John Deasy... supposed TD, heading off to Washington

Gavlor

I think this merits a thread of its own, FG TD Deasy who was elected to represent the people of Waterford has been appointment as govt envoy to the US congress to work on the undocumented Irish, none of whom I assume voted for him in the last election.

He's basically feathering his nest and setting himself up for a diplomatic career as he can see the writing on the wall in terms of his position in the dail. An absolute charlatan that has abandoned his electorate in their time of need.

https://twitter.com/martinafitzg/status/880841391840088064

*i should add that I'm in no way affiliated to any party or movement, I just find it shocking that when the people of Waterford are crying out for 24/7 cardio care this joker jets off to the us.

Harry Palmr

Back in the USSA, he has spent a lot of time in the States and has a load of contacts and social capital which he can draw on there, so I'm not shocked he got the gig but yes it's of no value to Waterford at all unless he is also moonlighting as an intermediary for the IDA.

jimmycrackcorm

Gavlor wrote: »

I think this merits a thread of its own, FG TD Deasy who was elected to represent the people of Waterford has been appointment as govt envoy to the US congress to work on the undocumented Irish, none of whom I assume voted for him in the last election.

Sounds like you have a pothole on your street that he isn't fixing.

Water John

As long as he doesn't take Maura, away from us.

Gavlor

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Gavlor wrote: »

I think this merits a thread of its own, FG TD Deasy who was elected to represent the people of Waterford has been appointment as govt envoy to the US congress to work on the undocumented Irish, none of whom I assume voted for him in the last election.

Sounds like you have a pothole on your street that he isn't fixing.

Yep, a heart related pothole from 5pm- 9am and all weekend. He's our government party TD and less than 2 weeks after a man dies during the 1hr 45 minute ambulance journey to cork (because he had a heart attack outside office hours) deasy decides to pack his bags and head stateside.

Thanks for your input all the same.

bennyineire

You can be sure there will be plenty of Waterford people who are undocumented Irish in the U.S.

Also having a minster in your constituency is a privilege, it means you have a voice at cabinet meetings.

Why do people get so parochial about their TD's, yes he got voted in the represent the people of Waterford but he is a member of the Dail and the Dail represents the people of IRELAND

If every TD was the act they you want then to do NOTHING would be done on a national scale

Harry Palmr

bennyineire wrote: »

You can be sure there will be plenty of Waterford people who are undocumented Irish in the U.S.

Also having a minster in your constituency is a privilege, it means you have a voice at cabinet meetings.

Why do people get so parochial about their TD's, yes he got voted in the represent the people of Waterford but he is a member of the Dail and the Dail represents the people of IRELAND

If every TD was the act they you want then to do NOTHING would be done on a national scale

If that was the case we'd not have local constituencies, all politics is local.

Gavlor

bennyineire wrote: »

You can be sure there will be plenty of Waterford people who are undocumented Irish in the U.S.

Also having a minster in your constituency is a privilege, it means you have a voice at cabinet meetings.

Why do people get so parochial about their TD's, yes he got voted in the represent the people of Waterford but he is a member of the Dail and the Dail represents the people of IRELAND

If every TD was the act they you want then to do NOTHING would be done on a national scale

Over 300,000 people directly impacted by the lack of 24/7 cardio care in the south east. This isn't a pothole fixing, phone box painting parish pump issue.

Parish>county>regional>national.

You're right, it's not national but it's not far off it.

Edit: that's the point, he's nowhere near a ministerial position so he's jumping ship.

somahoney74

He's an absolute disgrace, he treats the constituency he is supposed to serve as an aside, he actually seems to treat his constituency with contempt!! It must be terrible to actually have to talk to normal working people every few years to get ready elected, it acts says an awful lot about the people who vote for him!!!

Taxburden carrier

bennyineire wrote: »

You can be sure there will be plenty of Waterford people who are illegal Irish in the U.S.

Also having a minster in your constituency is a privilege, it means you have a voice at cabinet meetings.

Why do people get so parochial about their TD's, yes he got voted in the represent the people of Waterford but he is a member of the Dail and the Dail represents the people of IRELAND

If every TD was the act they you want then to do NOTHING would be done on a national scale

Fixed your post

dzilla

Is there a by election now or does he keep his seat?

Max Powers

bennyineire wrote: »

You can be sure there will be plenty of Waterford people who are undocumented Irish in the U.S.

Also having a minster in your constituency is a privilege, it means you have a voice at cabinet meetings.

Why do people get so parochial about their TD's, yes he got voted in the represent the people of Waterford but he is a member of the Dail and the Dail represents the people of IRELAND

If every TD was the act they you want then to do NOTHING would be done on a national scale

That's incredibly simplistic Benny, surely you know how politics works instead of a dream land of fairness etc.

We have lost our only govt TD,(halligan is more of a hindrance to our cause)I was hoping when fg said they would reward John deasy in other ways,I was thinking they'll sort out the SDZ funding, now it's just an extended holiday for deasy, he's out of the way and won't be fighting for what is desperately needed here.

tombliboo83

How did people vote this man back in so many times. His work with PAC was decent but I would've expected that he'd eventually put his head above the parapet for Waterford by now. Why is the quality of candidate always so poor in Waterford?

Needs Must

Brian Hayes did something similar, hightailed it off to Europe after being elected.

robtri

why do we call them undocumented irish??

they are f*&king illegal immigrants....

road_high

I'd have thought he'd get a Junior Ministry. Always struck me as someone of ability and with Enda Kenny gone and his long running feud against him, he'd be promoted.
Perhaps this was the trade off but not going to do much for his loyal voters

Scaldy Ned

I suspect this is how the conversation went . Leo says "John you've delivered a fg seat since year dot and done **** all for Waterford but you got your neighbours taps fixed. As Thankyou for ****ing Waterford up the ass for all these years and for not demanding that the south east and Waterford should have a TD ... Here's a plum job as a Thankyou ... And shir Waterford people will think your great and special." And we can. **** em up the ass again at the next election because they'll believe you must be a very important person to get a job in Washington ....

goochy

As long as Maura doesn't go , she's in vip or rsvp in a swimsuit and looks very well !

