Ahern criticises Cowen and Govt over bailout

dixiefly

God man Bertie......do what you can to make things even more uncomfortable for your successor.


http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0102/politics.html

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has criticised his successor Brian Cowen's failure to communicate regularly with the public during the economic crisis.

In an interview with the Irish News of the World, for which Mr Ahern writes a column, the Dublin Central TD said that when he was Taoiseach he had decided it was best to talk to the media regularly.


But Mr Ahern said that when he left office, his successor Mr Cowen had adopted a different approach by not doing daily doorstep interviews with the media.

'If you ask me, my view is you're better doing it my way, but he opted not to do that,' Mr Ahern told the paper.

Mr Ahern added that he thinks the Taoiseach should be communicating the information he has as communication is more important now.

'These aren't State secrets, I don't consider them State secrets,' Mr Ahern said, adding that Mr Cowen was a good communicator.

A spokesman for Mr Cowen said he had no comment to make.

On Thursday night, 59-year-old Mr Ahern announced that he would not be seeking re-election to the Dáil at the next election.

Asked about whether he plans to seek a nomination to run for President, Mr Ahern said he would like to run if the circumstances were right, but added that he has to be realistic.

'I think at present it would be very difficult for a Fianna Fáil member to be elected President, no matter who it was,' he said, adding that 'at the moment though, with the party political rankings, it's not too realistic.'

Mr Ahern was also critical of the Government's handling of the EU-IMF bailout, saying he had wondered when he saw the Greek bailout taking place what contingency plans were being drawn up by the Department of Finance and the Central Bank to stave off the possibility of Ireland going the same route.

Mr Ahern added that he did not know whether the Government had examined all the options early-on, to see if there was a solution available.

Mr Ahern said he also thinks that if action had been taken earlier in the year to signal a correction to the public finances, the bailout might have been avoided.

Sungodbr

bert is just tryin to make a play for the lead sesame street role again, ernie never stood a chance!

johnnyskeleton

Let the FF snake eat its own tail I says.

Einhard

Truly the man has no shame.

annieire

I really don't think he's in a position to be criticizing a fellow politican!! He should be ashamed of himself!!

Deeco

this guy is pure Vintage Haughey:eek::eek::eek:

he'll be all over Dublin games and united games getting the photo shoot's with westlife, etc.....
then bang running for president

he is a whore

Rebel1977

As Haughey said, bertie is the most cunning of them all.

mikemac

Ah the hurler on the ditch

Sitting on his barstool and criticizing everyone who came after him
It's easy to look on from the sidelines and find mistakes

Liam Byrne

feelingstressed wrote: »

Ah the hurler on the ditch

Sitting on his barstool and criticizing everyone who came after him
It's easy to look on from the sidelines and find mistakes

Yeah, and people who crib and object from the sidelines should........

bernardo mac

Gubu.This is comically ironic,but it does demonstrate the neck,the gall of Bertrat and the blindness to his many failings.That this political rodent should lecture a party colleague on Communication beggars belief.Big word Bertie.You can well afford a course of night classes on the subject...sign up for Ethics also

gandalf

I think the saying is pot calling the kettle black!

I think I will rename him the Virgin Bertie because in his eyes he is whiter than white and the purest of them all. At this stage I think the correct term to describe Bertie Ahern is delusional.

syklops

'If you ask me, my view is you're better doing it my way, but he opted not to do that,' Mr Ahern told the paper.

:rolleyes:

Its extremely ironic, Bertie criticising the likes of Cowen on communication.

I remember listening to him during the Good Friday Agreement. It was something along the lines of "Dis agreement has been long in de making in terms of de nort". We were all watching the television going "Did he say Dis-agreement, or This agreement???"

thecool

Pot meet kettle.

#nowords.

:pac:

bernardo mac

syklops wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Its extremely ironic, Bertie criticising the likes of Cowen on communication.

I remember listening to him during the Good Friday Agreement. It was something along the lines of "Dis agreement has been long in de making in terms of de nort". We were all watching the television going "Did he say Dis-agreement, or This agreement???"

