Healy-Rae won TV show after 3,600 calls from Dáil phone

[Eamonnca1]

I am amazed how the masses ( and some of the more savvy posters here) get so vexed about this kind of thing. It might be considered petty theft and anyone with a sense of right or wrong knows which side of the fence it falls on but in the grand scheme of things this is absolutely nought. 

The timing is bizarre and I cant help but think that someone somewhere ( probably in a french or german bank) is staging some major fecking heist on the Irish people while they are distracted by this nonsense . How many bondholders got their money back while Ireland ranted about O'Donoghue . It is smoke and mirrors ( again).

Ah, the "sure there's bigger thieves about" defence.

Next: "He fixshed de road!"

[bcarrier]

Maybe you will get this Eamonn |:
Healy-Rae Phone Bill   €                2,600
Irish Bank bailout       €  70,000,000,000

[Eamonnca1]

I see you and I raise you:

Hitler: millions dead.
Jeffrey Dahmer: 17 dead.

Does that mean there's nothing wrong with what Jeffrey Dahmer did because there's someone who did something worse?

[bcarrier]

I had said:

It might be considered petty theft and anyone with a sense of right or wrong knows which side of the fence it falls on

so dont know what your problem is.

My argument is that this is noise which does distract from much bigger issues.

[Eamonnca1]

The fact that EU 3,600 can be considered "petty theft" says it all.

[Kerry Mike]

MHR sent me a private message recently on facebook and said they would be around filling potholes that weekend if I had any to fill. The fact I live in Dublin was a bit of a problem though. (I made that up just in case anyone was thinking of ringing Joe Duffy !!) but I have traded some FB messages with him on serious issues I see in Kerry and elsewhere and in fairness he does reply and he uses FB alot to get his day to day activities accross.

Only right to get this money paid back ASAP and put this to bed far too much of this carry on with politicians in this country with no accountability , but 3 days in the news is overkill but thats the media, love to deflect from the real issues of the day hardly a peep out of anyone with the extreme wages paid to NTMA and NAMA staff announced today, and then the FF buckos have the cheek to give out about them, they set the f**king things up !!

[Bogball XV]

While there are no detailed records of any calls made from particular extensions assigned to either Members or their staff in Leinster House

There are a couple of things that annoy me about this 'story'.

1. He's now decided to pay up, who can say that other politicians who knew him weren't calling up to vote for him either for the laugh or because they knew him or whatever, i accept that the majority were probably made by JHR (well, by his staff on his behalf), but given the available evidence nobody can say definitively one way or the other.  It could have been a cunning plot to discredit him by political rivals in FG or FF South Kerry, it could have been The Bull himself!!

2. Why is this coming up now, over 3 yrs after the letter to JHR, why are/were they talking about investigating it yesterday and not 3 yrs ago - why do things only happen in this country after a f**king newspaper headline (see Enda's reaction to most Primetime 'exposes' for example, and in fairness he's only carrying on the good work of the previous few administrations).

3. Why were these numbers even allowed to be called from Leinster House?  What is the Leinster House annual telephone expenditure I wonder and how much is expended in total on premium lines?

[orangeman]

New details about the secret agreements that ensured Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae supported the last Government have been uncovered by RTÉ News.

Tonight's The Week in Politics programme will reveal just what was promised to the two Independent TDs by former Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern when he set about forming a Government in 2007.

Mr Healy-Rae and Mr Lowry, the current Independent Tipperary North TD, will also speak on the programme, which will be broadcast at 11.05pm.

Mr Ahern's agreement with Mr Healy-Rae had an emphasis on roads.

It detailed the projected spending of almost €71m on 26 Kerry roads over five years. The abrupt ending of the Government and the economic crisis meant not all of it was delivered.

Building work on Kenmare Hospital was also listed as a priority in the Healy-Rae agreement.

Mr Lowry's deal had more than a dozen pledges on health, including the development of a "surgery centre of excellence" at Nenagh Hospital.

School buildings, care centres for the elderly and a public swimming pool in Roscrea were also among the more than 40 local priorities set out in the agreement.

His agreement also dealt with road improvements, including a €2m link road in Thurles.

The deals guaranteed the Independents access to the Taoiseach and his Ministers. They were told about matters that concerned them at the same time as Government Ministers and TDs.

A senior civil servant in the Taoiseach's office was their "contact point" on a daily basis and the Government promised them speaking time in the Dáil.

This is the first time the deals have been seen outside political circles.

Former Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt described parts of the deals done with the Independents as "unsavoury".