Jim McDaid,

peasant

the former junior minister for transport, has, as you've probably heard, got himself arrested while driving home drunk from Punchestown on the wrong side of the M7 motorway.

So far, so bad ...

Minister of state Tom Kitt said in an interview on "the last word" when questioned about this: "I feel sorry for him and his family"

What the f***??

Feel sorry for him ???

sorry he got caught, or what ...

Victor

peasant wrote:

the former junior minister for transport, has, as you've probably heard, got himself arrested while driving home drunk from Punchestown on the wrong side of the M7 motorway.

Was he punch drunk? :rolleyes:

Minister of state Tom Kitt said in an interview on "the last word" when questioned about this: "I feel sorry for him and his family"

The family has had problems, most of them attributable to McDaid himself (at the time he said "people who commit suicide are selfish", his marriage was breaking up and his wife was suicidal).

Seth Brundle

AAaawww - the poor fella is having problems, so everyone leave him alone!
Feck him!
He was obviously so plastered that he managed to go down a motorway in the wrong direction. Tom Kitt may nearly have been expressing soprrow for the coachload of people killed or the 10 car pile up or whatever had McDaid continued uninterrupted.
As a TD he is in a position of responsibility which is strengthened by the fact that he was previously Jnr Minister for Transport and as mentioned on the Last Word this evening, came out with a speech a few years ago on the effects of DUI

camarobill

the only thing that c..t is sorry for,is getting caught,red card i think fast enuf running his mouth off about drink drivers,and him doing the same,why has he not been sacked yet :eek: brown envelopes and back handers at the raceing i think. :cool:

Victor

camarobill wrote:

why has he not been sacked yet

Because he was fired last year. They can't fire him from a job he doesn't have.

BrianD

Was it this year or last year? Didn't hear the full story. Will be interesting to see what the charges and punishment will be.

causal

[cynical]
He'll get off on some technicality :rolleyes:

FF will probably set up an enquiry - that way they can't answer questions about it because it may prejudice the outcome of the enquiry :rolleyes:
[/cynical]

His family situation is unfortunate, but by f**k it's no excuse for what he chose to do.

causal

Bamboozled

kbannon wrote:

AAaawww - the poor fella is having problems........

Its called life - a lot of others can do it without drink-driving... hey most can even call a taxi.

He's an idiot and should be benned from both drink and from driving for life! :eek:

green-blood

SACK him - from the DAIL, the plank, he's doing us all for 100K plus a year. This type of SERIOUS crime should result in immediate resignation of a dail seat... pathetic, he'll lose his licence for a year and then put in a Dail expense claim for a chaufer.

MrPudding

I was a bit annoyed with the coverage of this on Newstalk yesterday evening. They kept say that "even though he has apologised he may still be prosecuted." I was not aware that simply apologising could get you off a criminal offense.

MrP

528i

Give the guy a break, he's got enough problems already ~ so he took a wrong turn?, big deal.

Apparently he's down quite afew guinea's from the races aswell, talk about having a bad hair-day, the arresting Garda could have shown abit more tact on this one, McDaid's served his country well.

Mr E

Bullsh1t. HE WAS DRINK DRIVING. What part of that is hard to understand?
He is a moron. Throw the bloody book at him.

DukeDredd

Ah sure grand so. I'll go out tonight and drink a few gallons of beer and attempt to drive home. If i'm caught i'll make a public apology and tell everyone about what a hard time i'm having at the moment and i'll get away with it scott free. Grand.

Borzoi

Moving to politics (probably goint to the recycle bin after that)

RedorDead

Totally unacceptable.

Is it just me or do Donegal people have a higher amount of accidents and fatalities annualy than the natural average??

You always seem to hear about people dying in crashes in the donegal area - usually late at night , and as is the case with the majority of late night accidents - in one or both of the vehicles involved - the driver is usually plastered.

Anyone else noticed this re: Donegal road users ?

peasant

IMO JMcD is beyond discussion ...no leeway whatsoever! I mean, how out of it do you have to be, not to notice that you're going against the traffic on a motorway.

