and practice’ to justify his absence

ONCE, WHEN I was working in a factory, I was sent up to a store room to fetch some heavy items. I met a fellow worker on the steep stairs and I realised he was carrying the same box up and down. I asked him what he was doing and he winked. “If the foreman sees me, he’ll think I’m busy.”

There are people in every job who put more effort and energy into avoiding work than into doing it. Most of their colleagues seethe with resentment and quiet contempt. Few ever do anything about it. If we’re at all serious about public service reform, that attitude has to change.

It is, for example, simply indefensible that primary and secondary teachers are entitled to 31 and 30 days a year respectively of uncertified sick leave. Teachers themselves should be in the forefront of scrapping this practice. Its existence obscures the reality that very few teachers actually exploit this skivers’ charter: primary teachers on average take just one of their 31 uncertified sick days a year. But the lazy minority undermines the value of public service for the hard-working majority.

If he wants to cut out this codology, however, Brian Cowen could start with one obvious malingerer in his own crew, a public servant who is paid €100,000 a year plus, a very generous pension, plus equally generous expenses, plus a car and chauffeur. He even has a special office at his supposed workplace, which cost the taxpayer €220,000 to refurbish just last year. Yet he is patently not doing the job he is paid to perform.

Bertie Ahern was re-elected as the TD for Dublin Central just two years ago, and he hopes to hold down this job until a general election in 2012. On Sunday, he started another job, as a sports columnist with the News of the World newspaper.

He has toured to exotic destinations such as Korea, Ecuador and Honduras making paid speeches, handled by his agency, the Washington Speakers Bureau. He is a director of the Newry-based “internationally established private property development and investment company” Parker Green International, for whom he also travels on business.

All of this is fine – provided he is adequately performing his principal job as a TD, scrutinising and voting on legislation. The Dáil members’ database describes him as a “full-time public representative”.

This is, to put it mildly, a bit of a stretch. In May, the Irish Independent reported that he had attended just 28 of 127 Dáil votes in the year since he resigned as taoiseach.

Since then, so far as I can see, his record of turning up for work has actually become worse. The Dáil sat for 18 days during June and July. I can find only two of those days – June 10th and July 10th – when Ahern was present and voting. The first of those occasions was the Fine Gael vote of no confidence in the Government, when every deputy was obliged by the whips to attend. Ahern was in New York and was reportedly disgusted that he had to fly home at his own expense to do his day job. The second occasion, July 10th, was the last day of term. Ahern, having missed so many important votes, managed to be present for one on the crucial motion: “That the Dáil . . . shall adjourn until 2.30pm on Wednesday, 16 September, 2009.”

Brazenly, he seems to regard this absenteeism as his right. His spokeswoman told The Irish Independent that “it was ‘custom and practice’ that former taoisigh only had to attend ‘important’ votes and could miss the day-to-day ones”.

Among the issues in the last two months alone not deemed sufficiently important for Ahern to vote on were the extension of deposit guarantees of €440 billion to the banks, the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill, urgent amendments to the Mental Health Act, the Housing Bill, dealing with the rights of tenants, the Institutional Child Abuse Bill and most of the stages of the Criminal Justice Bill.

None of these is, apparently, as important as, for example Manchester United’s prospects this season, a subject on which he has expressed his profound thoughts in the News of the World, sharing space with “I’m Jacko Girl’s Real Dad”; “Jade Goody’s Hubby in Eight-Hour Sex Orgy” and “Kerry to Have More Lipo to Keep Rat Husband”. Well, we couldn’t have an ex-taoiseach’s time wasted on trivialities or his dignity encroached upon by frivolities.

It seems clear that Bertie Ahern has no interest in dealing with legislation going through the Dáil and does not regard himself as being under any obligation to turn up for its “day-to-day” business. Like the worst public service skiver, he cites “custom and practice” to justify his unwillingness to the job he is paid to do. Why does he not resign? And how can we demand that the lazy and cynical minority in the public service shape up or ship out when Ahern’s colleagues seem unbothered by his evident unwillingness to do either?

Erin Go Brath

Excellent article by O'Toole.

Bertie Ahern embodies all that is wrong with our country these days. His grab all philosphy and sense of entitlement, plus disdain for the general public who are the people who put him into power makes me sick. I really would like to see him removed from public office, as by all accounts hes a complete waste of space more interested in his nixers than doing his job. Disgraceful! :mad:

Riskymove

look, the bottom line is its a joke...but pretending that TDs perfromance is measured by the amount of votes they show up for in Dail is a bigger joke..

goldenbrown

goldenbrown wrote: »

real courage by fintan otoole here :

Huh?