JohnC.

He won’t be running in the next election. Article on the Independent site (but requires registration to read).

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/my-father-left-on-his-terms-and-im-leaving-on-mine-fine-gael-td-deasy-calls-time-on-his-30year-political-career-38428810.html

Harry Palmr

Landed a juicy gig over there you'd imagine.

Gardner

Fine Gael TD John Deasy is to retire from politics at the next election, the Irish Independent can reveal.

The Government's envoy to Washington said he wanted to leave before he was "too old to start something".

It means the Deasy name will not be on the ballot paper in Waterford for the first time in half a century. John Deasy won his first Dáil election in 2002, taking over from his father Austin, who once served as minister for agriculture.

"My father left on his terms and I'm leaving on mine. That's one of the most important things in politics," Mr Deasy said.

He told Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of his decision last March but said he wanted to keep the situation out of the public eye due to his ongoing work in the United States.

"Next year will mark 30 years working in politics," the 51-year-old said. "I started working in the US senate in 1990. I've other interests. I felt for years that if I don't leave now I'll be too old to start something."

Mr Deasy has been unhappy with Fine Gael's constituency operation for some time and alleged earlier this year that bullying claims were not being dealt with.

The in-fighting even resulted in a motion of no confidence in the TD being passed last June after it was tabled by the brother of his party colleague Senator Paudie Coffey.

However, Mr Deasy, who is married to RTÉ presenter Maura Derrane, said local disputes were not a factor.

"Internal politics of Waterford has been quite nasty and personal over the last 20 years. The irony is it's been a blessing in many ways," he said.

"The personal criticism has only served to harden my core and if the people who are dishing it out spent half the time coming up with ideas I probably wouldn't be re-elected as many times as I was."

Mr Deasy is to continue in his role as Washington envoy until an election is called. The envoy position was created by Leo Varadkar but Mr Deasy told the Irish Independent whoever leads the next government should continue with the posting.

"The one thing I've learned is that US political figures expect and prefer to deal with elected politicians. That's not a criticism, just a reality," he said.

Asked what was the highlight of his 17 years in the Dáil, Mr Deasy cited his work on getting handguns banned in 2008.

He added: "The Dáil has changed a lot in recent years. As Irish politics has splintered, what has always been a precarious profession has become chronically uncertain.

"People are looking over their shoulder for an election all the time. That instability is only going to get worse."

Mr Coffey will be on the Fine Gael ticket for the next election. Mr Deasy is backing Councillor Liam Brazil as a running mate who could retain the seat for the party.

hardybuck

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Landed a juicy gig over there you'd imagine.

And during that time he had probably the highest attendance levels among the Waterford TDs in the Dail.

Gavlor

hardybuck wrote: »

And during that time he had probably the highest attendance levels among the Waterford TDs in the Dail.

Anything to back that up?

hardybuck

Gavlor wrote: »

Anything to back that up?

Absolutely, it's all publicly accessible information.

Follow this link and you're looking for the second one down about the Deputies: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/publications/?q=&topic%5B%5D=record-of-attendance

dzilla

Gavlor wrote: »

Anything to back that up?

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

debok

hardybuck wrote: »

And during that time he had probably the highest attendance levels among the Waterford TDs in the Dail.

Are you signed in automatically when your on government duty that takes you away from the dail?

Gavlor

debok wrote: »

Are you signed in automatically when your on government duty that takes you away from the dail?

Was just about to ask that question. There’s no way he was home for that length of time given how much time he is required to spend in Washington as US special envoy.

hardybuck

debok wrote: »

Are you signed in automatically when your on government duty that takes you away from the dail?

I'm not sure - you'd have to check that.

I have seen him attending the Oireachtas Committees he's a member of in person.

Dexpat

He should have gone a long time ago. Can't believe he was elected last time.

He seemed to have no interest in Waterford people or its issues at a critical time when we needed a government TD to fight for us.

Being a 'public representative' for Waterford seems to have been a stepping stone. He can now wipe us off his shoes as he moves on to 'better things'.

BBM77

Asked what was the highlight of his career of 30 years in politics, answer: "getting handguns banned in 2008". Think that sums Deasy up. Complete waste of a Dail seat. I'm glad he has to step down under a cloud. Absolute twat!

marlin vs

BBM77 wrote: »

Asked what was the highlight of his career of 30 years in politics, answer: "getting handguns banned in 2008". Think that sums Deasy up. Complete waste of a Dail seat. I'm glad he has to step down under a cloud. Absolute twat!

And that done nothing about the handguns criminals had and still have. He took the handguns of law abiding people that jumped through hoops to be allowed have one yet he cribbed when he was told not to smoke in the Dail.Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Road-Hog

marlin vs wrote: »

And that done nothing about the handguns criminals had and still have. He took the handguns of law abiding people that jumped through hoops to be allowed have one yet he cribbed when he was told not to smoke in the Dail.Good riddance to bad rubbish.

What use are ‘hand guns’ to the ordinary citizen....?

marlin vs

Road-Hog wrote: »

What use are ‘hand guns’ to the ordinary citizen....?

Target shooting, its an international sport recognized by the Olympics.

JohnC.

And that’s still allowed.

marlin vs

JohnC. wrote: »

And that’s still allowed.

Yes the criminals still have them and more, so it achieved nothing.