President Michael D Higgins’ €3,000 a night hotel stays

Muahahaha · 09-08-2018 12:49pm

Taytoland wrote: »

Sean Gallagher should have been President. Higgins was a terrible choice.

Sean "If that man gave me an envelope" Gallagher.

No thanks, I think we have had enough corruption in Ireland without electing more of it.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 12:49pm

Taytoland wrote:

Sean Gallagher should have been President. Higgins was a terrible choice.

That's such an obvious trolling attempt. Try harder.

Taytoland · 09-08-2018 12:52pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Taytoland wrote:

Sean Gallagher should have been President. Higgins was a terrible choice.

That's such an obvious trolling attempt. Try harder.

He finished 2nd and had lots of support. I just think he would have been better. The job for Higgins is a retirement home. Ireland needs a younger energetic President who will put effort into the job.

Berserker · 09-08-2018 12:53pm

Don't have much time for Michael D. but this is a non-story. Think €3K is on the cheaper side for high class accommodation in Switzerland to be honest.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 12:54pm

Taytoland wrote:

He finished 2nd and had lots of support. I just think he would have been better. The job for Higgins is a retirement home. Ireland needs a younger energetic President who will put effort into the job.

What effort? It's a ceremonial position that requires nothing more than not being a corpse.

Taytoland · 09-08-2018 12:58pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Taytoland wrote:

He finished 2nd and had lots of support. I just think he would have been better. The job for Higgins is a retirement home. Ireland needs a younger energetic President who will put effort into the job.

What effort? It's a ceremonial position that requires nothing more than not being a corpse.

It's not good enough approaching it as such. They need to give opinions and try to give advice to the current government of the day and just overall do a better job. It needs an overhaul.

Turnipman · 09-08-2018 12:59pm

mariaalice wrote: »

I doubt he personally books his own hotel room. The person complaining has more of a complaint with the department of foreign affairs and the host country than anything to do with the president.

Correct. The DFA always insists on the best room in the best hotel being booked for Uachtaráin na hEireann.

The logic for this is that it would be very unseemly if they booked His Nibs into a "superior" room in a swanky hotel only to discover that the likes of Mick Smurfit, Conor McGregor (perish the thought!) or the FAI's John Delaney was staying in the "Presidential Suite" of the same hotel!

Dravokivich · 09-08-2018 1:01pm

RobertKK wrote: »

waiting lists to have health conditions treated now at the 1 million mark

Wait... 1/5 of the population are on hospital waiting lists?

Yer Da sells Avon · 09-08-2018 1:03pm

Taytoland wrote: »

It's not good enough approaching it as such.

Just as well he doesn't approach it like that.

Taytoland wrote:

They need to give opinions and try to give advice to the current government of the day and just overall do a better job. It needs an overhaul.

As far as giving opinions is concerned, Michael D. has done a great job - much to the dismay of those who oppose social justice.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:03pm

Taytoland wrote:

It's not good enough approaching it as such. They need to give opinions and try to give advice to the current government of the day and just overall do a better job. It needs an overhaul.

It's a non executive position, personally I feel it's a waste of resources and should be abolished not overhauled.

Taytoland · 09-08-2018 1:05pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Taytoland wrote:

It's not good enough approaching it as such. They need to give opinions and try to give advice to the current government of the day and just overall do a better job. It needs an overhaul.

It's a non executive position, personally I feel it's a waste of resources and should be abolished not overhauled.

I said that the other day but seemingly most want to keep it, so maybe reform is needed in some form. Just don't understand what is the point of electing someone to something which carries no power?

Timberrrrrrrr · 09-08-2018 1:06pm

RobertKK wrote: »

I looked up 5 star hotels in Geneva and one could pay a small fraction of the price.
If people think that all 5 star hotels in Geneva are €3,000 a night then they need to look it up. A lot around the €400 a night, some much cheaper and other more expensive, but not anywhere near the price of where Michael D stayed.

Can you show us where it states he definitely stayed in one of these suites? All i see is he stayed in a suite in a hotel where they can cost up to €3000 per night not that he stayed in one.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-08-2018 1:08pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

Wait... 1/5 of the population are on hospital waiting lists?

Yes. Almost a million waiting for medical procedures (Irish Times).

