Paschal Donohoe expenses controversy

iffandonlyif

I cannot get over the amount of coverage that has been given to this story. A constituency businessman and friend lent him a van and some workmen to put up posters. Somehow a valuation of €10k was given to this although Donohoe says, having consulted with the donor in question, that its value is actually €1047. Depending on how you apportion the ‘donation’, he was perfectly entitled to accept them provided he registered them, which of course he didn’t. And now the lead story on the Independent website is that this businessman was appointed to the board of the Land Development Agency, implying cronyism, despite the fact that he was appointed by the minister for housing and that he has waived his trivial allowance of €15k since his appointment.

I have long been a strong advocate of political oversight, but there comes a point beyond which pursuing trivial mistakes and omissions becomes destructive. Such low-level indiscretions will always be present - Eoghan O Broin, for example, was found last year to have claimed €2500 in ineligible expenses - and if expectations are set that they should be eradicated, the public will be forever be aggrieved. Irish politics has never been less corrupt but giving credence to such stories gives people the opposite impression.

Pintman Paddy Losty

Totally agree. Paschal is as straight as they come. This is a total nothing burger of a story.

buried

Don't worry everybody, Fine Gael's current time is up, that's all. Ye'll be back in when the next gangs time is up and rinse repeat

walterking

Some agitator has had this in the back pocket for a while and decided to make a complaint.

Even sf don't see it as a story.

Indo trying their best to create headlines saying the guy was put on the lda board but accepts he is not taking any fee nor taking any expenses and effectively giving his substantial expertise free.

Who'd want to be a politician when you have this crap.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058279942/paschal-donohoe-expenses-controversy

Where did the 10k valuation come from? Did said businessman declare it as such in his tax returns? I've no problem with Paschal, friend offers his van and a few lads to stick up some posters, how would he know it wasn't voluntary and the businessman threw them a few quid, as they were probably offered, why would they do it otherwise. Sounds like he (paschal) got a bit shafted here.

The conspiracy theory is that Paschal gave him the nod that he'd be appointed to the board in lieu of the posters, lets face it getting appointed to a board can only be good for your career, but didn't know that the businessman was going to declare said astronomical donation.

Deregos.

"Who'd want to be a politician when you have this crap".

Show me any Irish politician with a perfect, unblemished track record, and I'll show you how to recycle your plastic waste into pure gold.

SEPT 23 1989

What business does.the businessman own?

iffandonlyif

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117161#Comment_120117161

Not sure where the inflated valuation came from but it was either ‘SIPO’ or the person who complained to SIPO.

Certainly how the donation was booked is an interesting question - it’s only legal if the businessman paid for the workmen himself (i.e. as a private donation), as Donohoe now claims was the case. But that’s not Donohoe’s concern and as it’s so small for a company with a turnover of at least hundreds of thousands, I really don’t think it’s of any concern.

If all it takes to corruptly get a government appointment is the loan of a van and a hundred man hours, Irish politicians are seriously underselling themselves.

Floppybits

This I think is a pathetic attempt by the independent to try get one up on The Ditch. It's the independent trying to play both sides of the fence, they really don't want to come out against FG but then again they are seeing the Ditch getting all the attention after Troy story and now English so the independent are trying to get a bit of that with this attempt. I am sure if all politicians donations were looked we would be up to our ears in stories like this.

I will also say that FG have only themselves to blame for this with Varadkar leaking confidential documents, the zappone carey on, then the 'clarifying' of the rules after the Merrion party, dara Murphy making off with his ill-gotten expenses, McEntee and her 4 uncles at tayto Park, even though not FG but Troy and his forgotten 11 houses and now English and his dodgy planning application. This Donohue story would not get any attention except for all the carry on above. FG are now seen as more corrupt than FF which is some going.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117161#Comment_120117161

Liam Deegan "independent journalist" claimed it had a value of €10,000.

I'd stick posters up for anyone if that was the going rate!!!!

Liam Deegan is very much anti FG. He rants non stop about "vulture funds", used to claim that they would be repossessing tens of thousands of family homes (2016) made the same claim again in 2018 and refuses to answer when asked for proof of these repossessions.

So he has a particular hatred to finance ministers.

And there's a reason most mainstream media don't publish articles from him.

Cluedo Monopoly

Cui bono?

Follow the money.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117362#Comment_120117362

Designer Group

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120117161#Comment_120117161

It’s his job to know. His election agent has to account for all election spend, including any benefits in kind.

Arent corporate donations illegal in Ireland?

kippy

I'm not fully aware of the details here but we do need to keep a close eye on where politicians and their friends end up.

