Sir, – It seems to me that Judge Alan Mahon has missed the point in his recommendations when he looks for changes to the system of political contributions.
The reason for the corruption exposed in the tribunal is that the value of land increases substantially if it is rezoned from agricultural to residential. What we need now are recommendations to keep the value of land at the same level after rezoning. There would be no reason for corruption if this was the case and so it would be the final and best solution to the issue. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – By calling for the expulsion of Bertie Ahern and Pádraig Flynn from Fianna Fáil following the release of the report on the Mahon tribunal, Micheál Martin may think that he has “a lot done” by way of disassociating his party, in a clear damage limitation measure, from the implications of the resulting findings. Mr Martin has “more to do”: he should resign as party leader.
This is not just a problem for certain individuals within Fianna Fáil; the report ought to be seen as a damning criticism of the party itself as an organisation. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – In all the fall-out from the Mahon tribunal, there is no mention (as far as I’m aware) of the role of the Progressive Democrat in propping up various Fianna Fáil administrations. Have any of them been interviewed? Surely they have many serious questions to answer? – Is mise,
Sir, – A soccer feature about Lionel Messi (Sport, March 9th) was headlined with “Just when you think it can’t get any better – it does”. I’m thinking the same thing reading Martyn Turner’s “Where’s Bertie?” cartoon (March 23rd). – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Bertie Ahern’s article pleading innocence of wrongdoing (Opinion, March 26th) is composed of 773 words. It contains the word “I” 51 times and “me/my/myself” a total of 22 times. Is this a record? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I found it ironic to hear Labour Minister Joan Burton over the weekend saying that the basic rules of planning were contravened due to the corruption which permeated the various levels of the process.
Why then did Labour support Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan’s blocking of the independent review into planning irregularities in Dublin and Cork city councils and Meath, Galway, Cork and Carlow county councils less than 12 months ago? This review had been set up by the former minister of the environment John Gormley and was about to begin investigating.
Surely the Mahon tribunal should be the start of cleaning up planning and politics? The Mahon report is a damning indictment of the culture of corruption and entitlement that has poisoned politics in this State for so long.
I believe it would beggar belief if this Government did not allow this independent review to proceed. The interests of this country will surely have to be placed before the interests of any political party? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – So Bertie Ahern is deeply wounded (Opinion, March 26th)? Perhaps he should ask us, the Irish people, how we feel about this tawdry mess. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – If the expulsion of Desmond O’Malley from Fianna Fáil led to 20 years of “basic ethical standards” from the Progressive Democrats (March 24th), I dread to think what would have happened with the expulsion of Bertie Ahern. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – If Fianna Fáil members are considering re-branding the party to present a new image, I suggest they consult L’Oreal (because they are worth it) or Gillette (the best a man can get). If they don’t get approval to use these, they will just have to go with “Fianna Fáil – the best politicians that money can buy!” – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Could the Government kill two birds with the one stone? Make a deal with the people: a white-collar prosecution for every €100,000 in household charges paid. People will be queuing up to pay, and we’ve no shortage of crooks. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Enda Kenny has referred the Mahon report to the Garda, the Revenue, and the Standards in Public Office Commission. If garlic was involved I’m certain there would be much more chance of action! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – In his lament on his treatment at the hands of the Mahon tribunal, Bertie Ahern says that he “served as taoiseach for almost 10 years” (Opinion, March 26th). In fact, he served in the post for almost 11 years, from June 26th, 1997 to May 7th, 2008.
How ironic that he should make such an extraordinary error in a column devoted to the “wrong and inaccurate” findings of the tribunal.
During his time as Minister for Finance, Mr Ahern infamously didn’t have any bank accounts. It seems that during his tenure as taoiseach, he didn’t have any calendars. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – May I please ask if all those who were proven to have lied to the tribunal while under oath now face charges of perjury? Maybe there is hope for this wonderful country still. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Thank you for the “Snapshot: Fianna Fáil Cabinet 1989” (Home News, March 24th).
The offensive item has already been pinned to the dart board in our garage and the first family member or friend to score five successive direct hits will receive a brown paper bag containing a rip-off Charvet T-shirt bearing that immortal and epochal exchange: “Will he give us a receipt?” “Will he ****!” – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Politicians, (and police) should be well paid, with secure pensions. This should protect them (and us) from (their) corruption. Where they nevertheless fail, these pensions should be forfeited. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Can we learn from the Mahon tribunal? As long as the political system is funded by the private sector we run the risk of Mahon 2 in the future.