What REALLY gets my heckles up is the underlying attitude behind all those "feel sorry for him" comments"

In my mind these comments give away several possible ways of thinking:

sorry he got caught, after all t'was just a few drinks he's had, sure there's nothing wrong with that, is there ?

sorry for him...but *PHEEEW* ...could just as well have been me ...

sorry for him, he's such a nice guy. What do you mean, he could have killed somebody? He didn't, now did he?

sorry for him ...but really I feel sorry for us. Because of that **** our party is in disrepute again and we all have watch our bloody backs now when we're out, having some fun

Aaargh ...

ionapaul

What are the bets he'll top the poll if he runs next election? We love our criminals and lovable blackguards, don't we...?

Traffic

From the indo today:

FORMER Minister Jim McDaid drunkenly drove up the wrong side of a busy dual carriageway before a concerned haulier brought a madcap chase to a safe end.

The Fianna Fail TD and former minister was then arrested by a plainclothes garda who had also joined the pursuit.

It is understood he stopped his car after the haulier, who had been pursuing him, used his articulated vehicle to block two lanes of a roundabout.

As Dr McDaid last night unreservedly apologised for his behaviour, details of his bizarre behaviour emerged.

The Donegal TD was apparently returning from the Punchestown racing festival on Tuesday night.

An eyewitness said Dr McDaid was still wearing a badge for the Punchestown races when he was stopped. The lorry driver had spotted him at some time between 10pm and 11pm driving on the N7, heading from the direction of Dublin towards Kildare.

The TD turned left on a slip road from the N7, heading for Newbridge, and came to Newhall roundabout.

There, he turned right and drove the wrong way around the Newhall roundabout before going up the wrong side of the dual carriageway known locally as the Newbridge Road.

Other vehicles, which met the TD's brand new Volvo, were seen swerving to avoid the car. At one stage an ambulance also met him, flashing its lights.

Staying in contact with the gardai, the haulier continued on his side of the dual carriageway and flashed lights to alert vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

Finally, the haulier was able to get to the Togher roundabout in advance of the TD and used his truck to block two lanes and halt the car's progress.

The haulier then got out and removed the keys from the ignition of Dr McDaid's car. A plainclothes Garda, who had also joined the pursuit, made the arrest before uniformed gardai arrived.

An eyewitness who observed the TD when his car was finally stopped said: "He was civilised but at the same time he did not know what he was doing." He described him as being "very, very drunk". He added: "If he had met an articulated truck there would have been phenomenal damage."

Details of his arrest emerged as Taoiseach Bertie Ahern made a plea in the Dail for motorists to drive responsibly and with care for others over the bank holiday weekend.

Officially, gardai have only confirmed a car was stopped just outside Naas, Co Kildare and a man was arrested under Section 49 of the Road Traffic Act for driving under the influence of alcohol, and later released.

They said the man was taken to Naas Garda station and later released. Samples have been sent to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety.

As news of the development spread yesterday, Dr McDaid issued a brief statement apologising for the incident. He said: "I wish to unreservedly apologise for my serious lapse in behaviour last night. It was completely wrong of me to drive a car while under the influence of drink. This will now be a matter for the Gˆrdai to deal with."

The former minister said he accepted that, as a public representative, he had a particular obligation to uphold the law. "I wish to apologise to my family, my constituents and to the Gardai," he added.

News of the arrest came as Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday reiterated the Government's commitment to tackling road safety.

But he warned: "You cannot have a garda on every road, on every motorway, on every back road in the country to monitor people's habits of driving. You have to appeal to the good sense of drivers."

Mr Ahern appointed Dr McDaid to his first Cabinet in 1997 as Minister for Tourism and Sport. He lost out in the 2002 Cabinet team and was appointed a Junior Minister at the transport department.

Since his return to the backbenches last September after the Taoiseach's ministerial reshuffle, Dr McDaid has publicly disputed Mr Ahern's claim that he resigned and insisted he was sacked.

