FF plunders the public purse- Sunday Business Post

Walls

FF plunders the public purse


By Tom McGurk
Dublin, Ireland, 24 March, 2002


Even seasoned political observers are flabbergasted by Fianna Fail's competence with public money


Has Bertie Ahern lost his senses? Has the "most cunning, the most ruthless of them all" decided to turn the forthcoming election from a shoe-in to a fight to the death?

Of course, there is nothing illegal or dishonest about the way in which either the proposed new national stadium or the national aquatic centre is being built. But the nature of the business arrangements under which they are being conducted seems extraordinary.

The Taoiseach decides to build a new national sports complex. Former leading civil servant Paddy Teahon is appointed to head the group overseeing the work. Businesswoman Laura Magahy is appointed to work on the project. Previously she worked on the restoration of the Temple Bar.

Clearly Teahon is much impressed by Magahy. She is also working on the Digital Hub project in Dublin.

Magahy's firm is awarded an executive services contract, whose final fee income figure is indeterminate because it has been set at 1.8 per cent of the total cost of the stadium, irrespective of what the stadium costs. In plain English, the more the venture costs, the greater the fee.

Next the Teahon group awards the contract to run the aquatic centre to a consortium including a shelf company. It appears that the shares in this firm, valued at stg£4, are held by a British Virgin Islands company.

The Taoiseach seems not to have been aware of all the facts regarding the winning consortium when the matter came to the cabinet table for government approval.

The offshore men and their friends are awarded a contract for 30 years.

Meanwhile back in the real world, the rest of us look on with increasing astonishment. An international company called in to examine the Stadium Ireland project publishes a report asking serious questions about the experience and skills of Teahon's management company to run such a project.

The Office of Public works takes one look at the National Aquatic Centre and decides to opt out because, as they delicately put it, the project was not one where "it would have any kind of final accountability".

Other observers too are stirring. The Secretary General of the Taoiseach's Office, Dermot McCarthy; Margaret Hayes, head of the Department of Sport and Tourism; and the chairman of the OPW, Berry Murphy, all express their concerns.

Finally, even the ultimate neutral arbitrator over government spending, John Purcell, the Comptroller & Auditor General, delivers himself of the opinion that, for example, Magahy & Co's arrangement represents "quite a novel approach".

But clearly Teahon's nerve on this whole matter is as impressive as his much-vaunted integrity. Teahon finally emerges in public for the first time at the Dail gates on Thursday last.

Defiant among other things, he quite remarkably says that not only will he not be resigning but that the Taoiseach will not be asking him to resign.

How does he know? What does this mean? That his conscience on his handling of taxpayers' money is still untroubled? That resignation in the face of such gross incompetence is still not within the Irish tradition? Or maybe it means that the Taoiseach will be resigning before he will.

At the time of writing and since the government has no method of short-circuiting this walking disaster movie, the only (almost) certainty is that, of course, Teahon will be politically buried in one way or another.

But in the meantime, the electorate will be called to give judgement in a few weeks time.

In a week when the Department of the Environment issues new regulations on mobile phone usage in cars that are clearly farcical and the Department of Public Enterprise confirms that the French transport company Connex, a company with -- at best -- a poor history of delivery in post-regulated public transport in Britain, is going to operate Luas, the sheer ineptitude of our political classes grows unabated.

Even the Taoiseach's suggested codicil on Irish neutrality to any new Nice Treaty referendum blithely ignores the reality that it is actually the envisaged post Nice governing structures that most engage the electorate.

Meanwhile, we patiently await the announcement of the members of Arts Minister Sile de Valera's new commission on public service broadcasting to join the new chairman, esteemed banker Dr Maurice O'Connell.

Is it any wonder that more and more citizens now look upon politics and politicians with a deepening sense of despair?

Judging from opinion polls, the new generation of voters have already walked away from the business of politics and more and more people who have traditionally taken politics seriously in the past are by now deeply perplexed.

I have always believed that sheer incompetence is at the heart of our political malaise. At the end of the day our political classes believe that we will still stick with them.

We shall see come May.

In a curious way Teahon is our anti-hero too, because a man who can show such defiance toward for the political process from the cabinet down to the Attorney General's report is a man who truly understands what few clothes the emperors really have.

Victor

Originally posted by Clain
Defiant among other things, he quite remarkably says that not only will he not be resigning but that the Taoiseach will not be asking him to resign.

How does he know? What does this mean? That his conscience on his handling of taxpayers' money is still untroubled? That resignation in the face of such gross incompetence is still not within the Irish tradition? Or maybe it means that the Taoiseach will be resigning before he will.

The concept of "What does Paddy have on Bertie?" comes to mind, didn't Linehan have the full confidence of the then Taoiseach the day before he was fired?

Boston

hmm, but what option do we have when it comes to voting, dumb and dumber is all I can see. FG and FF, spot the difference, FG are more long winded in their speech's, that's pretty much it. both are as bent as the other. Labor god it would be a terrible thing if they ever got power again, they would sell the arran islands or two pints and a packed of backing fries, I've never seen a party will to sacrifice what little principals they have to get into power.

The greens, o god no, a little of them is enough.
PD's: who exactly are these guys?
sinn Fein: fianna fail in disguise.
that's about it really.

shotamoose

Okay, lets start a new party then. What'll we call it?

Boston

thats exactly what i was thinking, political parties should be done away with, each td battling for they voters.

Sand

The problem with that is each TD will be elected on purely local issues - not completely unworkable but an alliance of like minded TDs (read political party) will most likely come together anyway, even if only the "You scratch my back, ill scratch yours" type arrangment in voting.

gandalf

/Rant_mode ON

This government is unbelieveable.

Here was a win win situation, a national stadium that Ireland could be proud of, something that would make a statement about what a brave new country we have become. All that was needed was proper management and to try and get it in under budget.

Could they do this no, is this project in serious jepordy of been scrapped, a most definate yes. My god could they not even try and get a high profile project like this right, whats wrong they can't get over the old 1970's brown envelope politics. This country has moved on but our politicians are still stuck in the Civil War Parish Pump Politics of the 1920's.

THe most despairing thing here is that I doubt that FF will be voted out and that if they are, the replacements will be just as bad, how the Celtic Tiger survived so long with these incompetents in charge is beyond me.

I can't wait to see what a mess they make of the Luas project (well I'm already seeing the traffic chaos around Dundrum/Sandyford).

Gandalf.

/Rant_Mode OFF

Boston

on thing i dont understand about the luas, its ment to be a centre city rail service right? then why the hell are they bulding the depot out near the red cow in.

when i heard this i was in disbelieve, then i saw all the roads riped

gandalf

Because it makes sense to base the depots outside the city centre.

Theres a Depot at the Red Cow and there will be one in Sandyford. I would say there will be one around the airport for the other line as well.

Gandalf.

Boston

expalin it to me, cause i would have thought a dart would be more suitable for getting people to the naas road.

bonkey

This is not a thread about the Luas - if you want to discuss that, take it to a new thread.

jc

Biffa Bacon

I think this guy got it right on the money when he said "I have always believed that sheer incompetence is at the heart of our political malaise."

Kevin Myers wrote on much the same line a few weeks ago. No matter how many times he writes about the incompetence of the National Roads Authority, not only is nothing changed but no one even tries to justify the current arrangements. It's as if no one gives a damn.