Apt point.The man is a national/international embarrassment!:

bamboozle

i wish he'd just crawl back under the rock he came from.

one reason i'd love to see FG in power is to see govt ministers and former taoiseasch share state cars and drivers, poor bertie would have to re-sit his driver's license.

thecool

bamboozle wrote: »

former taoiseasch share state cars and drivers

Former Taoiseach's get state cars ?:eek:

gandalf

bamboozle wrote: »

poor bertie would have to re-sit his driver's license.

Did he actually sit it in the first place or was it vapour-ware like his Accountancy Degree

syklops

thecool wrote: »

Former Taoiseach's get state cars ?:eek:

Former Taoisigh(plural of Taoiseach) get a car and driver funded by the state. Do the math. There is no icon that looks angry enough.

drBill

Yet another reminder of what a snake the man is. A nasty bitter tortured little man.

paulaa

Mr Ahern was also critical of the Government's handling of the EU-IMF bailout, saying he had wondered when he saw the Greek bailout taking place what contingency plans were being drawn up by the Department of Finance and the Central Bank to stave off the possibility of Ireland going the same route.

Mr Ahern added that he did not know whether the Government had examined all the options early-on, to see if there was a solution available.

Mr Ahern said he also thinks that if action had been taken earlier in the year to signal a correction to the public finances, the bailout might have been avoided.

So, he was "wondering" about what plans the government were making ? Wasn't he supposed to be a TD, why didn't he ask his colleagues if he was that interested. or was he off filling his pockets telling third world countries how great he was and how to destroy a country !!

IF he had taken action when he was Taoiseach instead of acting like a Mafia Don we might not have needed a bailout.

The sooner this rat gets back in his sewer the better :mad:

Biggins

thecool wrote: »

Former Taoiseach's get state cars ?:eek:

From the English Sunday Times Dec' 2009.

He has a state car and driver to ferry him around Dublin and yet Bertie Ahern has also been paid a "constituency travel allowance" since he stood down as taoiseach.

This year Ahern will be paid €2,500 travel expenses, the same amount as other TDs in geographically small constituencies. This is on top of his annual salary as a deputy, cut last week to €92,500 a year, and his pension as a former taoiseach, which is €83,250.

The subject of Ahern's entitlements was discussed among civil servants before he stood down in May 2008. A memo, released under the Freedom of Information Act, reveals that at least one official reckoned he was not entitled to a travel allowance.

"As the taoiseach, when he retires from that office, will retain a state car would he be entitled to the daily allowance of €61.53 or the constituency travel allowance of €2,745 [a year, since cut to €2,500]?" one official asked the Department of Finance in April 2008.

"Both are travel-related allowances and therefore it would appear that he would not be entitled to them. He is not entitled to either at present. Can you advise me please as a matter of urgency."

The conclusion was that Ahern should be paid the constituency travel allowance. Ironically, this was because of a piece of legislation he had helped to steer through the Dail himself. In 1992, as finance minister, Ahern was in charge of the Oireachtas (Allowance to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act. Civil servants ruled that this provides for the payment of a daily travel allowance to former office holders.

A spokeswoman for Fianna Fail pointed out last week that Ahern does not claim the constituency travel allowance, it is automatically added to his salary. "What is paid out is a matter for the Oireachtas commission," she said. He does not receive the daily allowance, which is now €55.

As a former taoiseach, Ahern is entitled to a mobile phone for life. Nevertheless he is also being paid a telephone allowance of €5,700 a year. This has been reduced from €6,349 because of recent cutbacks. No receipts have to be provided. In addition, Ahern gets a miscellaneous expenses allowance of €5,000, again paid with his salary and with no need for receipts.

Some €200,000 was spent by the Office of Public Works fitting out a suite of offices for Ahern after he stood down as taoiseach and vacated Government Buildings. The suite includes an office for Ahern, one for his secretaries, a bathroom, waiting room and storage area. The bill included furnishings, as well as crockery and cutlery.