DONTMATTER · 09-08-2018 1:09pm

It's amazing the difference in reaction to this story to the poor family who had to sleep in a garda station last night. €3,000 a night out of taxpayers money, ah not a problem, work away there. A family falling on desperate times, the mother is a scam artist, looking for free houses and taking money from the tax payers.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:09pm

Taytoland wrote:

I said that the other day but seemingly most want to keep it, so maybe reform is needed in some form. Just don't understand what is the point of electing someone to something which carries no power?

It would be nice to see a referendum on the position of President. Abolish or keep. Then we would know if people truly want it.

RobertKK · 09-08-2018 1:09pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

Wait... 1/5 of the population are on hospital waiting lists?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/national-scandal-almost-one-million-patients-are-on-health-service-waiting-lists-37194846.html

Almost one million people are on health service waiting lists, according to shocking new figures.
The compilation of waiting lists figures across the HSE shows nearly a fifth of the population is currently enduring an agonising wait for a health service appointment.

Turnipman · 09-08-2018 1:11pm

DONTMATTER wrote: »

It's amazing the difference in reaction to this story to the poor family who had to sleep in a garda station last night. €3,000 a night out of taxpayers money, ah not a problem, work away there. A family falling on desperate times, the mother is a scam artist, looking for free houses and taking money from the tax payers.

Have you managed to dig up the identity of the father(s) of her six children yet or were you much too busy wringing your hands about her tragic plight?

DONTMATTER · 09-08-2018 1:12pm

Turnipman wrote: »

Have you managed to dig up the identity of the father(s) of her six children yet or were you much too busy wringing your hands about her tragic plight?

What are you talking about?

Dravokivich · 09-08-2018 1:16pm

Luka Broad Bassist wrote: »

Yes. Almost a million waiting for medical procedures (Irish Times).

RobertKK wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/national-scandal-almost-one-million-patients-are-on-health-service-waiting-lists-37194846.html

Cheers, but if those are right, we've bigger problems than our health service. Who can expect such high a high amount of a population to be seen to?

AllForIt · 09-08-2018 1:16pm

God you'd swear it was €30,000 per night the way some ppl are talking.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:19pm

AllForIt wrote:

God you'd swear it was â‚¬30,000 per night the way some ppl are talking.

It's well over a months wages for a lot of people. Or if you want to be frivolous a week in the Sun for a family of 4 including spending money.

Church on Tuesday · 09-08-2018 1:20pm

I guess this raises the question of do we need a president at all, and the answer really is no.

Now we've got a multi millionaire businessman who has thrown his hat in the ring for the upcoming presidential election, for an office that has no constitutional power.

Three grand a night hotel stays is fairly obscene for a 'president' that has little to no power, but you can be sure that when members of the government go on there junkets to far flung places to promote 'brand Ireland' around Paddy's Day, the figure would be much of the same.

Having a president is simply a carry over the late forties when Ireland was declared a Republic and to visually rubber stamp that process allowances for a president was made, It's purely window dressing. That's not to take away the good work done by Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese and Michael D hasn't let us down, but essentially it's an office that is fairly redundant and costs the taxpayer.

Bobeagleburger · 09-08-2018 1:23pm

He's our president, and represents our country well when abroad.

Let me guess, the candidate who's rumbling on about this will go air bnb if he gets in..

Typical independent rag story

nim1bdeh38l2cw · 09-08-2018 1:25pm

Would you prefer he stays in a hostel?

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:26pm

RoboKlopp wrote:

Let me guess, the candidate who's rumbling on about this will go air bnb if he gets in..

Did you miss the bit where it said FORMER presidential candidate? He's not running. I find it's helpful to read an article or opening piece before commenting for what should be obvious reasons.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-08-2018 1:28pm

Of greater relevance is that Higgins visited Geneva to give a keynote address at an International Labor Organization conference. In his speech, Higgins relentlessly attacked the globalisation of trade and finance. One might note that these are the very forces that have brought enormous prosperity to Ireland since the 1980s. Taxing the benefits of globalization enables Higgins to live the champagne socialist high life in Áras an Uachtaráin.

Maybe Higgins's supporters can explain how paying for the president's luxurious jaunt to Switzerland to deliver diatribes against globalization helps to "represent" the Irish people, especially the hundreds of thousands employed in the country by multinational companies?

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:29pm

Donald Bewildered Farmyard wrote:

Would you prefer he stays in a hostel?

