Alan Shatter's time could be up

keith16 · 06-05-2014 06:00PM

The fact Shatter did this in order to score the most cheapest of pettiest political point is what's most sickening about all this.

Nicely timed to coincide with the news on water charges too.

Aongus Von Bismarck · 06-05-2014 07:38PM

As I said, storm in a teacup. As usual the Sindo was being sensationalist, and as usual a certain segment lapped it up.

keith16 · 07-05-2014 08:57AM

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

As I said, storm in a teacup. As usual the Sindo was being sensationalist, and as usual a certain segment lapped it up.

Storm in a teacup? You're ok with the MOJ abusing his office and violating civil law? Would it be ok if I carried out a breach of your personal data?

Aongus Von Bismarck · 07-05-2014 11:37AM

keith16 wrote: »

Storm in a teacup? You're ok with the MOJ abusing his office and violating civil law? Would it be ok if I carried out a breach of your personal data?

You're making it seem like Shatter put on a balaclava, broke into Garda HQ Mission Impossible style and hacked into PULSE.

He was told some sensitive info by the Garda Commissioner and he naively shared that information with the public. I'm glad he did to be honest, otherwise people wouldn't have seen Wallace for what he is.

jimgoose · 07-05-2014 11:39AM

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

...otherwise people wouldn't have seen Wallace for what he is.

What, some stones with too much hair who probably absent-mindedly picked up a cell-phone while driving? True for you biy - people like that should be shot with their own shít, judicially-speaking, before they corrupt society, violate our children, bring the economy to it's knees, and... and... oh wait...

Aongus Von Bismarck · 07-05-2014 11:42AM

jimgoose wrote: »

What, some stones with too much hair who probably absent-mindedly picked up a cell-phone while driving? True for you biy - people like that should be shot with their own shít, judicially-speaking, before they corrupt society, violate our children, bring the economy to it's knees, and... and... oh wait...

Eh no... as in he's not a whiter than white crusader against corruption that him and a few other shrill Independents make themselves out to be. He's a cute hoor of the worst kind. A man who doesn't pay his taxes, when gets pulled over by gardai breaking the law isn't afraid to say 'Ah now... any chance you could let me off'

tritium · 07-05-2014 12:08PM

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

He was told some sensitive info by the Garda Commissioner and he naively shared that information with the public. I'm glad he did to be honest, otherwise people wouldn't have seen Wallace for what he is.

Niavely shared? That's a good one! A trained senior counsel and minister for justice niavely broke the law. One of two scenarios pertains here. Either he's effectively incompetent as demonstrated by his niavety with respect to the law or he deliberately and knowingly abused his position. In either scenaro he's unfit to hold the office he does.

Akrasia · 07-05-2014 12:54PM

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

You're making it seem like Shatter put on a balaclava, broke into Garda HQ Mission Impossible style and hacked into PULSE.

He was told some sensitive info by the Garda Commissioner and he naively shared that information with the public. I'm glad he did to be honest, otherwise people wouldn't have seen Wallace for what he is.

Whatever it showed about Mick Wallace (and it wasn't anything that wasn't pretty obvious anyway), it showed a lot more about Shatter's own character.

The fact that he was prepared to release confidential garda information to the media in an attempt to deflect negative publicity from himself and onto a political opponent shows that he does not have the integrity required to be the Minister for Justice

keith16 · 07-05-2014 01:01PM

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

when gets pulled over by gardai breaking the law isn't afraid to say 'Ah now... any chance you could let me off'

Are you talking about Wallace or Shatter here?

Hitchens · 07-05-2014 01:16PM

Only in Ireland can you break the law and not commit an offence, ffs! :pac:

Davarus Walrus · 07-05-2014 01:17PM

tritium wrote: »

Niavely shared? That's a good one! A trained senior counsel and minister for justice niavely broke the law. One of two scenarios pertains here. Either he's effectively incompetent as demonstrated by his niavety with respect to the law or he deliberately and knowingly abused his position. In either scenaro he's unfit to hold the office he does.