As Junior Transport Minister in November 2002, he spearheaded the Government's anti-drink driving campaign. At the launch of that campaign he warned: "Some drivers still choose to ignore our drink driving laws and as a result innocent lives are destroyed."

He said the National Safety Council's campaign, called Shame, sent a forceful message that drinking and driving carried high-risk consequences.

The then minister said drink-driving was not acceptable at any time of the year.

Nuttzz

RedorDead wrote:

Totally unacceptable.

Is it just me or do Donegal people have a higher amount of accidents and fatalities annualy than the natural average??

You always seem to hear about people dying in crashes in the donegal area - usually late at night , and as is the case with the majority of late night accidents - in one or both of the vehicles involved - the driver is usually plastered.

Anyone else noticed this re: Donegal road users ?

Yes, but its a border problem really, a lot of drivers from NI go gaga when they cross the border as they know all the cops can do is give them a fine, they can take the car but rarely do. Likewise when people from the south go up there they do the same from what I have seen.

Caixa

RedorDead wrote:

Totally unacceptable.

Is it just me or do Donegal people have a higher amount of accidents and fatalities annualy than the natural average??

You always seem to hear about people dying in crashes in the donegal area - usually late at night , and as is the case with the majority of late night accidents - in one or both of the vehicles involved - the driver is usually plastered.

Anyone else noticed this re: Donegal road users ?

There have been a lot of accidents over the past year, but very few were drink related.

Villain

Ah bless the poor lad he cheats on his wife and makes life hard for himself then we'r supposed to feel sorry for him after he has driven against traffic on a motorway while being pis*ed.

Poor fella, earning a TD's wage and still practicing as a GP part-time, sher maybe we could all club together to get him a good lawyer who will be able to get him off on a technical issue.

Poor fella

monument

causal wrote:

[cynical]
He'll get off on some technicality :rolleyes:

It was obvious he was on his way to the Dail, so he hasn’t broken any law what so ever…. :rolleyes:

Repli

528i wrote:

Give the guy a break, he's got enough problems already ~ so he took a wrong turn?, big deal.

Apparently he's down quite afew guinea's from the races aswell, talk about having a bad hair-day, the arresting Garda could have shown abit more tact on this one, McDaid's served his country well.

He didn't just 'take a wrong turn', he was DRUNK
Drink driving/speeding are the 2 biggest causes of road deaths in Ireland
Would you be saying 'give him a break' if he caused an accident which killed your whole family?

Tobias Greeshman

Apparently a truck had to cut him off near naas, to stop him, its very rarely even drunk drivers in this country go this far, drive this careless (I've rarely heard of drunk drivers driving the wrong way down motorways, although Im sure its happened). Im sorry but Id like to see him made an example of, he feckin' deserves it.

Repli wrote:

Would you be saying 'give him a break' if he caused an accident which killed your whole family?

All the more reason that he should be punished to the full extent of the law for how potentially dangerous the situation he caused could have been.

seamus

You see, this is why we need all of the penalty points offences to be brought in.

Had they existed this week:

• Driving when unfit - 3 Points
• Careless driving - 5 points
• Failure to comply with traffic lane markings - 1 point
• Contravention of requirements regarding driving of vehicles at road junctions - 1 point
• Failure to drive on left - 1 point
• Failure to turn vehicle left onto a roundabout - 1 point

Total: 12 points. Instant disqualification, on top of fines, and further disqualification.

A Dub in Glasgo

True but FF will just give a chauffeur driven car courtesy of the tax-payers

McDaid is an idiot of the highest order with a stunt like this.

Auslander

Like Orwell said "some animals are more equal than others"

Funny thing is that if anything like this happened in the UK or mainland Europe the politician would be lynched.

Bertie knows and depends on Irish people's short memorys and the compliant media to get what HE wants.

Isn't that why they're all there?

Nuttzz

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

True but FF will just give a chauffeur driven car courtesy of the tax-payers .

BS only full ministers get a driver, if hes off the road the tax payers wont thankfully foot the bill

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

McDaid is an idiot of the highest order with a stunt like this.