This isn't North Korea. I'm sure he won't end up in a Gulag or get a cup of plutonium.

dvpower

In Italy they'd look at that and think 'pffffft, how tiny time'.

Now if he owned the newspaper and the two models were ministers, and he had slept with both at the same time, he'd be a proper European leader...

sceptre

Deleted User wrote: »

In Italy they'd look at that and think 'pffffft, how tiny time'.

Now if he owned the newspaper and the two models were ministers, and he had slept with both at the same time, he'd be a proper European leader...

Perhaps but the fact that Berlusconi keeps getting elected makes me think bad things of Italy and Italians in general. I entirely blame Berlusconi for my flirtations with mental racism with Italians. Which obviously has an element of irony but anyhoo...

Though on a good note, it makes it easier for me to see how the Germans see us Irish on occasion, especially lately. So you could say it's win-win. Obviously except for us, the Italians... and in turn the Germans, who traditionally foot the bill for everything and anything (and unlike the intra-war years, no-one accused them of being at fault).

So does his writing read anything like the spoof stuff in the Phoenix? Or is it just being farmed out and ghost-written? Is it true that he's absent from his Dail duties because it takes a long time to write as he can only type with two fingers[1]?


[1] Yes, shamelessly stolen from what I think is the "Official Secrets" episode of Yes, Prime Minister

unwyse

"This isn't North Korea. I'm sure he won't end up in a Gulag or get a cup of plutonium. " mores the pity,this brastrad should be hung up by the balls from a tree on the northside.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

unwyse

unwyse wrote: »

"This isn't North Korea. I'm sure he won't end up in a Gulag or get a cup of plutonium. " mores the pity,this brastrad should be hung up by the balls from a tree on the northside.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

I'm not sure what Fintan O'Toole has done to justify that reaction.

I was talking about Fintan, are you?

unwyse

Heaven forfend,i was refering to that scumbag former teeshock who i strongly believe should be locked up. the tree refered to was one of the ones he was up and down, in his search for the dirt on raphael burke esq.

'Teeshock'?

Guess Bertie's not alone in his contempt for the office...

transylman

Deleted User wrote: »

The contempt so many of our public representatives have for the Dail is staggering, across all parties. The double jobbing is incredible too.

Treble jobbing in Berts case. He has his thing on the side going around the world giving talks on why he was such a successful taoiseach and how he made this country so rich as well.

The guy is a shameless greedy scumbag. The only reason he is still in the Dail is because he dosen't want FF to lose the seat in a by-election. All he does is collect the cheques.

Wheely

Deleted User wrote: »

In Italy they'd look at that and think 'pffffft, how tiny time'.

Now if he owned the newspaper and the two models were ministers, and he had slept with both at the same time, he'd be a proper European leader...

Yeah but it's not a race to the bottom is it?

Liam Byrne

Deleted User wrote: »

In Italy they'd look at that and think 'pffffft, how tiny time'.

Now if he owned the newspaper and the two models were ministers, and he had slept with both at the same time, he'd be a proper European leader...

That'd be nothing to "our Bertie" :rolleyes:

He's easily screwed more than 2 people at the same time.....

Trotter

And yet he'll be re-elected in 2012 if he fancies the gig. Disgusting.

thebman

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm not sure what Fintan O'Toole has done to justify that reaction.

I was talking about Fintan, are you?

So your saying Bertie's attendance and general attitude when in the Dail is find are you?

thebman

thebman wrote: »

So your saying Bertie's attendance and general attitude when in the Dail is find are you?

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Deleted User wrote: »

The contempt so many of our public representatives have for the Dail is staggering, across all parties. The double jobbing is incredible too.

Bertie is the pin up for both problems, and rightly so. It is disgusting. I just wish he was the only one.

I didn't think my post was that subtle.

You see, one can have an opinion that what Bertie does is wrong, but that doesn't make Fintan O'Toole a hero for pointing out the obvious. There would be medals for bravery given out all over this site, posters have been giving out about him for years...

Cork Boy

You reap what you sow... you get the govt you deserve, etc...

Reminds me of the time homer got elected as sanitation officer in the simpsons... only we'll never learn...

transylman

Cork Boy wrote: »

You reap what you sow... you get the govt you deserve, etc...

Reminds me of the time homer got elected as sanitation officer in the simpsons... only we'll never learn...

All those opposed to horse-whipping Bertie Ahern.