Are you being scammed by your TD?

O'Coonassa

Oops!! Over 100 serving TD's have tried to overclaim expenses from us.

TheStory.ie has obtained from the Oireachtas FOI documents released to journalist Ken Foxe, who sought details relating to the expense claims of TDs and Senators. The documents show how more than 100 TDs and Senators claimed expenses to which they were not entitled between 2007 and 2009. Some claimed for attending committee meetings which they hadn’t attended, while others submitted claims for attending the Dail when they were abroad. The documents appear to show two things: one that many politicians claimed for expenses they were not entitled to, and two that the Oireachtas has been writing to politicians consistently, checking that particular overnight claims were justified.

Source and a list of the culprits names

Besides that all 166 of the reptiles voted themselves a payrise last November when they were busy talking about the amount of cuts they'd have to impose on everybody else.

In my view that makes the vast majority of the members of the 30th Dáil fall into the category of 'confidence tricksters', those who attempt to defraud people by abusing a position of trust. Now clearly from the opinion polls it seems a large number of the Irish electorate, a majority in fact, are going to vote for these same people.

What I don't understand is why the hell they would do that when there is proof positive that these people only have their own best interests at heart. Can anybody out there explain the apparent willingness of the Irish electorate to vote against themselves in this manner?

sonic85

sure theyre getting away with it so more power to them. i have to LOL at fine gael and their plans to cut down on social welfare fraud. it would be more in their line to cut down on the amount of fraud going on in the dail

Poor Uncle Tom

Why do you think there is such a scrap to get in there?

Sunnyisland

sonic85 wrote: »

sure they're getting away with it so more power to them. i have to LOL at fine gael and their plans to cut down on social welfare fraud. it would be more in their line to cut down on the amount of fraud going on in the daily

:mad: What do you mean more power to them,its the likes of that attitude that keeps it going on, All fraud should be cut out & the offenders punished starting with our public representatives.:mad:

Humans eh!

O'Coonassa wrote: »

Can anybody out there explain the apparent willingness of the Irish electorate to vote against themselves in this manner?

Because there is no alternative, with all the crap talking about "reforming the system" no matter what shower of opportunists get into government nothing will be allowed to stop the gravy train a rollin'.
Likewise for the judiciary and civil service, vested interests will die before change.

Don't kid yourself. its every man for himself and all they can get. Elections IMO are window dressing to give the appearance of democracy and choice. No matter who is elected they fall prey to the system (Greens anyone?) and it becomes a huge titty grab to suckle from the taxpayer.

Literally there is no alternative system or people out there with the vision or balls to actually try to change anything. I'm too disillusioned with it to get involved and no longer have the energy to try.
/Heads off the "why don't you brigade"

Hootanany

snouts in through springs to mind

sonic85

realies wrote: »

:mad: What do you mean more power to them,its the likes of that attitude that keeps it going on, All fraud should be cut out & the offenders punished starting with our public representatives.:mad:

i agree but i personally cant change it so whats the point in giving myself an ulcer

pajor

Probably

Is that a valid answer? :rolleyes:

O'Coonassa

sonic85 wrote: »

sure theyre getting away with it so more power to them.

Depressing though it is this is probably the reason I was looking for, seems we're a nation who admire fraudsters.

rossie1977

this man has the right idea

Badgermonkey

Have a look at this list of TD's who have passed on or shared their fiefdoms with family members.

If politics is a hard graft, they're unusually keen to distribute the toil to those closest to them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Families_in_the_Oireachtas

sonic85

O'Coonassa wrote: »

Depressing though it is this is probably the reason I was looking for, seems we're a nation who admire fraudsters.

did i say i admire fraudsters? i said no such thing. i admire the fact they can do it and get away with it actually. if i had the power to change things i would but in a situation like the one were in everybody has to pull together and that wont happen.

i love reading posts from people who are full of great and noble intentions making out like they can change the world - power to the people and all that. maybe its time to wake up and smell the bullsh!t - unless youre filthy rich you dont have the power to do anything.

ill vote like most other people but i wont hold my breath that anything will drastically change. well just have a slightly different shower of **** in the dail. go with the flow thats what i say

Fulton Crown

Badgermonkey wrote: »

Have a look at this list of TD's who have passed on or shared their fiefdoms with family members.

