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Six TD's and senators forced to refund illegitimate expense claims

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13567…16

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  • Options
    #62
    Sheep breeder
    Registered Users Posts: 1,957 ✭✭✭Sheep breeder


    Atlantic Dawn wrote: »
    That's over 25% non compliance from the 22 selected, the entire lot of them need to be audited, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

    And the one a lot of people would say was dodging Healy Rae was found to be 👍


  • Options
    #63
    ChikiChiki
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,950 ✭✭✭ChikiChiki


    ChikiChiki wrote: »
    Maria Bailey and Alan Farrell again. Why the **** did that other thread get shut down. The mod excuse was the weakest I have ever seen.

    Credibility of the site has dropped a lot.

    Still waiting Beasty..... what was the real reason the thread was shut down. Not buying the weak excuse. Just as quick as Bailey was back active on social media, holding coffee mornings and declaring it was all in the past the thread was shut.


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    #64
    esioal
    Registered Users Posts: 6 ✭esioal


    Portsalon wrote: »
    The only one that surprises me in that list of minor vermin is Jerry Buttimer - and in fairness, his disallowed claim is pretty small.

    According to the independent :

    ‘It is understood that expenses claimed by Ms Mulherin and Mr Buttimer were deemed ineligible because they were ads for clinics in their offices’
    And
    ‘Mr Buttimer said: "They were vouched advertisements that were deemed to be partially inadmissible as I had included my clinic times. I fully repaid the sum."

    (Sorry I cant post the link to the independent article, I’m a boards reader rather than a poster most of the time so not allowed post links)

    Given the small amount I’d guess it was only 1 or 2 ads and it seems like they’d have been allowed if the clinic details we’d left out.

    I’d love to see the breakdown of what was disallowed for Bailey and Farrell - don’t think I’d trust the info if it came directly from them though, might have to see if the audit is made public at some point.


  • Options
    #65
    suicide_circus
    Registered Users Posts: 19,802 ✭✭✭✭suicide_circus


    Sheep breeder wrote: »
    And the one a lot of people would say was dodging Healy Rae was found to be 👍

    so was michael lowry


  • Options
    #66
    Pintman Paddy Losty
    Registered Users Posts: 1,913 ✭✭✭Pintman Paddy Losty


    ChikiChiki wrote: »
    Still waiting Beasty..... what was the real reason the thread was shut down. Not buying the weak excuse. Just as quick as Bailey was back active on social media, holding coffee mornings and declaring it was all in the past the thread was shut.

    Orders came down from the very top. Leo stepped out of important meetings with Boris Johnson to ring the bigwigs in boards HQ and demand that the Bailey thread is closed ASAP.

    Get a grip.


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    #67
    Annasopra
    Registered Users Posts: 40,797 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    riffmongous wrote: »
    The clean TDs and Senators


    So 4 out of 9 FGers were found to be dodgy, that's fairly shocking tbh

    4 out of 8. Lowry.... wrongly listed as FG

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • Options
    #68
    Annasopra
    Registered Users Posts: 40,797 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    banie01 wrote: »
    45% non compliance by the FG members ;)

    50%

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



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    #69
    JohnnyFlash
    Registered Users Posts: 7,055 ✭✭✭JohnnyFlash


    Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »
    Orders came down from the very top. Leo stepped out of important meetings with Boris Johnson to ring the bigwigs in boards HQ and demand that the Bailey thread is closed ASAP.

    Get a grip.

    That’s not the whole story, Pintman. There was an inexperienced group working the sleepy Sunday morning shift in the FG Social Media team located on the 6th floor of HQ. Suddenly the software they use to trawl the Internet issued a status red.

    Johnny Dogs had been reading the papers and ‘seen’ an article in The Sun. He had posted the article, and the post had already been thanked by Matt Barrett and Davy CC. This was bad, real bad. An emergency meeting of the National Committee was convened in a fashionable D4 cafe where an ashen-faced Leo was spotted not even touching his avocado toast and poached eggs.