The total expenses that Ahern has claimed from January to June this year, €7,288, is less than most of his colleagues in Leinster House. Noel Treacy, a Fianna Fail TD from Galway, claimed €81,046 in the same period.

Ahern was not in the Dail on Thursday for a post-budget vote on social welfare cutbacks. The former taoiseach flew to Kerry for a book-signing session in Killarney. He was paid an advance of €400,000 by a publisher for his autobiography. About 10% of this would have been given to his ghost-writer Richard Aldous, the historian.

Meanwhile, officials in the Oireachtas commission have reviewed the expenses scandal in Britain to see what lessons can be learnt. In a memo drawn up last July, one official pointed out that there is no procedure in Ireland to disallow expenses or to reclaim money from politicians, as was done in the House of Commons. "Our current legislation is weak in this regard," he said.

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/article192762.ece

yoshytoshy

Putrid stuff this ,news of the world will print anything to sell papers and good old bertie keeps shoveling it in.

FreudianSlippers

Deeco wrote: »

this guy is pure Vintage Haughey:eek::eek::eek:

he'll be all over Dublin games and united games getting the photo shoot's with westlife, etc.....
then bang running for president

he is a whore

I have to say I'll be glad to see Bertie run for President - that way Norris will certainly win by a landslide!

Wolfe Tone

He is some character allright.

Lapin

dixiefly wrote: »

Mr Ahern added that he thinks the Taoiseach should be communicating the information he has as communication is more important now.

'These aren't State secrets, I don't consider them State secrets,' Mr Ahern said......

He's correct of course.

But I would question whether he is the right person to be making these comments. After more than a decade of Bertie's baffling communication methods that contributed to the mess we're in now, I would prefer if he crawled back into his beloved cupboard, stayed in there and kept his trap shut.

Liam Byrne

Lapin wrote: »

He's correct of course.

But I would question whether he is the right person to be making these comments. After more than a decade of Bertie's baffling communication methods that contributed to the mess we're in now, I would prefer if he crawled back into his beloved cupboard, stayed in there and kept his trap shut.

I'd almost disagree. The more of this rubbish that Ahern comes out with, the more that informed people can point out the irony & bull, and the more people hear that the less likely the deluded self-interested incompetent rat is likely to be installed as president of this country (which would REALLY make us a laughing stock).

FreudianSlippers

Ahern also has absolutely no qualifications to be President. How does an accounts clerk know enough about the Constitution to be President?

Liam Byrne

OisinT wrote: »

Ahern also has absolutely no qualifications to be President. How does an accounts clerk know enough about the Constitution to be President?

He hadn't qualifications to be a TD, Minister or Taoiseach either.

Unless "Drumcondra Mafia" comes up under those worthless online "university" scams.

Seth Brundle

feelingstressed wrote: »

Ah the hurler on the ditch

Sitting on his barstool and criticizing everyone who came after him
It's easy to look on from the sidelines and find mistakes

You are quite right. However, its much easier to criticise Bertie given the shíte state he left the country in!

paulaa wrote: »

So, he was "wondering" about what plans the government were making ? Wasn't he supposed to be a TD, why didn't he ask his colleagues if he was that interested. or was he off filling his pockets telling third world countries how great he was and how to destroy a country !!

Hey that's a bit unfair. He wasn't away pimping his skills as a world leader (hey yellow is fashionable!).
He was busy here doing book signings!
Oh, and those mileage expense forms don't fill themselves in!

Liam Byrne wrote: »

He hadn't qualifications to be a TD, Minister or Taoiseach either.

He does have great acting skills though. His version of Nero fiddling* while Rome burns is truly oscar winning.
Still what skills are required to turn a blind eye anyhow?


* purely coincidental use of the word!

bernardo mac

I am in no way medically qualified to claim this but I suspect symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome in Bertie. Anyway,whatever it is ,there is something not quite normal ....

Lapin

OisinT wrote: »

Ahern also has absolutely no qualifications to be President. How does an accounts clerk know enough about the Constitution to be President?

I have never met anyone who voted in a presidential election based on the qualifications of the candidate. Although I've yet to meet anyone who will vote for Ahern either. Myself included.

