Cullen resigns as a Minister and a TD

Sulmac

Martin Cullen to resign from Dáil & Cabinet
Monday, 8 March 2010 19:40

Minister for Arts, Tourism and Sport Martin Cullen has confirmed that he is to resign from the Cabinet and the Dáil as a result of a back complaint.

In a letter to the Taoiseach, Mr Cullen said that he is retiring from public life on advice from his medical consultants.

Mr Cullen said he had always been a fighter, but his condition was deteriorating and his options for treatment and recovery were narrowing.

He requested that his resignation be effective from a date of Brian Cowen's chosing.

Mr Cullen was first elected to the Dáil in 1987 for the Progressive Democrats, but later joined Fianna Fáil.

He was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for the Environment in 2002, later serving in the Departments of Transport and Social and Family Affairs.

He has been Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism for just under two years.

His resignation leaves two vacancies at Cabinet to be filled in the reshuffle, which is expected to take place two weeks from tomorrow after ministers return from St Patrick's Day trips abroad.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0308/cullenm.html

Another one gone. I wish him well, back pain is a horrible thing to deal with.

Three by-elections now and the government's majority reduced by one. Interesting times.

corglass

i wonder will he return the price of his lavish flights etc he "robbed" from us during the olympics etc???


Back pain or not, he sure abused his position with his lavish spending....


...(going to find supporting articles now)

bijapos

Surprised he resigned as a TD as well, really screws FF. He could have stayed on and be 'paired off' in voting each time. Could mean a GE a bit sooner than we think.

johngalway

Biffo's going to be really busy with all these ministries he's collecting :eek:

Trotter

Im in Waterford and I suspect this seat will go to FG Senator Paudie Coffey. I reckon FF know that and we'll be put in a queue for the election behind Donegal and Dublin.

johngalway

Just seen him on the news now, thought he was going already, apparently staying until the reshuffle.

Had back problems myself a few years ago, hope he gets the proper treatment.

kev9100

I'm no fan of Martin Cullen or his party, but I respect him for giving up his seat as well as his Cabinet post. Very few of his colleagues would do the same.

comeraghs

Best of luck in recovering from his health problems.

Martin Cullen got a lot of stick from the D4 media for things that were not his fault, FF owe him a lot for taking a lot of flak that shouldn´t have been his to take .. especially e-voting that he inherited when he moved to that department ... they were Dick Roches babys.

will the govt go back to ignoring the existance of Waterford for another few decades?

greendom

Funny, I always thought Biffo was a pain in the a**e

expectationlost

comeraghs wrote: »

Best of luck in recovering from his health problems.

Martin Cullen got a lot of stick from the D4 media for things that were not his fault, FF owe him a lot for taking a lot of flak that shouldn´t have been his to take .. especially e-voting that he inherited when he moved to that department ... they were Dick Roches babys.

will the govt go back to ignoring the existance of Waterford for another few decades?

martin defended the e-voting system beyond all reason, he gets blame for that

gizmo555

comeraghs wrote: »

Martin Cullen got a lot of stick from the D4 media for things that were not his fault, FF owe him a lot for taking a lot of flak that shouldn´t have been his to take .. especially e-voting that he inherited when he moved to that department

But he persisted with e-voting with a tenacity that went far beyond what was reasonable, blowing large sums of money because he simply couldn't bring himself - and still can't - to admit it was a mistake.

Smiley Burnett

comeraghs wrote: »

Best of luck in recovering from his health problems.

Martin Cullen got a lot of stick from the D4 media for things that were not his fault, FF owe him a lot for taking a lot of flak that shouldn´t have been his to take .. especially e-voting that he inherited when he moved to that department ... they were Dick Roches babys.

will the govt go back to ignoring the existance of Waterford for another few decades?

give it a rest FFS!! everytime a minister gets criticised in this country, you get fools running around blaming the dublin 4 media etc!! Martin Cullen shouldve resigned because he squandered thousands of euros of taxpayers money on a PR consultant to do a job that a civil servant was already getting well paid to do!! END OF STORY!! the media didnt go half hard enough on him!!:o

Tenderloins1

Cullen (and many more of them) should have resigned over waste and other issues.
However because of his back ailment, its hard not to have some degree of sympathy for him.
On a wider note, the government is now far less secure numbers wise.

His 1987 Election Leaflet

Mr.Micro

Has Cullen's backbone gone? I did not know he had one.

expectationlost

Tenderloins1 wrote: »

Cullen (and many more of them) should have resigned over waste and other issues.
However because of his back ailment, its hard not to have some degree of sympathy for him.
On a wider note, the government is now far less secure numbers wise.

His 1987 Election Leaflet

was he slow on eu standards demanded action over waste while he was minister

Scofflaw

Let's be clear - a discussion thread about, say, Martin Cullen, is not a thread for general purpose moaning about the government and cries of "up the revolution!".

moderately,
Scofflaw

djk1000

I reckon he was for demotion in the reshuffle anyway and he knew it. This is a face saving exit from his ministerial post and a face slap for FF by resigning as a TD.