    It was eventually decided to put Operation Jerry Buttimer into play. Something had to be done - we all know the current affairs forum is where some of Ireland’s great political minds meet, and its influence on public discourse is immeasurable. This could threaten the government, or, even worse, the party.

    Calls were made, promises made, and the thread was closed. It came at a great cost, but something had to be done. It’s the current affairs regulars for gods sake. These people have their finger on the pulse.


  • Options
    #70
    nc6000
    Registered Users Posts: 3,220 ✭✭✭nc6000


    NIMAN wrote: »
    Refund them?

    Isn't it time people got the heave-ho for filing dodgy claims?

    It sure is. If I was pulled up in work for submitting dodgy expenses like that I'd be out the door.


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    #71
    yaboya1
    Registered Users Posts: 4,610 ✭✭✭yaboya1


    Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »
    Orders came down from the very top. Leo stepped out of important meetings with Boris Johnson to ring the bigwigs in boards HQ and demand that the Bailey thread is closed ASAP.

    Get a grip.

    Haha.
    As if Leo would ever order anybody to do anything.
    A complete waste of space.


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    #72
    mariaalice
    Registered Users Posts: 12,361 ✭✭✭✭mariaalice


    It was for amounts ranging from a few hundred to four thousand a lot seem to be accounted for by not understanding the rules. I wouldn't be getting the pitchfork out yet.


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    #73
    nc6000
    Registered Users Posts: 3,220 ✭✭✭nc6000


    mariaalice wrote: »
    It was for amounts ranging from a few hundred to four thousand a lot seem to be accounted for by not understanding the rules. I wouldn't be getting the pitchfork out yet.

    Yes but look at the top three people who didn't understand the rules :

    TD Alan Farrell (FG) – €4,214.79
    TD Maria Bailey (FG) – €1,977.11
    Senator Lynn Ruane (Ind) – €978.81
    Senator Michelle Mulherin (FG) – €2,006.73
    Senator Colette Kelleher (Ind) – €245.85
    Senator Jerry Buttimer (FG) – €227.16.

    It's not like it's the first time they have either been caught out with expenses or been involved in some other scandal.


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    #74
    Snow Garden
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭Snow Garden


    nc6000 wrote: »
    Yes but look at the top three people who didn't understand the rules :

    TD Alan Farrell (FG) – €4,214.79
    TD Maria Bailey (FG) – €1,977.11
    Senator Lynn Ruane (Ind) – €978.81
    Senator Michelle Mulherin (FG) – €2,006.73
    Senator Colette Kelleher (Ind) – €245.85
    Senator Jerry Buttimer (FG) – €227.16.

    It's not like it's the first time they have either been caught out with expenses or been involved in some other scandal.

    That's right, I forgot that Mulherin was already caught for fraud for those calls to Kenya that she tried to expense.
    Michelle Mulherin TD has paid back a further €1,295 of the cost of a series of calls she made to Africa from her Dáil office between 2011 and 2013.

    The latest payment is on top of a €2,000 payment the Fine Gael deputy made in January for calls to Kenya, an Oireachtas spokeswoman confirmed.

    Fine Gael have quickly cemented their status as the fraud party.


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    #75
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    mariaalice wrote: »
    It was for amounts ranging from a few hundred to four thousand a lot seem to be accounted for by not understanding the rules. I wouldn't be getting the pitchfork out yet.

    Are these the expenses for this year only?
    How long have they been claiming expenses so how long have they been not understanding the rules?

    If they come out with the line “I didn’t understand the rules” then what other “rules” have they not understood whilst being in politics?


  • Options
    #76
    Portsalon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 702 ✭✭✭Portsalon


    "In a statement, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said that invoices for legitimate services carried out in 2016 were paid in 2017.

    However, he said the auditor had disallowed the expenses for the purposes of the 2017 calendar year.

    He said: "During the course of the audit, I expressed my disappointment that legitimate expenses incurred in the course of my duties as a member of Dáil Éireann were disallowed because the audit guidelines do not allow for customer credit periods, ie. 30 days over year end."

    https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2019/1010/1082442-politicians-hand-back-10-000-in-oireachtas-expenses/


  • Options
    #77
    Plumbthedepths
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,653 ✭✭✭✭Plumbthedepths


    Portsalon wrote: »
    "In a statement, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said that invoices for legitimate services carried out in 2016 were paid in 2017.

