wtf is going on? Bizzarre
You would be right, they aren’t, Go back a page or two to get the gist of the discussion.
The fact, not disputed, that neither he nor his wife had any pecuniary interest in the land when he voted, in commitee to send it forward to the Council for consideration to sell. And it sold, on the open market with multiple bidders after he had left the council to become a TD, is the reason the mainstream media are not accusing him of illegality, nor referring to an article which is, as it could be found to be defamatory.
The Ditch are not a mainstream media outlet, while they have done some good things, they are run by Roman Shortall, a scrot recently ordered by a Court to leave his rented accommodation after running up €50,000 in arrears, and allegedly funded by Paddy Cosgrove who appears to have a vendetta against Irish politicians, his business partners and investors related to that tech conference he took to Lisbon a few years ago.
I wouldn’t call “the Ditch,” “mainstream”
but they did:
”It is a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment, for a councillor to vote on a matter where his spouse has a material interest.”
https://www.ontheditch.com/niall-collins-public-land/
That should tell you why he probably won’t bother.
This stuff isn’t difficult to understand, main stream media are more careful because they have a lot to lose, if you have nothing, then you don’t fear losing it.
Well we do have one of the harshest defamation laws in Europe and Collins is fully within his rights to sue The Ditch. Thus far all those other thoroughly decent public servants have threatened to do so but never followed through. Let's see if Collins tries his luck, I wonder what name our claimant will use on the summons ;-)
Which mainstream media alleged he acted illegally?
Again if Collins did nothing wrong why not take questions from opposition in The Dail, Meehole's deflection has made more spotlight imho on Collins and now Paul Murphy is wanting Sipo to investigate
Why the council redacted letters with name changes?
They did.
Indeed. I think The Ditch ran with an allegation that Collins actions were illegal. At least mainstream wouldnt make such a sloppy claim.
You understand the difference between an allegation and a fact? So far there is nothing in the allegations made by the Ditch in relation to Niall Colllins which indicates illegality. He voted at commitee level for the lands to be forwarded to the Council for consideration to place on the market. The Council voted, and the lands were placed on the market, open to any bidder, after he had left the Council to become a TD. Multiple bids were received from different bidders and the auctioneer tasked with marketing the lands informed the Council of the bids, and it was sold to the highest bidder, who also happened to be Collin’s wife. At the time he voted at the commitee stage, neither he, nor his wife had any pecuniary interest in the land, and anyone one else with a higher bid could have bought it.
Now, if you see that as being in a similar vein to the wrongdoing in ABP, then it is a good job you aren’t editor of any of the main stream media, because your legal department would be busy if you made defamatory allegations.
The media has a very important function in society, they are there to push the boundaries to get to the truth, their job is also to be sure about what they are publishing as it can lead nitwits to jump to unfounded conclusions if they publish any aul shiiite that comes their way. They have a responsibility to check the accuracy of the claims, and avoid defaming anyone.
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/junior-minister-niall-collins-insists-in-dail-statement-he-did-not-break-law-over-land-sale/a518478168.html
Yes. And that is why mainstream media didnt report on it until Niall Collins made a statement.
Alleging "wrongdoing where non exists" did not cause the DPP to bring criminal charges against the ABP Deputy, the ABP Chairman to retire, Troy to become an undeclared property magnate... But you're probably right, we should instead continue to let the msm hold these these hardworking decent public servants to account. Anyhow just look at all the bountiful housing they have provided for us - ROFL!!!
Martin getting it from all sides this weekend for using Dail privilege against the Ditch and getting many things wrong. The man is a fool.
I listened back and it didn’t seem that bad. He stumbled a little in answering the funding and opinion/bias questions but I don’t think the interview will change anyone’s opinions.
They seem to report some truths wrapped up in some lies which is really dangerous, imo.
What they uncovered may not necessarily be the truth, or it may be presented in such a way to allege wrongdoing where non exists. It is not a disgrace for each citizen to be entitled to their good name, I doubt you would appreciate being on the receiving end of an article which may not accurately reflect your behaviour. Whether Collins did anything wrong is not clear cut, so other media outlets are quite rightly being careful about what they publish.