I noticed Enda Kenny was appointed to a board (he is probably on a few boards) last week, think the story was front of the Indo business section at the weekend. While it is not uncommon for former politicians to end up in directorships etc for numerous reasons it's not something I particularly like to see. I'd like to know how much he earns on boards etc for example and would question why people who have been on the public payroll in decision making positions(and who are extremely well paid with various pensions etc) should serve on boards of private companies after they have finished their term?

Jarhead_Tendler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120116993#Comment_120116993

Fine Gael supporter tells us the sky is red

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118090#Comment_120118090

SIPO keeps a register of corporate donors.

Businesses need to register if giving more than e200

The upper limit is 1k to an individual and 2.5k to a party.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118139#Comment_120118139

So was the company registered for the year in question?

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118152#Comment_120118152

Sorry I don't know, I didn't check that.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118119#Comment_120118119

It's sometimes called the revolving door and can be problematic all right.

One of the difficulties of enforcing restrictions on ex ministers is that nowadays they can't collect the pension until they are 66.

So with politicians starting say in late 20's and losing seat or running out of steam after 20/25 years they need a second career.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118139#Comment_120118139

So that explains why he’s calling it a donation to the party.

Does that mean that the party donated €1100 of services to Paschal’s campaign that should have been declared?

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118128#Comment_120118128

A big huge crimson canvas.

If the Varadkar document controversy was a nothing burger (and it was, as I always said), then this Donohoe rubbish is one of those tiny little burgers, a slider I think they call them.

Its a nothing slider.

Hearing SF bleat on today about this topic was absolutely pathetic. Do they need Paschal to use smaller words, so Louise O'Reilly can understand better?

Padre_Pio

People and businesses make mistakes all the time. Accountants make mistakes on their client's books. Revenue makes mistakes.

So long as they're found and rectified then it's fine. I can't get over the constant witch hunt of public officials.

Why anyone would bother with that job is beyond me.

xxxxxxl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118282#Comment_120118282

hmm power money, Trips around the world, EU jobs lined up when they have done something so bad they even have to be moved from Ireland.

Jarhead_Tendler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118503#Comment_120118503

One would almost think it was leaked to take the focus of the real big Mac Mr English

iffandonlyif

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/hes-goosed-if-it-gets-worse-paschal-donohoe-on-thin-ice-over-money-row-but-fianna-fail-to-back-him-for-time-being-42291516.html

If Donohoe goes Ireland loses the presidency of the Eurogroup, as well. Wonder if we’re about to do another Phil Hogan.

BattleCorp

In the scheme of things, a few lads putting up posters could very easily be overlooked. It could well be a genuine error and, in the scheme of things, it's peanuts really.

Move on, bigger fish to fry.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118661#Comment_120118661

In the context of an election campaign, a few lads putting up posters is a central, essential activity at the heart of the campaign, that would have been planned for months beforehand. No one 'forgets' to put up posters, and no one forgets about postering when completing their election spend declaration.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118282#Comment_120118282

Isn't it funny how the FG mistakes always seem to go one way though?

Did Stone pay the lads or did his company pay?

astrofool

I guess Paschal could blame COVID?

Sinn Féin blames Covid for failure to declare €7,000 election expense - Independent.ie

Little bit awkward for Louise now:

But Sinn Féin enterprise spokesperson Louise O’Reilly said she wanted to know why he had not amended his statement of expenses earlier.

Ms O’Reilly said it was baffling that a donation providing work would be made in the teeth of an election campaign and was not considered an election expense. She dismissed the idea of omissions being excusable as the spending is declared after the election, not during the campaign.

“The forms aren’t filled out in the heat of an election campaign – they are filled out afterwards. And I would still have the question as to if that is credible and I don’t believe it is, because, as I said, afterwards is when the forms are filled out,” she said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118119#Comment_120118119

I worked in a small tech company that did a lot of business in the developing world that required regulatory approval by government in those developing countries.

They had a local retired TD who was a former minister for Foreign Affairs on the board.

I have no idea how much he was paid but it was very useful to wheel him out when doing sales pitches etc, it was handy to have a man of his stature representing the company.

TipsyMcStagge

Isn't the main issue here that Paschal was caught telling porkies i.e claiming it was a party donation rather than an individual donation? Also the fact that he's the minister overseeing SIPO is particularly embarrassing. Usually when a politician has to do a press conference like this they are 3 weeks from having a resignation accepted.

scuba8

’ Much Ado About Nothing ‘ it’s not like he robbed a bank or anything.