Just another one of the 100's of gobsh!tes who do this every week, but thats no defence. I'm delighted he was caught.

he launched the NSC "shame" campaign a few years ago, where they showed a young driver DUI, how ironic really

causal

It's all a bit of a crapfork really

Crapfork (n) A misfortunate occurrence which is equally as amusing and ironic as it is annoying.

-from Silas .sig


causal

mike65

Listening to liveline RTE Radio 1 this afternoon some Donegal gobsh1te (and freind of Tipsy McDaid) said with a straight voice that it was'nt a resigning matter as he had'nt killed anyone....well thats okay then.

Mike.

tim3115

Unbelievable behaviour.

I heard some of the Liveline show, unreal comments coming in there. Some said give him a break, some said we make mistakes all the time...I seriously don't know what goes on in these people's heads at times.


Anyways, a penalty points system is useless.

What you need is a full-on, harsh (or so they'll say) system. You mess up. You never drive again. Not this '3 chances' crap. Prison, community service. The whole job lot.

nesf

mike65 wrote:

Listening to liveline RTE Radio 1 this afternoon some Donegal gobsh1te (and freind of Tipsy McDaid) said with a straight voice that it was'nt a resigning matter as he had'nt killed anyone....well thats okay then.

Mike.

Yeah, if he had mowed down a few pedestrians by driving along the foothpath at speed for a few miles then maybe he might consider resigning over the issue. Maybe.

Victor

Of course Punchestown are still advertising that they have 17 bars on the go .....

Shabadu

I also agree with the anti-drunk driving ranting that's afoot, but assuming we believe his story about the wine being 'forced' on him after two months on the wagon, should there be some sort of legislation brought in to make it a finable offence to give/serve your friend/aquaintance alcohol when you know they are a recovering alcoholic?

Nanny state- a bit alright, but seriously, should even publicans who are aware which of their customers are alcoholics be allowed to serve them alcohol, seeing as an alcoholic is more likely to drink-drive than a social drinker?

Possibly it's just a convenient excuse used by people caught drunk-driving that the alcohol was 'forced' on them.

The Muppet

He should face the full rigour of the law, I don't think he should lose his job and before anyone asks me what about the bad example he has set us I live my life by my own conscience.

A Dub in Glasgo

If I had done this (and be convicted) whilest working in any job I have ever held, I would be sacked immediately. Why should this be any different?

The Muppet

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

If I had done this (and be convicted) whilest working in any job I have ever held, I would be sacked immediately. Why should this be any different?

Would you, what do you work at? If I did it I would lose my licence , I would not expect to lose my job.

A Dub in Glasgo

Railway Signalling Engineer

Here in the UK, an MP that done this would resign... simple as

A Dub in Glasgo

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

If I had done this (and be convicted) whilest working in any job I have ever held, I would be sacked immediately. Why should this be any different?

It shouldn't but this is Ireland... a lot of things are not treated with the same moral outrage and backlash as in Britain.
On a positive note,a Guard told me recently that its very rare that, they catch young drink drivers as theres nearly always a designated driver these days, the message has got home mostly there.
It's the aul lads who arent changing as much.

The Muppet

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

Here in the UK, an MP that done this would resign... simple as

Not so I'm afraid

and again

Shabadu

Your link leads to a reg. form, mupp. Can you cut and paste, or take a screen shot?

The Muppet

Shabadu wrote:

Your link leads to a reg. form, mupp. Can you cut and paste, or take a screen shot?

Sorry

Drink-driving MP pays for 'mistake'
By Stephen Moynihan, Mathew Murphy
March 31, 2005
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Liberal MP Andrew Olexander leaves court after losing his driving licence.

Liberal MP Andrew Olexander leaves court after losing his driving licence.
Photo: Craig Abraham

Disgraced Liberal MP Andrew Olexander was yesterday convicted and fined $500 and had his licence cancelled for one year after he pleaded guilty to drink-driving.

Olexander registered a blood-alcohol reading of .129 after he smashed his car into a row of parked cars in Port Melbourne about 5am on July 11 last year.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court was told that Olexander had been at a Liberal Party function before meeting and drinking with friends.