If politics is a hard graft, they're unusually keen to distribute the toil to those closest to them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Families_in_the_Oireachtas

No pal ...wrong...completely wrong...cannot understand why this canard keeps coming up.

They did not pass on anything.... their family members were selected at convention by their party and then voted in by the public.

The public are the idiots for voting them in....me ...will never vote for "son of" "daughter of" or any other fcukin "of" no matter how competent they are.

The Irish electorate particularly the rural electorate ar stupid in the extreme ....just no getting away from that.....

Son Of A Vidic

Are we surprised? Ya see the Irish are genetically designed to be ruled by w@nkers. To be shafted and to take it like sheep. Assertiveness in this country is frowned upon, some keep talking the talk but never walking the walk. Ever wonder why Greece got a better deal from the IMF/ECB than we did? Because they got on the street en masse and demonstrated their real anger.

It wasn't some fleeting protest like the one organised by Irish Union fat cats with nicely lined pockets. A wonderful exercise in tokenism it was. Why are we electing another 166 conniving cnuts back into the Dáil? We only need about 45 max, we are grossly over represented in this country and look at the state we are in. Value for money much?:rolleyes:

O'Coonassa

sonic85 wrote: »

did i say i admire fraudsters? i said no such thing. i admire the fact they can do it and get away with it actually.

Does that not amount to the same thing?

sonic85 wrote: »

if i had the power to change things i would but in a situation like the one were in everybody has to pull together and that wont happen.

i love reading posts from people who are full of great and noble intentions making out like they can change the world - power to the people and all that. maybe its time to wake up and smell the bullsh!t - unless youre filthy rich you dont have the power to do anything.

ill vote like most other people but i wont hold my breath that anything will drastically change. well just have a slightly different shower of **** in the dail. go with the flow thats what i say

I agree with you but I like to think that if we speak out rather than just resigning ourselves we can make it so the shower of **** are less objectionable than they otherwise would have been. I never thought that was the case in any previous election.

sonic85

O'Coonassa wrote: »

Does that not amount to the same thing?




I agree with you but I like to think that if we speak out rather than just resigning ourselves we can make it so the shower of **** are less objectionable than they otherwise would have been. I never thought that was the case in any previous election.

how do you make your voice heard though? i voted against FF in the last couple of elections but where did that get me? i might as well have sat at home watching fair city. everybody has to be of the same mindset - all or nothing. the middle and working classes have to stand together and be as one or else whats the point. politicians and the rich are only out for themselves they dont give two fcuks about us

O'Coonassa

sonic85 wrote: »

how do you make your voice heard though?

We need somebody to set themselves on fire outside Leinster House, at least that seemed to get things moving in North Africa. Other than that all we can do is try and get in peoples faces.

sonic85 wrote: »

i voted against FF in the last couple of elections but where did that get me? i might as well have sat at home watching fair city. everybody has to be of the same mindset - all or nothing. the middle and working classes have to stand together and be as one or else whats the point. politicians and the rich are only out for themselves they dont give two fcuks about us

Yeah sure they've nothing but contempt for us, the best thing to do is just vote against the mainstream ones and hope it lessens their impact.

sonic85

O'Coonassa wrote: »

We need somebody to set themselves on fire outside Leinster House, at least that seemed to get things moving in North Africa. Other than that all we can do is try and get in peoples faces.



Yeah sure they've nothing but contempt for us, the best thing to do is just vote against the mainstream ones and hope it lessens their impact.

to be honest im not sure about the tone of your post - whether youre just taking the pi$$ or what but all i know is ill be voting independant all the way and whatever happens after that happens. the only thing im not happy about is theres nobody of the calibre of shane ross running in my area but cest la vie

Badgermonkey

Fulton Crown wrote: »

No pal ...wrong...completely wrong...cannot understand why this canard keeps coming up.

They did not pass on anything.... their family members were selected at convention by their party and then voted in by the public.

As blind allegiance to the party has also been a familial pecadillo amongst the electorate, with the obvious consequence this has had on voting pattern, selection of a family member for certain parties has, de facto, ensured them the seat.

The public could have rejected them at the ballot box of course but the realpolitik has often rendered such an outcome unlikely. The argument that convention was and is a robust enough process resistant to the influence of 'you scratch my back' politics is somewhat naive given what we know.

Also, the practise of passing on the seat to family is as visible a phenomenon within Dublin constituencies as it is to elections in areas of rural Ireland.