I don't want to be harsh, but he could have stayed on as a TD, he has a constituency staff doing that job anyway and FF need the vote. With pairing, he would rarely have to show up.

leincar

comeraghs wrote: »

Best of luck in recovering from his health problems.

Martin Cullen got a lot of stick from the D4 media for things that were not his fault, FF owe him a lot for taking a lot of flak that shouldn´t have been his to take .. especially e-voting that he inherited when he moved to that department ... they were Dick Roches babys.

will the govt go back to ignoring the existance of Waterford for another few decades?

Sorry, just stopped laughing. I'm in Carlow and have nothing to do with D4 media if it even exists however, I can spot a gob****e when I see one and Cullen and Roche are two of the biggest ones.

With all due dis-respect maybe Waterford should be ignored for a few decades if the good citizens are going to elect his ilk.

Darsad

I dont like the guy but do have some sympathy for his medical condition but now he can pursue his deformation case against the herald after Ms leech set the precident . He should get a nice few bob on top of his pay off and pension

Biggins

corglass wrote: »

i wonder will he return the price of his lavish flights etc he "robbed" from us during the olympics etc???
Back pain or not, he sure abused his position with his lavish spending....
...(going to find supporting articles now)

I think you might find his name somewhere in amid this lot:

Darsad wrote: »

I don't like the guy but do have some sympathy for his medical condition but now he can pursue his deformation case against the herald after Ms leech set the precedent . He should get a nice few bob on top of his pay off and pension

Correction: PensionS - one for every four years served as with any TD, even better if they hold office of some kind, then the payments even increase more big time.
...And just to give you an idea of the money involved:

---

Another one gone for FF, Good.

JonathanAnon

djk1000 wrote: »

I reckon he was for demotion in the reshuffle anyway and he knew it. This is a face saving exit from his ministerial post and a face slap for FF by resigning as a TD. I don't want to be harsh, but he could have stayed on as a TD, he has a constituency staff doing that job anyway and FF need the vote. With pairing, he would rarely have to show up.

I agree with this. It's hard not to be cynical about policitians, because everything is usually media spin these days. I feel sorry for him about his back, but this is the same man who was at the ribbon opening of every small road as Minister Of Transport.

The timing of his resignation just seems to convenient. As a Minister, he is bringing pressure no the government as he is considered incompetent for a number of serious mistakes.. As a TD, he will be under pressure in the next election, with the closing of Waterford Glass and the poor performance of the government.

Politically and professionaly, I have no respect for him. Personally, I wish him well in the future.

ednwireland

comment on tv3 text this morning "2 down 14 to go"

made me smile

hallelujajordan

djk1000 wrote: »

I reckon he was for demotion in the reshuffle anyway and he knew it. This is a face saving exit from his ministerial post and a face slap for FF by resigning as a TD.

I don't want to be harsh, but he could have stayed on as a TD, he has a constituency staff doing that job anyway and FF need the vote. With pairing, he would rarely have to show up.

He can't win . . Had he taken this approach you would have criticised him just as much for resigning his ministry and retaining his TD salary until the next GE. .

The guy is getting out of politics for health reasons. . it is not a face saving exit, nor is it a face slap for FF . .

hallelujajordan

Biggins wrote: »

I think you might find his name somewhere in amid this lot:

Every TD is on your list . . It's all 166

Cullen is actually on the lower end of the scale !

bmaxi

I'm not going to be a hypocrite and pretend I've any sympathy for Cullen. I'm pretty sure his back ailment isn't a result of carrying his responsibilities.
Why would FF be surprised at Cullen leaving them in the lurch? Harney could have straightened them out on that.

Tipp Man

hallelujajordan wrote: »

Every TD is on your list . . It's all 166

Cullen is actually on the lower end of the scale !

How is that list working, if you look at all the ministers their expenses are about 100k less than the rest of the dail, Cowen 39k Lenihan 17k, coughlan 37k.

Is there a different reporting/claiming system for ministers?? You'd expect ministers to have higher expenses

gandalf

One incompetent gone, for the e-voting fiasco alone he should never have been allowed near a ministry again. Instead with this bunch of cowboys he got a new position and further ability to cause harm to the nation.

Good riddance.

Bduffman

leincar wrote: »

Sorry, just stopped laughing. I'm in Carlow and have nothing to do with D4 media if it even exists however, I can spot a gob****e when I see one and Cullen and Roche are two of the biggest ones.

With all due dis-respect maybe Waterford should be ignored for a few decades if the good citizens are going to elect his ilk.

As opposed to the high calibre of TDs selected in the Carlow Kilkenny constituency?? :rolleyes:
(I'm no fan of Cullen by the way).

OhNoYouDidn't

hallelujajordan wrote: »

The guy is getting out of politics for health reasons. . it is not a face saving exit, nor is it a face slap for FF . .