    However, he said the auditor had disallowed the expenses for the purposes of the 2017 calendar year.

    He said: "During the course of the audit, I expressed my disappointment that legitimate expenses incurred in the course of my duties as a member of Dáil Éireann were disallowed because the audit guidelines do not allow for customer credit periods, ie. 30 days over year end."

    https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2019/1010/1082442-politicians-hand-back-10-000-in-oireachtas-expenses/

    Have tbh can't attach any credibility to a lad that tried to claim for pre existing damage to his car in a court case that left him in a very bad light.


  • Options
    #78
    keano_afc
    Registered Users Posts: 8,711 ✭✭✭keano_afc


    c.p.w.g.w wrote: »
    Jaysus Ronan Mullins was clean...the ones who filed fraudulent claims should feel even worse

    Is there some reason why we should be surprised that Ronan Mullen was clean?


  • Options
    #79
    gordongekko
    Registered Users Posts: 5,301 ✭✭✭gordongekko


    riffmongous wrote: »
    The clean TDs and Senators

    Not often you hear that SF are clean


  • Options
    #80
    Snow Garden
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭Snow Garden


    I've heard this story on the news a few times today and yesterday and Maria Bailey always gets specifically name-checked. There is really no way she can run again in Dun Laoghaire without doing massive damage to FG.
    Farrell will run again and probably lose his seat.


  • Options
    #81
    James Brown
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,015 ✭✭✭✭James Brown


    Joeytheparrot wrote: »
    4 out of 8. Lowry.... wrongly listed as FG

    It it walks like a duck and commits fraud like a duck....


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    #82
    James Brown
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,015 ✭✭✭✭James Brown


    JohnnyFlash wrote: »
    That’s not the whole story, Pintman. There was an inexperienced group working the sleepy Sunday morning shift in the FG Social Media team located on the 6th floor of HQ. Suddenly the software they use to trawl the Internet issued a status red.

    Johnny Dogs had been reading the papers and ‘seen’ an article in The Sun. He had posted the article, and the post had already been thanked by Matt Barrett and Davy CC. This was bad, real bad. An emergency meeting of the National Committee was convened in a fashionable D4 cafe where an ashen-faced Leo was spotted not even touching his avocado toast and poached eggs.

    It was eventually decided to put Operation Jerry Buttimer into play. Something had to be done - we all know the current affairs forum is where some of Ireland’s great political minds meet, and its influence on public discourse is immeasurable. This could threaten the government, or, even worse, the party.

    Calls were made, promises made, and the thread was closed. It came at a great cost, but something had to be done. It’s the current affairs regulars for gods sake. These people have their finger on the pulse.

    Lads I would suggest folk ignore attempts to have the thread derailed and shut down by the contingent of blue brethren.
    Flag early, flag often.


  • Options
    #83
    BDI
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,005 ✭✭✭BDI


    Very high proportion of female tds in the list considering women arnt represented enough in public office.


  • Options
    #84
    Snow Garden
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭Snow Garden


    Lest we forget...

    The New Politics is the most ambitious programme for political reform since the 1930s. Fine
    Gael, the party that created the State and declared it a Republic, will build a New Republic in
    Ireland - where trust is restored in our democratic institutions and the concerns of the Citizen,
    rather than the elites, are placed firmly at the centre of government.
    .
    .
    A culture which tolerates cosy cartels and high costs in the
    private sector and ignores the need for radical reform in the public sector.
    .
    .
    Fine Gael’s New Politics tackles all of these weaknesses head-on and will restore people’s
    trust in the political process by delivering real, tangible change.


  • Options
    #85
    Snow Garden
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭Snow Garden


    When is Fine Gael going to reform the Seanad given they failed miserably to abolish it?
    These senators are costing us a fortune.


