Media silence over Niall Collins story

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927111#Comment_120927111

The only information we have is the amount, and the Ditch are making a thing about it, and you have admitted that there are loads of potential explanations, some innocent, some practical and some unacceptable. The only thing we can conclude to date is that the Ditch are biased.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927156#Comment_120927156

If there is a innocent explanation as to why Collins and others have seemingly high expenses for the month of August, all they have to do is come out with a clear, concise explanation/breakdown to show that everything is correct. That then makes The Ditch look like biased idiots and damages its credibility.

As this hasn't been done, I'm going to assume that there is something more to this.

Politicians' and public servants' pay and travel expsnses are everybody's business

it may be that there no actual proof of any wrong doing but perhaps the travel expenses system for politicians is such a mess that it's not possible to determine either way. That in itself would be damaging.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927156#Comment_120927156

That's my take on it as well, someone at The Ditch has a personal bent against the guy, made he shot his dog, maybe he stole his parking spot, but one thing's for sure, they're gonna take down Niall Collins like Lewis Strauss took down Robert Oppenheimer for that sandwich joke.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927324#Comment_120927324

Why would Collins respond? Are politicians required to respond to every rumour?

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927324#Comment_120927324

Honestly with the Ditch you are better not to respond to them at all. If you try they are going to spin it so just ignore would be the advice given to politicians.

The people that are on the Ditch twitter etc don't care what the explanation is. Just the TD is from a certain party and that automatically means they are guilty.

As we seen before with Cosgrove the truth is not something he has any interest in

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927324#Comment_120927324

That month of August we were also in lockdown so I would love to see the breakdown you mentioned.

dasa29

The Dutch are saying the mileage is too high when the Dáil is in recess but would the Minister have been more likely to have been going to the Dept of Further Education, or are they trying to implying that Collins only goes from Limerick to the Dáil and back again unless on ministerial business.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927007#Comment_120927007

OMG, that's the best excuse you can come up with? Dear oh dear oh dear, I am pretty sure you will regret posting that feeble attempt. I don't believe your finance dept would allow you submit a year of expenses in mid December by the way.

Hey....maybe it's expense fraud. Dara Murphy (FG TD) showed them how easy it is. There were 2 RTE Investigates programs showing how rampant it is and FG have blocked the 2015 reform bill on it.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120932671#Comment_120932671

On expenses, a lot of companies do allow a yearly expenses claim and this was historically how it was done.

For years I did the same, come 1st Dec pack it all up and fire it in. Nice bonus for the Christmas. Yes expenses didn't like it but everyone done the same

So in terms of when the expenses are submitted you could see no issues whatsoever with that. I don't know what the government system is but this is still common in the private sector. Unfortunately for me now I have joined a company with a 90 day policy or I need to get an exception. I still haven't submitted anything this year so it will be exception hell for my manager when I do :-)

Expenses is a problem in the government, I don't think anyone is denying that. Didn't I read about the two boyos from Kerry managing to have the exact same mileage one year. Couldn't even bother to make up two different claims and seemingly drive up from Kerry on their own in separate cars. We had a SF Dublin TD in Covid talking about not taking a pay rise and then having a huge expenses claim. Which like Tubs looked like a way to top up the old wages in the background while telling the public he was in this together with everyone. That's before we even start with the printer

As I said above, no TD apart from one party will talk to The Ditch because it is a rabble. In reality the government expenses system is broken and needs to be taken apart. Maybe outsource it and give the company the job to check the expenses are correct.

We also have TD's spending huge amounts of money on printing etc and then not using it. They should be charged for anything they don't use and they might respect it a bit more.

golfhead

Ministerial travel claims are submitted on a monthly basis in arrears. Minister (or usually his driver) forwards image of speedometer taken on the first day of the month and this is then used to calculate mileage for the previous month. An agreed % is deducted to cover personal mileage.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933457#Comment_120933457

Not all Minister have a government car. I expect this is a personal car which Collins has bought but uses for government business as well? maybe I am wrong on that.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120932671#Comment_120932671

I have submitted a year or expenses in mid December many times, in fact I once submitted expenses from the previous year in a September. Anyone who worked in any public service situation would be aware of many who have done the same.

Yes, maybe it's expense fraud, who knows, but the point I am making is that the quality of Ditch journalism is so poor, like unbelievably bad, that they print such rubbish.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933571#Comment_120933571

I have also done this (though in the private sector). They're definitely not happy about it but they don't have much choice but to accept it.

If the expenses are for that month then it certainly seems dodgy.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933626#Comment_120933626

I don't disagree with you, just don't like the type of shoddy gutter journalism that the Ditch engage in, makes The Sun and Hillsborough look like cutting edge investigative journalism.

SnazzyPig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933709#Comment_120933709

'makes The Sun and Hillsborough look like cutting edge investigative journalism.'

Really?

This has to be the weiredest take in the entire thread.