Rubbish. The cabinet reshuffle was put off becasue FF didn't want to be seen to dump Cullen when he was in hospital last week. He is jumping before he is pushed.

Cullen was probably the most incompetent minister ever in this country. I am delighted he is gone.

jmayo

johngalway wrote: »

Just seen him on the news now, thought he was going already, apparently staying until the reshuffle.

Had back problems myself a few years ago, hope he gets the proper treatment.

Oh don't worry he will get the best of treatment and he won't be queueing up with the rest of us down in the local A&E.

Yes I have back problems and when it acts up it is sheer hell being doubled up in spasms and can't move, so I was thinking how rough it is to drive and the drive from Waterford must be hell.

Then I remembered he has a chauffuered comfortable executive class car.
It also might explain why he had to get Aer Corps AW139 helicopter (the larger one) to fly him up and down to Killarney at cost of few grand an hour.

But then my smypathy finally ran out when I realised I don't get to sail off into the sunet with nice tax free lump sum of over 100k and nice fat pension coutesy of the taxpayers or anyone else.

Then when you add in the catalogue of wasted taxpayers money that this gombeen has been responsible for, I definately couldn't give a toss about the guy.

So screw him and fe** all this sham stuff that us Irish indulge in everytime one of these arrogant incompetent useless spanners retire or even die.

As someone else said on this thread "I'm not going to be a hypocrite and pretend I've any sympathy for Cullen."

These people have zero sympathy for me, expecially if I am not in their constituency or a supporter of their party.

Him, his colleagues and the ff grassroots out today lauding him for what he did for Waterford have this country the way it is so they need not expect any symptathy from me because they will never get it.

deise blue

Bduffman wrote: »

As opposed to the high calibre of TDs selected in the Carlow Kilkenny constituency?? :rolleyes:
(I'm no fan of Cullen by the way).

That thought struck me as well , did Carlow - Kilkenny not return 3 FF TDs in last election ?

zootroid

It is not nice seeing someone retire for health reasons.

Having said that he was absolutely useless.

I would have preferred to see him either demoted at the cabinet reshuffle, or defeated in the next general election. Either way, he is not worthy of a position at the cabinet.

Biggins

zootroid wrote: »

...Having said that he was absolutely useless.

I would have preferred to see him either demoted at the cabinet reshuffle, or defeated in the next general election. Either way, he is not worthy of a position at the cabinet.

I think he knows it too. I (and many it seems) think he is jumping ship before it sinks or before he's let go, jumping to save face.

hallelujajordan

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Rubbish. The cabinet reshuffle was put off becasue FF didn't want to be seen to dump Cullen when he was in hospital last week. He is jumping before he is pushed.

Cullen was probably the most incompetent minister ever in this country. I am delighted he is gone.

And you know this . . . how . . ? ?

OhNoYouDidn't

hallelujajordan wrote: »

And you know this . . . how . . ? ?

I read the newspaper....

Biggins

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I read the newspaper....

If you dip your toe into the "After Hours" section, it better not be the "Daily Mail"



To restate something I mentioned there...

* I've worked as a TD for nearly all my life, worked in government office for decades, worked for my community for the same time, my family and friends know me and my reputation.
* I suspect that I'm about to be given the boot from my current office and replaced. I'm getting on in age, have stacked up the pensions and benefits. I will get a pay-off in the hundreds of thousands lump sum too.
* I want my record to show that I gave up public role myself as to close such a record as being seen to be "fired" will not aid my reputation, status and family history record.
* I have ill-health. I wonder can I use that reason to excuse myself from the present government predicament and save face?

I wonder...

hallelujajordan

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I read the newspaper....

Links ? Tabloid gossip ? Not everything you read in the papers is real y'know ..

But even so, I haven't seen any reporting with any clear information that Cullen was about to be dropped from cabinet; In fact, I think recent events within the cabinet probably would have made such a move impossible for Cowen . .

Frankly, this is nonsense of the highest order ... Cullen has a serious medical condition; He has been walking with a stick since before Christmas and was hospitalised just last week . . He's getting out of politics on the advice of his doctor.

maynooth_rules

deise blue wrote: »

That thought struck me as well , did Carlow - Kilkenny not return 3 FF TDs in last election ?

Yes. It makes me ashamed to say I am from Carlow. In Carlow and Kilkenny voting the family way is strife and because of that FF will always be strong. Whatever about Aylward and McGuiness, the fact that MJ Nolan was returned was nothing short of a joke The man is a disaster, and this was known before the last election. Yet the smart people I share a county with decide to return him. I seriously doubt he has any chance of returning in another election. FG will be certain to return Phil Hogan and id expect John Paul Phealan to get in as well, as Mary White certainly will not again

Joey the lips

Sad he is ill.... But that good another privatisation menaic has gone.... He was rubbish and hopeless and on a political level I am delighted he has gone....

He should be safe for health care though. Doubt he will be worried about mis diagnosed x rays etc....