Yeah but our (disgraceful) defamation laws don't explain how one tiny website has been able to uncover so much and the entirety of the msm so little. The dogs on the street knew ABP was riddled with "best practices" and yet RTE/IT/Indo/... did not manage to catch a whiff of anything ever, never, ever, hmm..... msm will need to work harder on their excuses :-)
This lad from the Ditch on Radio One is digging a huge hole for himself. Shambolic stuff.
You are missing one other scenario, what’s the point in suing if there is little hope of even covering the costs of the litigation? It just keeps the story going with little hope of anything other than massive solicitors fees. Even if he won, the story is still out there and a retraction is worthless.
The first thing you hear from politicians when The Ditch or other publications do something like this, is that they can't comment because it's with their solicitors. All the time and each time they haven't sued it just a threat that works on MSM but isnt working on the Ditch. We had it with Varadkar leaking the confidential documents, same with Troy but that soon died, English I think went quietly and I am sure there are more. The thing is if it was untrue then the politicians would sue but they don't because it is true and also because if they go to court it will be in the news. If what was reported either with the council meetings or the planning permissions for Collins House was untrue he would have been to the courts.
Redress? It's not like RTE or the Irish Times with their large companies & staff to pay every week, you cant take the knickers off a bare ass!
In litigation conscious Ireland that's really not a surprise to hear. Better to play safe.
It does help those with something to hide though.
One must assume The Ditch have also undertaken their own checks prior to publication.
Has anyone made any attempt to seek redress of The Ditch on top of just threatening legal action?
Not sure if this has been mentioned already, Gavin Reilly just covered this topic on his Sunday Newstalk programme. There has been criticism of the mainstream media not covering the Ditches allegations against politicians. He said that if there is a suspicion that the allegations may be found to be defamatory, then other media outlets who draw attention to the article may also be found to have defamed the subject of the article. So they themselves have to check the accuracy and legality of the allegations before referring to them, and if they are uncertain that they are accurate, then they will not refer to them.
It all gets accepted and then becomes the norm. Time moves on and it's presented as less important. More recent news becomes more relevant. Before long, apologists use arguments such as 'that's so long ago now, don't rake up the past'.
My big concern is that out there in the real world, the cute hoors I have come across have thrived on this lax regulation and control, so again fair play to The Ditch for highlighting these shenanigans.
We are still very much on a journey to get our political class to act in our best interests, not their own self interest.
Yeah
A) Its a move away from SFs usual permanent agressive outrage
B) Its a softer approach to appeal to middle classes and FF voters
C) Very much about leaving the door open for FF joining SF in next government
SF have been playing a blinder in the last few weeks by not touching this story. Mary Lou then came out during the week saying she loves the EU project, and what it has done for Ireland.
It might annoy the youth branch and the auld branch, but political parties need to change.
I dont believe he did anything legally wrong. I think his actions are morally wrong.
Agree, Mary loo mixing with the criminals is seriously worrying also….corruption everywhere..
How can you measure corruption when it is not often tackled? Look at the Mahon tribunal even when it is tackled nothing comes of it. One of the main protagonists will be our president in a few years
Ah yes, we are less corrupt than hell holes like Estonia, Belgium and France but that's not good enough.
Again, any corruption should be rooted out, but there is an obsession that Ireland is a particularly corrupt country that is not backed up by anything.
Yes it does though.
Maybe not compared to some hell hole, but yes we are corrupt and have been for quite a while.
I never understood how councillors, TD's etc are somehow above normal work rules, like unvouched expenses, getting involved in planning deals that they're not officially connected to, writing letters to judges for rapists etc.
It's all legal, but it is all objectionable.
I'm done with this thread unless something new comes up. No corruption should be accepted. No "turning a blind eye" etc. I'm not surprised the man has so many defenders tbh. Lax following of rules in Ireland is absolutely rife.
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