Police prosecutor Tom Coulson said Olexander's car hit an Alfa Romeo on Beach Street, causing it to smash into two other parked cars.

Olexander, 40, who was driving a government car, caused $50,000 damage. The officer said police were called to the scene where Olexander failed to complete three breath tests. He was taken to The Alfred hospital complaining of chest pains.

Sergeant Coulson said a blood test taken at the hospital revealed Olexander had a blood-alcohol reading more than twice the legal driving limit.

Olexander's lawyer, Brendan Murphy, QC, said his client had been working 16 to 18 hours a day and was under pressure in his role as Opposition spokesman on arts, consumer affairs and youth affairs. The member for Silvan Province resigned from the portfolios after the incident and has not driven since.
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Mr Murphy said Olexander's bid for preselection had been damaged and his client had been the subject of embarrassment and ridicule.

Olexander pleaded guilty to one charge of having more than the prescribed concentration of alcohol in a blood sample taken within three hours of him driving. Magistrate Robert Tuppen told Olexander: "Don't make this mistake ever again."

Outside court, Olexander expressed remorse and said this chapter of his life was now closed.

"Nine months ago I made a very serious mistake: I drove while under the influence of alcohol and I shouldn't have done that. I also drove while I was extremely fatigued and I shouldn't have done that," he said.

"It was a mistake and today I have paid the penalty for those mistakes."

Earlier this month, former Labor MP Carolyn Hirsh pleaded guilty to three charges, including driving while disqualified, after police pulled her over in Caulfield in September last year.

She lost her licence for six months in June 2004 after she was caught with a blood-alcohol reading of 0.07 per cent as she drove home from Parliament.

Ms Hirsh was dumped from the Labor Party after the Caulfield incident and is now an independent MP for Silvan Province.

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Robert Doyle said he would support Olexander's bid for preselection.

And again

Monday, September 7, 1998 Published at 11:23 GMT 12:23 UK


UK

Labour MP fined for drink-driving

Cann was found to be almost twice over the limit

Labour MP Jamie Cann has been fined £1,000 and disqualified from driving for 18 months after being convicted of drink-driving.

The MP for Ipswich was stopped by police on 29 August and found to be nearly twice over the legal limit.

Magistrates in Felixstowe heard that Cann, 52, had been drinking the previous night and was still over the limit.

He had been stopped while driving in Martlesham, near Ipswich, with his wife Rosemary, the court heard.

Officers had initially wanted to talk to him about speeding but smelled alcohol on his breath and carried out a breath test.

Readings showed that the MP had 64 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

'No excuses'

Cann had led Ipswich Borough Council for 12 years and had been MP for Ipswich for six years, said Jonathan Ripman, in Cann's defence.

Mr Ripman said Cann had a 25-year clean driving record.


[ image: Jamie Cann: Pledged to help strengthen drink-drive laws]
Jamie Cann: Pledged to help strengthen drink-drive laws
He said his client had been working in Ipswich as he normally did on the Saturday that he was stopped.

"He [Cann] stresses that he had not had a drink in daylight hours," said Mr Ripman.

"On the Friday evening he had gone to bed very late having been unable to sleep and he had had a drink.

"There are no excuses he puts to the court. He takes full responsibility for his actions and he has no-one to blame but himself."

Mr Ripman added: "It is a great personal embarrassment to him but he will take his punishment and pay his fine today."

Magistrates disqualified Cann from driving for 18 months and fined him £1,000 as well as ordering him to pay £40 costs.

'Well over the limit'

Outside court, Cann told reporters that he had been drinking at home because he was having difficulty sleeping.

"I'm not sure exactly how much I had. That's one of the problems of drinking at home rather than in a pub," said the MP.

"Suffice it to say I had had enough to put me well over the limit when I went to bed.

"But I had absolutely no inkling that I was still over the limit the following day. If we had had any inkling whatever that I was over the limit, Rosie [Cann's wife] would have driven."