Curious what makes him better than any citizen that we are required to pay for him and his entourage to stay in luxurious surroundings?

dirtyden · 09-08-2018 1:31pm

AllForIt wrote: »

God you'd swear it was €30,000 per night the way some ppl are talking.

People keep saying this is normal for Geneva, it is not. I occasionally travel to Geneva for work, it’s an expensive city but he could have found secure 5 star accommodation for much less than this, perhaps without being on the lake with an associated Michelin star restaurant.

Let’s not pretend this is reasonable. Spending at a minimum of over 6k on a trip that was only an ego boost for Higgins is not reasonable.

The presidency is not a blank cheque for Higgins to advertise his ‘socialist’ credentials and massage his ego (as with his trip to Castro’s funeral).

DickSwiveller Returns · 09-08-2018 1:31pm

AllForIt wrote: »

God you'd swear it was €30,000 per night the way some ppl are talking.

It's a lot of money to people who don't earn much.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-08-2018 1:33pm

seamus wrote: »

Sure, let's just stick him into a shared dorm in a hostel then, what's the worst that can happen?

Donald Bewildered Farmyard wrote: »

Would you prefer he stays in a hostel?

Ah, the old fallacy of false dichotomy. Does it really need to be pointed out that a €3,000 luxury suite and a room in a hostel are not the only possible choices here?

ohnonotgmail · 09-08-2018 1:37pm

Luka Broad Bassist wrote: »

Of greater relevance is that Higgins visited Geneva to give a keynote address at an International Labor Organization conference. In his speech, Higgins relentlessly attacked the globalisation of trade and finance. One might note that these are the very forces that have brought enormous prosperity to Ireland since the 1980s. Taxing the benefits of globalization enables Higgins to live the champagne socialist high life in Áras an Uachtaráin.

Maybe Higgins's supporters can explain how paying for the president's luxurious jaunt to Switzerland to deliver diatribes against globalization helps to "represent" the Irish people, especially the hundreds of thousands employed in the country by multinational companies?

the same forces that led to a crash in 2008 that resulted in the country borrowing 10's of billions of euros? Swings and roundabouts.

seamus · 09-08-2018 1:40pm

Luka Broad Bassist wrote: »

Ah, the old fallacy of false dichotomy. Does it really need to be pointed out that a €3,000 luxury suite and a room in a hostel are not the only possible choices here?

It's actually Reductio ad absurdum.

No matter what price you pay for a hotel room, ultimately someone will complain that he could have downsized and paid less.

Taking into account all of the needs of the presidential office, such as the need for security, and even frivilous things like prestige, can you point out why the hotel room that the President stayed in was above what was required, and can you provide a more suitable, and cheaper, alternative that meets all of these needs?

Since you seem very sure that he actually stayed in a €3,000 hotel room and that he paid too much, I can only assume that you have intimate knowledge of the entire trip and can therefore tell us all what should have been done.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:41pm

The state rents a residence for the Irish ambassador in Geneva at a cost of 134,000 to the taxpayer. Surely it has a spare room or two at that price point.

ohnonotgmail · 09-08-2018 1:43pm

So we dont have any evidence that he did actually spend a night in a 3,000 a night suite?

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-08-2018 1:43pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the same forces that led to a crash in 2008 that resulted in the country borrowing 10's of billions of euros? Swings and roundabouts.

Many countries that have benefited from globalization did not experience a crash in 2008, ergo globalization itself did not cause the crash. The issues facing Ireland in 2008 stemmed mostly from a hugely inflated domestic property bubble.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:46pm

ohnonotgmail wrote:

So we dont have any evidence that he did actually spend a night in a 3,000 a night suite?

Whatever the cost we can be fairly sure he didn't pay it .

Timberrrrrrrr · 09-08-2018 1:48pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Whatever the cost we can be fairly sure he didn't pay it .

He would have paid for some of it.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:50pm

Timberrrrrrrr wrote:

He would have paid for some of it.

What maybe 10% and the taxpayer paying the rest?

ohnonotgmail · 09-08-2018 1:50pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Whatever the cost we can be fairly sure he didn't pay it .

i'm sure he didnt pay it personally. Why should he, he was there as the president of ireland. We dont know who actually did it. It could have been the DFA or it could have been the hosts. The article is a load of hot air by a disgruntled man.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-08-2018 1:54pm

seamus wrote: »

Taking into account all of the needs of the presidential office, such as the need for security, and even frivilous things like prestige, can you point out why the hotel room that the President stayed in was above what was required, and can you provide a more suitable, and cheaper, alternative that meets all of these needs?

