wtf is going on? Bizzarre
Which mainstream media alleged he acted illegally?
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 ;-)
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.
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/
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.
Why would anyone sue the ditch? They are a throw away set-up, they'd enter bankruptcy and fold and then come back in a new name, and wouldn't be able to pay a plaintiffs legal fees even if directed to do so.It's nit like they gave a name or history or assets to protect like a traditional newspaper.
What will ve interesting id to see if they fall under criticism from the Press Council.
Sad to see the politicians backing up Micheal Martins attack on the Ditch. Openly defending cronyism and corruption. They 100% know they are doing the wrong thing. Integrity is badly lacking in Irish politics.
Was what Niall Collins did corrupt? How so?
Nonsense. A totally corrupted nation, will have little corruption exposed, as every orifice of the system is corrupted. Which leads people to think that there's not much corruption. You posted a perception index, and what people think, is not a fact.
Totally corrupted?
Politically speaking. Courts, politicians, and the media are all but a unit when they should be independent from each other, idealistically speaking. They are all same minded in Ireland, and work in tandem. The media are probably the worst offenders, as I expect the political class and the judiciary to defend each other, whereas the media was once considered to be the ones who expose corruption, which rarely happens in Ireland. This story is a great example of just that.
Which story, and where is the corruption?
I see the conspiracy theory forum has leaked out again. Someone left the door open
Some people on this thread can't tell the difference between "i reckon" and actual fact. Sane guys bever travelled and seen real corruption.
This story, you know the thread you're posting in? Which the Irish media only every posted when their hand was forced.
No argument, just slander. Good lad.
What corruption are you referring to in the Niall Collins story?
"We define corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division and the environmental crisis."
This is the same political party too that's literally welcoming back Bertie Ahern, a man who's objectively corrupt. The same party, whose leader instead of dealing in merit, dealt in slander, as a way to deflect from this event. Just as many do when they've been corned, which is objectively dishonest, some would say that it's corrupt.
It's beyond me that there's people in this country, who for some odd reason, have loyalty to disloyal political parties.
Can you point to the corruption in the Niall Collins story?
Its a simple question.
He was part of the decision making process that allowed his wife to purchase land from the council.
Simple answer to a simple question.
That is only one example of course, he has been caught at various dodgy activities at this stage with planning permission antics also. Beware of those minimising what he has done, they are not genuine.
That allowed his wife anybody to purchase land from the council.
Fixed that for you.
Beware those alleging illegalities where there are none
They are not genuine
That is not corrupt.
It has not been disputed that he voted at local commitee stage for the land sale, the local committee has absolutely no power to dispose of property, when the property was marketed and sold on the open market, to the highest of multiple bidders (as is normal practice) Niall Collins had left the Council to take his seat in the Dail.
So my question still stands, where is the corruption you are referring to?
Not true. His wife's request to purchase the land is the decision process he was involved in. A direct link and obvious conflict of interests.
So many ostriches on this thread. Or shills.
Incorrect. He did not fix it so that his wife alone could purchase the site.
The site was put on the open market, by the council (a decision upon which Collins wasn't involved) so that anyone could purchase the lands.
Any other version you present of these facts is simply untruths based your biased agenda.
Love how you insert a false narrative into my post to argue against.
I never claimed he fixed anything. I said he was involved in the decision to approve his wife's request.
Any other version you present of this fact is simply untruths based on your biased agenda.
Jesus he aided the first stage of the overall decision. He was involved in the process.
Just because he got a better job before the next stage of the process does not absolve him.
So if he'd have stayed on as counciller and continued to be involved till the end of the process, would that be corruption to you?
Unfortunately, you are the Ditch’s target audience, you believe what you read, unquestioningly. Again, I’m going to refer back to what Gavin Reilly said yesterday on why the main stream media outlets are not referring to the Ditch’s article.
It came before a local area committee which has absolutely no power of disposal of property, it was discussed by several councillors after expressions of interest from a number of interested parties , including, but not exclusively, his wife, no vote was taken. At the time, neither had any pecuniary interest in the property. It was then kicked up to the Council itself for discussion and decision. The site was given to an auctioneer and placed on the open market where multiple people bid on it, and it was subsequently sold to the highest bidder, which you cannot dispute, is standard practice.
So, while the optics may not be ideal, if you can point to the corruption, I would appreciate it.
I love how you insert a false narrative into my post that the lands were not available for anyone to purchase.
By virtue of this fact alone your whole allegation of corruption falls down. No amount of semantic roller coastering by you is going to change that fact
No "approving" of his wife's request took place. The local area committee nodded through a request of the chief engineer. His involvement in that amounts to sitting there quietly.
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