"It is up to the people of the town of Ipswich whether they want to keep me on as an MP at the next election," he added.

"I feel that I've got a good record and that I work hard."

Cann said he had been contacted by many people who were sympathetic to the problem of being caught over the limit after the previous night's drinking.

"For a lot of people losing their licence in this way would also mean they would lose their job and be an absolute disaster.

"It is those people I feel sorry for if they did not realise that they might still be over the limit."

Cann pledged to try to persuade the government to bring in measures to help people check whether they were over the limit after drinking the night before.

dmeehan

this is in this weeks Bray People:

The Bray People wrote:

Ex- councillor charged with drink driving

FORMER FINE GAEL Cllr Brian Kenny has appeared before Bray District Court charged with drink driving.

Kenny, who has an address at Giltspur Heights, Bray is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol at O'Byrne Road, Bray on February 18 last.

The case was adjourned to May 27 next.

Cork

I am afraid drink driving is not confined to any occupation or social class.

I would revoke a driving licence for 20 years.

But you'd have sad stories about Mr. Jones was marginally over the drink driving limit.

So my solution - Have a zero limit. You should not drink and drive.

But you'd have sad stories how Mr. Jones living out in the hicks cannot go for a beer.

So solution - If you drink - you should not be allowed to drive.

jhegarty

From Aertel...

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has said
that Dr Jim McDaid should not resign
after being arrested earlier this week
for drink driving.

Mr Ahern was speaking in Collooney, Co
Sligo this evening.

He said that what happened is very
disappointing and said that Dr McDaid
has already unreservedly apologised and
understands the implications of his
actions.

Mr Ahern said that the law now has to
take its course and there should not be
any political implications for Dr
McDaid.

causal

It begs the question ... what do you have to do, to be asked to resign from FF.

causal

leeroybrown

Cork wrote:

So my solution - Have a zero limit. You should not drink and drive.

I never have a drink if I'm driving and I'd like it if others would do the same but a zero limit is rediculously impractical. In the interests of legal practicality you need a margin of error whereby someone can have some alcohol in their bloodstream without necessarily having been drinking immediately beforehand. That said there probably is some leeway there for a slight reduction. Offhand I think we have a marginally higher limit than some of out European neighbours.

As for McDaid - what an idiot. He should recieve the maximum drink driving ban and a conviction for dangerous driving.

Cork

leeroybrown wrote:

As for McDaid - what an idiot. He should recieve the maximum drink driving ban and a conviction for dangerous driving.

There is no excuse for drunk driving.

what do you have to do, to be asked to resign from FF.

Make a political football out of drink driving. The electorate of Donegal will have their say on Mr. McDaid.

I don't think comitting a crime is in itself a sacking offence niether is having a criminal record.

Red Alert

quite frankly i think Jim McDaid needs made an example of and should go to jail. drink driving is a very serious matter, a car is the most lethal machine most people own. the government claims to be strong on traffic offences (seatbelts, speeding, mobile phones) and especially on drink driving. it is not acceptable for Tom Kitt to say that it's unfortunate, words like ashamed, disgraceful, unacceptable would have been much more appropriate.

IMO and this is just IMO, RTE have been very soft on him - has this anything to do with protecting Ann Doyle with whom Jim McDaid had a much publicised affair?

The man deserves no sympathy. At the minimum, he should lose his dail seat regardless of any court case.

uberwolf

Cork wrote:

I don't think comitting a crime is in itself a sacking offence niether is having a criminal record.

Depending on your contract.

For a member of the legislature to disregard the laws of the land is apalling. Whilst messers Burke, lawlor, etc were rightly (and only after unreasonable delay) removed, their sins did not flippantly risk the lives of dozens of other citizens of this state for their own convenience.

Victor

uberwolf wrote:

For a member of the legislature to disregard the laws of the land is apalling. Whilst messers Burke, lawlor, etc were rightly (and only after unreasonable delay) removed, their sins did not flippantly risk the lives of dozens of other citizens of this state for their own convenience.

Of course tax evasion coupled with health cuts, did kill people.