Generation Yes

After the Irish people rejected Lisbon politicians refused to take No for an answer.

Que the entrance of Brendan Halligan. Halligan is best known for his role as chairman of the institute for International and European Affairs an unashamedly pro-Lisbon body which produces pro EU literature at the tax payers expense.

In 2006 alone the institute for International and European Affairs received over €800,000 in funding from the state.

Halligan is also a lobbyist in Brussels who opposes tobacco restrictions.

After a meeting with Dick Roche, Halligan was tasked with forming a pro-government youth group that would appear independent.

Unsuprisingly this group would have to seem completely disconnected from the politicians.

The group would have young ambitous articulate kids at the front but in reality would be controlled by Halligan aged 73.

And so Generation Yes was born.

Generation Yes have been known to be collaborating closely with IIEA since the front was established.

Since then IBEC have been kind enough to let Generation YES use their premises for printing literature and holding meetings.

It is hard to say how much funding Generation Yes receive indirectly from the state through the IIEA but what is certain is that Generation Yes are subsidised indirectly and substancially by the state.

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First the Laval/Irish Ferries issues - now professional lobbiests steering the political agenda.
Its seems more and more we are heading in the direction of the mess that the US is trying to get away from

ixtlan wrote: »

It's not unreasonable for the Yes groups to have a meeting with the minister for EU affairs.

I never said that, or asked that question. If GY meet the minister - thats one thing, I have no problem with that, it is the Fianna Fail agenda to push a Yes vote.

The question was, and is did Brendan Halligan meet Minister Roche about founding or funding G Y?

Was Brendan Halligan instrumental in the founding of GY?

Does Brendan Halligan/IIEA/CIPA fund G Y?

Are Brendan Halligan/IIEA/CIPA involved with G Y?

Bear in mind that IIEA are funded with tax-payers money, an awful lot of tax payers money.
In times when there are meant to be public service cutbacks like in hospitals, when we are borrowing 50m per day according to Morning Ireland this morning, one has to look at the financial set-up at IIEA

Repeated demands for scrutiny of the institute’s finances are normally met with a blank silence.

But recently TD Finian McGrath, demanded answers in a series of parliamentary questions to all fifteen government departments that have been funding the institute for nearly 20 years.

In the early 90's, government departments to become corporate members of the IIEA, in most cases donating an annual sum of £1,000.
Inflation would account only partially for the 500% circa increase in this stipend by 2008.
According to twelve of the departments that responded to McGrath, each now donates an annual sum of €6.000 to the IIEA.

The IIEA is a registered independent charity ie, it pays no taxes

In January 2008 the Dept. of Arts, Sport and Tourism, under Seamus Brennan,decided not to renew membership “as part of an effort to reduce the department’s administrative costs”.

The Department of Foreign Affairs more than compensated for this shortsighted, bureaucratic decision by donating €32,626 (over five times the corporate membership) to the institute in 2007.

This was made up of €3,000 under the Communicating Europe Initiative and €23,626 for consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty.

McGrath’s question about how much “taxpayers’ money” was given to the IIEA was in the context of the lead-up to the second referendum.

In April 2008, the institute was reported as saying that it could not take sides in the Lisbon Treaty referendum as it was a charitable organisation, ie, it could not use taxpayers’ money to push its decidedly pro-Lisbon agenda.

Then there are the plethora of tax funded government entities such as the Higher Education Authority, the local Government Management Services Board, the NESC and dozens of other taxpayer-funded organisations.

Just why the DPP, the Attorney General and the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas should be funding Halligan’s super quango is beyond me.

And subscribers to the VHI may be equally curious to know why it is listed as an ongoing contributor to the institute.

Since the Lisbon defeat, the IIEA has been busy preparing arguments in favour of
a) a second referendum and
b) the need for a YES vote this time round.

In a lengthy tome sent to all Oireachtas members and hundreds of other decision makers (157 pages costing €20 a copy, courtesy of the taxpayer), the institute warns of catastrophe should Ireland fail to ratify the Lisbon Treaty next time round.

If the government did not decide to seek ratification, the document argues, “the damage would be irreparable” for Europe itself, while the implications for Ireland “range from the disastrous to the catastrophic”.

According to the IIEA if the electorate votes NO a second time, then Ireland might have to leave the EU; Irish farmers would lose out on CAP funding; we would lose all regional and any other EU funding; we might have to leave the euro currency and all foreign investment would be threatened — among other disasters.

I'm not conflating anything! I would just like clarification on what appears to be a scooby doobious situation.

The IIEA received over €820,000 in 2006, a great deal of this coming from public funds - and that was tax free as they are a charity.
Now it seems they are involved in founding a Pro Lisbon grouping.

Makes me very, very, very curious