Luke Ming Flanagan and Fine Gael: the plot thickens

[ZeroWedge]

Ming is one of the straightest talking TDs we've ever had. He can be a little abrasive but I'll take that any day over scum like Phil Hogan.

We need more people like Ming in the Dail, to fight against the Phil Hogans who would enslave our entire country to foreign corporations.

[fluffybiscuits]

A lot of people can't afford a suit. Dotty to make them a requirement for public representatives in the Dail.

A clear sign that they are paid too much.

+1

Suits are only and should only be for extra special occasions, work is not a special occasion! Suits to me are a sign of elitism...

[Baron von Biffo]

Yeah cos ramping up their pay to ridiculous amounts for the last 20 years has clearly attracted a Dail of Einstein-level geniuses of godlike foresight and competence.

Let's face it, I could pick 166 randomers out of the population to replace those monkeys and the collective IQ of Dail would soar. Far from being "representative" of the best aspects of Irishness our corrupt political system has resulted in the Dail being a pure representation of all the very worst and self-destructive aspects of Irish society.

You love trying to defend the status quo Baron but it really is a waste of your time. The ancien regime has been exposed, the emperor has no clothes, and only the most drooling credulous peasants still actually believe any of those clowns in Kildare St have a damn clue about anything, are competent and qualified to lead the country forward, or have any interest other than lining their own pockets.

You do more for the status quo than I ever will because you're a slave to your anger. Those who wanted the failed policies of the last government to continue beyond the GE successfully stirred up that blind anger. They whipped up the cretinous ABFF frenzy that blotted out all rational thought. And when the votes were counted, we discovered that we had voted for what we were angry about.

I don't entertain any great expectation that the next GE will be much different. It's much easier to emote than to think.

Shower of <mod> and nothing else.

Your constant gratuitous attacks on travellers are really very distasteful.

[homer]

While dress is becoming more informal, I think An Oireachtas should be at least "smart casual".

Pls dont ask me to define that - my daughters tell me when. as I often do, I fall below that standard

[C. Flower]

So what are we meant to be not looking at while we think about Ming ?

[C. Flower]

I was quite wrong to ignore this.

Behind the headlines, the matter is a serious one. The Ceann Comhairle did not take a vote on the Personal Insolvency Bill ( a very unsatisfactory bill that leaves people at the whim of the banks), and then, according to John Halligan TD (Waterford, Independent), told him to "Go away" when he asked him in the Dail corridor why no vote was taken.

After all the talk of "respect for the Daíl" and t-shirts, it seems that it is Sean Barrett that has the questions to answer.

Last night Mr Halligan released the text of a letter which he sent this week to the Clerk of the Dáil, Kieran Coughlan, in response to correspondence dated July 19th.
In the letter he says he was appalled at the manner in which the Ceann Comhairle handled the debate on the Second Stage of the Personal Insolvency Bill.
“After the close of business, I approached the Ceann Comhairle in the corridor to query why he had not called a vote and was told to ‘go away’. When I continued to ask why a vote had not been forthcoming, the Ceann Comhairle held up his hand and again told me to ‘go away’, a reaction I found highly inappropriate and offensive from a constitutional office holder.”
Mr Halligan added that he was incredulous that his request for information from the Ceann Comhairle was construed as behaviour which warranted an apology to the Dáil and Mr Barrett.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...mpaign=digests

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ha...8politician%29

[Baron von Biffo]

I was quite wrong to ignore this.

Behind the headlines, the matter is a serious one. The Ceann Comhairle did not take a vote on the Personal Insolvency Bill ( a very unsatisfactory bill that leaves people at the whim of the banks), and then, according to John Halligan TD (Waterford, Independent), told him to "Go away" when he asked him in the Dail corridor why no vote was taken.

After all the talk of "respect for the Daíl" and t-shirts, it seems that it is Sean Barrett that has the questions to answer.


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...mpaign=digests

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ha...8politician%29

It's always good to hear both sides. We only have Halligan's version of events so we don't know the whole story.

Ming's statement says there was a vote but despite the fact that this was "the most important piece of legislation to go before the Dáil in my short time as a member", the opposition wasn't paying attention and by the time they woke up enough to ask for a walk-through vote the Dail had moved on to other business.

[C. Flower]

It's always good to hear both sides. We only have Halligan's version of events so we don't know the whole story.

Ming's statement says there was a vote but despite the fact that this was "the most important piece of legislation to go before the Dáil in my short time as a member", the opposition wasn't paying attention and by the time they woke up enough to ask for a walk-through vote the Dail had moved on to other business.

Thanks. That is nice and clear.

I wasn't able to locate John Halligan's letter as he doesn't seem to have a website.

I agree that it behoves the Opposition to keep their eye on the ball during debates. The CC sounds like a total b., but was acting within his remit.

The Tech Group are saying this was not very nice. Indeed, it was not, but whoever said politics was a clean business?

[PaddyJoe]

Looks like this is the end of the line for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges investigation into Ming and Halligan:

Last night, the Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe, who is also a member of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, accepted there was little it could do by way of sanction. He said there was no standing order that covered situations that occurred outside the Dáil chamber.

“Had there been sanctions available to us they would have been enforced. Because there is no standing order for situations like this, there is very little we can do.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...324429069.html

[MPB]

Looks like this is the end of the line for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges investigation into Ming and Halligan:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...324429069.html

Story of this Govts life.