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933744#Comment_120933744

Not really, as has been pointed out by many they usually only investigate half a story until they are happy they can produce a splashy headline that their boss can point and cry about, much like tabloid rags regularly do.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933766#Comment_120933766

Exactly. Plus before they even start a story they want it to be "FF/FG/Green = bad"

As journalists they are supposed to be ethical. This is the code of ethics which a journalist should use. I don't think anyone involved with Ditch can claim they adhere to any, maybe they will have a case with Humanity but apart from that it's a clear fail across the boards.

What are the 5 ethics of journalism?

• Truth and Accuracy. “Journalists cannot always guarantee 'truth' but getting the facts right is the cardinal principle of journalism. ...
• Independence. ...
• Fairness and Impartiality. ...
• Humanity. ...
• Accountability.

SnazzyPig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933766#Comment_120933766

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933783#Comment_120933783

Read up on The Sun's coverage of the Hillsborough disaster.

I'll amend my comment, though.

Blanch's comment wasn't just the weirdest on the thread; it was also the stupidest.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935344#Comment_120935344

The Sun: Something happens - Liverpool fans are guilty without any thought or investigation

The Ditch: Something happens - FG or FF TD is guilty without any thought or investigation.

The only difference is that The Sun acknowledges it is a tabloid, while the Ditch pretends to be investigative journalism, that makes the Ditch worse. It is as simple as that, and that is why the mainstream media ignore The Sun. Actually, it would be hard to make a case for The Ditch being of a higher standard than the National Enquirer. If they ran a story saying that Micheal Martin is an alien that robbed some hick's cattle, I wouldn't be surprised and I bet that half the posters on here would believe it.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935344#Comment_120935344

I think Blanch's description is about right.

EVen the rent dodger claims he is an "Investigative Journalist"

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120933571#Comment_120933571

I know it's possible to submit expenses at at any time in the FY, I just don't believe you did it in mid December. You're too obedient for that!

If you were a betting man, what odds would you give me on this story being absolutely true? I know it's easier to discredit the source than believe a FF TD could be corrupt but give me odds anyway.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935768#Comment_120935768

The figures mentioned may be true, but there may also be no wrong doing, though the unsubstantiated innuendo of course is that there was. The odds on the Ditch doing some genuine investigative journalism are about the same as Roman Shortall paying the rent he owes to the landlord he stiffed. The odds on some simpletons taking the Ditch’s poor attempt at impartial investigative journalism as absolutely true are very short though, might be worth a wager for you.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935842#Comment_120935842

Investigative journalism? They got the expense data and they look completely unrealistic/impossible. Only the TD can prove they were valid. We all know they aren't. Opposition TDs can ask him in a few weeks. Patience.

hometruths

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935768#Comment_120935768

What are the odds indeed?! It just takes the Ditch to make people believe FF TD's are as honest as the day is long.

Commented elsewhere that RTE missed a trick with the PR crisis management of the Ryan Tubridy story.

All they had to do was leak the details out the back door to the Ditch back in May.

Ditch would have published their scoop and immediately people would have been falling over themselves to discredit it, indignant at the suggestion Tubs et al would have done anything of the sort!

Tubs, Noel Kelly and Dee Forbes could have carried on happily laughing all the way to the barter account!

This isn’t being picked up by normal media publications as there’s almost certainly nothing to investigate.

The Ditch is just a personal grudge blog for a few malcontents.

Roman didn’t pay his rent, the other lad worked for Chinese State Media, and Chay Bowes is now living in Moscow and spewing out Kremlin propaganda on RT. The shady background of The Ditch is worthy of further investigation.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935852#Comment_120935852

There you go, short odds, money to be won.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935852#Comment_120935852

Investigative journalism now consists of an FOI request for expense data and nothing more than a calculator!!!! Standards are even lower than I thought.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935902#Comment_120935902

Who said they were investigative journalists? Aren't they a tiny operation? What more would you have them do?

Let's say the Independent repeated this story, what more would you have them do? Put a tracker on the TDs car?

I love that you are defending a corrupt FF TD by the way. I love it. You also said Dara Murphy (FG) did nothing wrong. I will remind you at the next election.

There were 2 RTE Investigates programs which highlighted many cases of expense fraud around travel that were simply impossible. What happened to them? Nothing. Reform was promised soon after the programs and the bill is now 7 years old and stalled.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120935852#Comment_120935852

Even if the Ditch print lies what exactly will happen? none of the readers want the truth. Just stories to moan about the government. Cosgrove who funds the whole thing couldn't care less and he has told lies before.

Let's see on the opposition TD's but I very much doubt any of them will mention it at all.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120936004#Comment_120936004

There you go, assuming that there is corruption and no innocent explanation, such as were presented earlier in the thread. Oh, something doesn't look right, let's all just jump to the conclusion that the FF TD is corrupt.

Not defending anyone, I have said all along that something might be up, but also that there are a number of possible innocent explanations. You see corruption in everything.