Are we willing to fund democracy out of the public purse? Now there is a question that we must all ask ourselves. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Micheál Martin is a decent man. He should give his party a decent burial. There is no longer any place or purpose for Fianna Fáil in Irish politics. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The 19th-century Irish historian, WEH Lecky seems to have foreseen our country’s present economic woes and the findings of the Mahon tribunal – but then perhaps the two are not entirely unconnected.
In 1859 he noted, “The great evils of Ireland are mendicity and mendacity”. Spot on! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Thanks to The Irish Times on Saturday for giving Fintan O’Toole, Breda O’Brien and Stephen Collins acres of space to scold us all for our bad behaviour over the past couple of decades. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Regarding your aerial photograph (March 23rd) showing the locations of the land deals investigated by the Mahon Tribunal, Quarryvale (no 10) is not situated south of the M50 near the Dublin Mountains, but south of the M4 and west of the M50.
Believe me, I know – I lived there. Perhaps, given what has come out in the report, my family might apply to Dublin County Council for a refund (with interest) on the fee for the planning application we lodged and which was refused. We obviously went about it the wrong way! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While reading the findings of the Mahon report (Home News, March 24th) CJ Haughey’s unctuous parroting of Othello “I have done the state some service” came to mind. A terser and more fitting envoi for him and all those unfavourably named by the tribunal would be “I have done the State”. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – One by one we have seen the pillars of our society pulled down and fall into disrepute. The church, banks, the public service, builders and developers and now the politicians, tarnished beyond recovery, leaving a moral and ethical vacuum for our young.
Where will our younger generations find the exemplars that can provide leadership and hope for their future? Perhaps all is not lost, as the bedrock on which this country was built is still intact – and that is our senior citizens.
Those who have watched in silence as their legacy is ripped asunder and who continue to pay the price, still have a voice. It is time for them to be heard once again. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – For me, Fianna Fáil was a way I could continue my national service after I left the Defence Forces.
I knew nothing of politics but read that Fianna Fáil was a party that supposedly represented everyone on this island, not just the working classes or the rich or the middle classes. The idea being that if you could unite all the people regardless of background to create a strong nation built on solid social principles such as equality, liberty and opportunity, that not only would the economic benefits flow from that, but so too would the success of Ireland and its people. I liked that idea.
For that idea to succeed you need to promote values, not just policy. The minute we could no longer speak credibly about values, that’s when that vision was lost and that rot began in the 1980s.
There are those who say FF cannot change: honestly, if I felt that, I would leave myself. The hammering FF got in last year’s election showed what kind of politics people do not want and FF came to represent all of it. That, coupled with the publication of the Mahon report, has shown how substantial the level of corruption was at all levels of the organisation and admittedly it’s hard to imagine how any change is possible or why people remain.
That said, both events have given a remarkable opportunity to FF to clean up its act and reorganise based on sound principles, high moral standards, new radical but constructive ideas, new blood and most importantly a chance to begin to put country before party first.
I don’t subscribe to the idea that the Mahon report will blow over or that it will be forgotten about in time. I hope the last 14 years of FF government will never be forgotten, but I expect they won’t and rightly so. Whatever it achieved was made null and void as far as the Irish people were concerned by the bad ethical and economic practices and policies that were driven purely by the desire to win elections through the promotion of auction politics. That needs to be remembered always.
Politics became about the result over everything else and that was wrong and although every party partook, we introduced it and we are responsible for that.
Does the past of FF bother me? Yes, absolutely. It always will, unfortunately. Although I had no part in decisions that were made, as a member of three years and at 25 years of age, I am a member of a party that made those decisions and so will always be associated with them.
All I can do as a member is remember those mistakes and understand why and how those mistakes were made to hopefully prevent them from happening again. But I believe in what FF originally stood for and have faith it can start again to try to bring about an Ireland that is built on co-operation and selflessness that every Irish man, woman and child can be proud of. A pride that is not attributed to an individual or party but a people and their collective efforts to bring about a better society and country.
It is hard to see that now amidst the fallout from the past two decades, but I look forward to a time – hopefully soon – when FF members knocking on your door actually believe in why they are standing there rather than in support of a particular individual. In the end, the cause of a nation is always greater than that of individuals. – Yours, etc,