Similarly, you seem quite sure than only a €3,000-per-night suite could have provided the security and prestige that the president requires. Are you absolutely certain that adequate levels of security and comfort could not have been provided for less?

I am questioning the entire purpose and cost of the president's trip to Switzerland, undertaken so that he could deliver a keynote address to a conference criticizing globalization and capitalism. Of what benefit was this undertaking to the Irish people? Why should the taxpayer be forking out lots of money so that Higgins can jet around the world airing socialist views that I'm fairly certain the majority of the population do not endorse?

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 1:55pm

ohnonotgmail wrote:

i'm sure he didnt pay it personally. Why should he, he was there as the president of ireland. We dont know who actually did it. It could have been the DFA or it could have been the hosts. The article is a load of hot air by a disgruntled man.

Whether the article is from a disgruntled man or not is irrelevant. If taxpayers money is being spent it should be subject to FOI. If it's M Higgins own money I don't give a flying f..... however if it's my taxes that's a different matter.

ohnonotgmail · 09-08-2018 2:01pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Whether the article is from a disgruntled man or not is irrelevant. If taxpayers money is being spent it should be subject to FOI. If it's M Higgins own money I don't give a flying f..... however if it's my taxes that's a different matter.

the presidents office is exempt from FOI. The article has no substance.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 2:03pm

ohnonotgmail wrote:

the presidents office is exempt from FOI. The article has no substance.

It should be. It's taxpayers money. As for the article plenty of substance. The President speaking out against a system that in part contributes to the tax take that allows him further his ego.

ohnonotgmail · 09-08-2018 2:04pm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

It should be. It's taxpayers money. As for the article plenty of substance. The President speaking out against a system that in part contributes to the tax take that allows him further his ego.

the allegation is that he spent a night in a €3000 suite. There is no substance to that allegation.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-08-2018 2:06pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

the presidents office is exempt from FOI.

The whole point of the article is to argue that it shouldn't be exempt.

Why should Higgins's office not be accountable for the taxpayers' money it spends?

Of course Higgins wasn't spending personal funds. This is the same man who used the government jet to fly from Dublin to Kerry to attend a concert, at a cost to the taxpayer of over €11,000. He didn't pay out of his own pocket for that little jaunt either.

ohnonotgmail · 09-08-2018 2:08pm

Luka Broad Bassist wrote: »

The whole point of the article is to argue that it shouldn't be exempt.

Why should Higgins's office not be accountable for the taxpayers' money it spends?

Of course Higgins wasn't spending personal funds. This is the same man who used the government jet to fly from Dublin to Kerry to attend a concert, at a cost to the taxpayer of over €11,000. He didn't pay out of his own pocket for that little jaunt either.

You wouldnt get that from reading this thread. It is all about the €3000 a night hotel suite. Craughwell is a bitter little man who is best ignored. I'm disappointed the independent ran the article. If they really wanted to write an article about the president's office being exempt from FOI they should have done just that, not sink to the level of the Daily Mail.

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 2:10pm

ohnonotgmail wrote:

the allegation is that he spent a night in a â‚¬3000 suite. There is no substance to that allegation.

There was no allegation in the article. Maybe read it. Rooms cost up to 3k a night. Craughwell has called for the office of President to be subject to FOI. I fully agree with him as a taxpayer whose money is being used to massage Higgins ego.

Beechwoodspark · 09-08-2018 2:11pm

Great that Mickey d is finally be exposed. Parasite and has been for a very very long time. Champagne socialist to the core.

No doubt he’d call us **** for even raising this, in his embarrassing fake posh accent

Hitman3000 · 09-08-2018 2:14pm

Beechwoodspark wrote:

Great that Mickey d is finally be exposed. Parasite and has been for a very very long time. Champagne socialist to the core.

He was and probably still is a member of Labour. They were all exposed in the last several years. Great at socialism once someone else pays.

BailMeOut · 09-08-2018 2:14pm

it says nowhere in this where they Ireland actually paid this room rate. I'd expect when Michael D arrives at any hotel anywhere the hotel will put him in one of their better rooms regardless what was booked or paid for. This stupid articles in this rag is just click bait.

President Michael D Higgins’ €3,000 a night hotel stays

Comments