Not even the most gifted senior counsel would pretend to know the nuances of every criminal and civil law. Especially in an area like data protection. As can be seen by the various inadvertent breaches of data protection law by many online companies. It was a clumsy thing to do, especially during an interview. It's not a resigning offense.

Dyr · 07-05-2014 01:33PM

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

Not even the most gifted senior counsel would pretend to know the nuances of every criminal and civil law. Especially in an area like data protection. As can be seen by the various inadvertent breaches of data protection law by many online companies. It was a clumsy thing to do, especially during an interview. It's not a resigning offense.

Data protection is'nt particularly complex.

Davarus Walrus · 07-05-2014 01:43PM

Bambi wrote: »

Data protection is'nt particularly complex.

Perhaps it isn't. But I wouldn't expect the Minister of Justice to have an in-depth knowledge of it - rather like I wouldn't expect the Minister of Health to have a deep understanding of how to remove an appendix.

It was a clumsy thing to do, and Shatter can be accused of letting his emotion get the better of him. It doesn't mean that overall he remains a highly competent and reforming minister of justice.

My name is URL · 07-05-2014 01:49PM

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

Perhaps it isn't. But I wouldn't expect the Minister of Justice to have an in-depth knowledge of it - rather like I wouldn't expect the Minister of Health to have a deep understanding of how to remove an appendix.

It was a clumsy thing to do, and Shatter can be accused of letting his emotion get the better of him. It doesn't mean that overall he remains a highly competent and reforming minister of justice.

The upcoming report into the GSOC thing is likely to disprove that anyway. Is deliberately misleading the government, and the Dail something that a competent MoJ would do? Or was that just another bit of naivety on his part? :rolleyes:

How many mistakes is this fool allowed to make before people realise that he is either corrupt or totally incompetent and unfit for the office he holds?

Davarus Walrus · 07-05-2014 01:53PM

My name is URL wrote: »

The upcoming report into the GSOC thing is likely to disprove that anyway. Is deliberately misleading the government, and the Dail something that a competent MoJ would do?

If the Commission produces a report that shows the Shatter deliberately mislead the Dáil then he will have to resign. Call me misguided, but I'd rather wait until the report is produced before brandishing the pitchforks and looking for his head. It's due process and it needs to be applied - no matter what certain portions of the electorate think of the man.

mikom · 07-05-2014 02:19PM

If only we had the likes of Yitzak still around to chime in on this debate regarding a highly competent and reforming minister of justice................ I can just hear him now............ Hold on......... I think I did.

tritium · 07-05-2014 02:56PM

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

Not even the most gifted senior counsel would pretend to know the nuances of every criminal and civil law. Especially in an area like data protection. As can be seen by the various inadvertent breaches of data protection law by many online companies. It was a clumsy thing to do, especially during an interview. It's not a resigning offense.

Data protection isn't particularly complex. The general rule is you don't share personal data. I'd expect a legal professional, well versed in lawyer-client confidentiality, to be able to use their brain for this. If not their competence is certainly suspect

The fact that he's also been fine Gaels justice spokesperson for some time,including the period when much of the relevant legislation was debated in the Dail and passed on exacerbates the issue. In 2012 his office looked for submissions to proposals to amend existing EU data protection legislation. In this context he is either blissfully unaware of the activities and work of his own department or he chose to ignore things he should have known for reasons of political expediency.

My name is URL · 07-05-2014 03:09PM

He knows full bloody well that what he was doing was both illegal and unbecoming of a minister. Why is it even up for discussion at this stage? =/

Alan Shatter in 2010 -

“What Minister O’Dea admitted yesterday is that he willingly and publicly discussed, for his own electoral gain, confidential information furnished to him by a member of An Garda Síochána. Such conduct is entirely unacceptable by any minister in any Government. Such conduct by a Minister for Defence, part of whose constitutional duty is to secure the security of the State, renders the Minster unfit for Cabinet office.

“No member of the gardaí, nor any member of the Defence Forces, can now in any way be assured that confidential information furnished to this minister will not be misused and be made public. The Ministers position is no longer defensible, and it is a sad reflection on the judgment of both the Taoiseach and the Green members of Government, that he remains in Cabinet"