Its worth mentioning that of the 8 presidents we've had to date, only 3 (O'Dálaigh, Robinson & McAleese) have had legal backgrounds.

The occupation of the others; Hyde (An Academic), O'Kelly (Librarian), De Valera (Teacher), Childers (Civil Servant in tourist board and Staff of Irish Press Nespaper), Hillery (Doctor).

Mr.Micro

OisinT wrote: »

Ahern also has absolutely no qualifications to be President. How does an accounts clerk know enough about the Constitution to be President?

He knows nothing....sure he could not even open a bank account and has trouble with simple maths and currency denominations.

gandalf

Mr.Micro wrote: »

He knows nothing....sure he could not even open a bank account and has trouble with simple maths and currency denominations.

Hmmm I somehow think you are being sarcastic. To me it is blatantly obvious why Bertie didn't have a bank account. No paper trail of "donations" was the reason maybe

Seth Brundle

But they are all trained in something. De Bert has no worthwhile qualifications.

drBill

kbannon wrote: »

But they are all trained in something. De Bert has no worthwhile qualifications.

In fact he is actually skilled in nothing other than getting himself and his buddies elected. And the past couple of years are showing how harmful that can be.

LizT

If that man gets elected as President, it will be a sad day for this country.

To me it seems that he knows that even though he left before the big downturn, people know that he had a big hand in its making. He's trying to get back onside before a presidential bid.

ArtSmart

dixiefly wrote: »

Mr Ahern was also critical of the Government's handling of the EU-IMF bailout, saying he had wondered when he saw the Greek bailout taking place what contingency plans were being drawn up by the Department of Finance and the Central Bank to stave off the possibility of Ireland going the same route.

Mr Ahern added that he did not know whether the Government had examined all the options early-on, to see if there was a solution available.

Mr Ahern said he also thinks that if action had been taken earlier in the year to signal a correction to the public finances, the bailout might have been avoided.

aherns' right, cowen detached himself from the media, esp when it mattered most- then gave a bit when it was way too late - bad politics and bad democracy.

however, i laughed out loud at the above IMF comments. unless he's accidentally revealing an important piece of info - that FF brass knew full well about the true state of the banks and the 'soft landing' would be very hard indeed.

Presidential material indeed.

Il Presidente might be a more accurate moniker.

jmayo

What is the old adage "There is no honour among theives " ?

Liam Byrne

ArtSmart wrote: »

aherns' right, cowen detached himself from the media, esp when it mattered most- then gave a bit when it was way too late - bad politics and bad democracy.

Oh Ahern is 100% correct in that regard.

The only reason his criticism of Cowen is laughable is because (a) Ahern significantly caused the crisis and (b) Ahern is (supposedly) part of the government that handled the crisis so badly.....if he'd actually been turning up at and doing his job, shouldn't he have objected in the Dáil ?

His pathetic bleatings remind me of Mary O'Rourke supposedly calling for an election on one of her many radio appearances, while voting confidence in this disaster of a government and refusing to call for the election while in the Dáil.

Hypocrisy, double-standards and vacuous optics know no bounds when it comes to FF.

lucozader

bertie never gave a straight answer during his entire time in office,he would just change the subject and avoid the question

Who the feic is he to talk about open communication ?

Granted he would turn up to the opening of an envelope, So was a bit more available than the dour ostrich Cowen, But he never answered anything.

I accept that Brian Cowen is an asshole in general, but they are BOTH assholes. Bertie does not comprehend this.

thebman

gandalf wrote: »

Hmmm I somehow think you are being sarcastic. To me it is blatantly obvious why Bertie didn't have a bank account. No paper trail of "donations" was the reason maybe

I think the actual reason is his divorce TBH.

Though it might have come in handy for the above too.

Liam Byrne

lucozader wrote: »

bertie never gave a straight answer during his entire time in office,he would just change the subject and avoid the question

Who the feic is he to talk about open communication ?

I think the phrase is "QFT"

Granted he would turn up to the opening of an envelope

Depends on the colour and who it's "not" addressed to!