  • Options
    #86
    James Brown
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,015 ✭✭✭✭James Brown


    Snow Garden wrote: »
    Lest we forget...

    The New Politics is the most ambitious programme for political reform since the 1930s. Fine
    Gael, the party that created the State and declared it a Republic, will build a New Republic in
    Ireland - where trust is restored in our democratic institutions and the concerns of the Citizen,
    rather than the elites, are placed firmly at the centre of government.
    .
    .
    A culture which tolerates cosy cartels and high costs in the
    private sector and ignores the need for radical reform in the public sector.
    .
    .
    Fine Gael’s New Politics tackles all of these weaknesses head-on and will restore people’s
    trust in the political process by delivering real, tangible change.

    When they said 'we need a new way of doing business' I didn't think they meant pulling strokes. Basically we got 'The Sting 2', same cast and crew, similar plot but a slightly different scam on the tax payer.


  • Options
    #87
    SJW Lover
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 322 ✭✭SJW Lover


    JohnnyFlash wrote: »
    That’s not the whole story, Pintman. There was an inexperienced group working the sleepy Sunday morning shift in the FG Social Media team located on the 6th floor of HQ. Suddenly the software they use to trawl the Internet issued a status red.

    Johnny Dogs had been reading the papers and ‘seen’ an article in The Sun. He had posted the article, and the post had already been thanked by Matt Barrett and Davy CC. This was bad, real bad. An emergency meeting of the National Committee was convened in a fashionable D4 cafe where an ashen-faced Leo was spotted not even touching his avocado toast and poached eggs.

    It was eventually decided to put Operation Jerry Buttimer into play. Something had to be done - we all know the current affairs forum is where some of Ireland’s great political minds meet, and its influence on public discourse is immeasurable. This could threaten the government, or, even worse, the party.

    Calls were made, promises made, and the thread was closed. It came at a great cost, but something had to be done. It’s the current affairs regulars for gods sake. These people have their finger on the pulse.


    Every time i see you agreeing with your alter-ego Pintman Paddy Losty i always cringe a little. You think no one realises you are the same person?


  • Options
    #88
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    Portsalon wrote: »
    "In a statement, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said that invoices for legitimate services carried out in 2016 were paid in 2017.

    However, he said the auditor had disallowed the expenses for the purposes of the 2017 calendar year.

    He said: "During the course of the audit, I expressed my disappointment that legitimate expenses incurred in the course of my duties as a member of Dáil Éireann were disallowed because the audit guidelines do not allow for customer credit periods, ie. 30 days over year end."

    https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2019/1010/1082442-politicians-hand-back-10-000-in-oireachtas-expenses/


    So Alan Farrell had €4,214.79 in expenses in the last 30 day of the year?


    Which would imply an annual expenses account of €50,577.48 or thereabouts for Alan Farrell in 2016. This is over half of the basic salary of a TD (€93,599). Or, roughly the same amount in expenses claimed annually as take-home pay after tax. How an earth does he consider this acceptable?


  • Options
    #89
    Pintman Paddy Losty
    Registered Users Posts: 1,913 ✭✭✭Pintman Paddy Losty


    SJW Lover wrote: »
    Every time i see you agreeing with your alter-ego Pintman Paddy Losty i always cringe a little. You think no one realises you are the same person?

    Getting a bit sick of these accusations. I'm not Johnny. Stick to the topic my friend.


  • Options
    #90
    Pronto63
    Registered Users Posts: 363 ✭✭Pronto63


    Is there not a case to be made for those that had disallowed/fraudulent expense claims to be further audited.

    Like going through the last 3-5 years for those found to be fraudsters - sorry I meant to say those that don't understand the relevant expense policies and procedures.


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    #91
    Plumbthedepths
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,653 ✭✭✭✭Plumbthedepths


    Pronto63 wrote: »
    Is there not a case to be made for those that had disallowed/fraudulent expense claims to be further audited.

    Like going through the last 3-5 years for those found to be fraudsters - sorry I meant to say those that don't understand the relevant expense policies and procedures.

    Excellent idea.


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