Cllr Keith Martin
1:57 PM
0
In the early 1990s when I didn't have any money I had two bank accounts.At the same time Bertie Ahern had a load of money and no bank accounts.
Ironic or what?
Showing posts with label bertie ahern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bertie ahern. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2007
isn't it ironic?
In the early 1990s when I didn't have any money I had two bank accounts.At the same time Bertie Ahern had a load of money and no bank accounts.
Ironic or what?
Irish loose eurovision
Cllr Keith Martin
1:24 PM
0
News has just reached us that Ireland have lost in Helsinki. Out-fought on every front our Dervish forces were forced into full retreat and ultimately defeated.Their commander John Walters has been captured and will be answering for War Crimes at the Hague later in the year while the Dervish have been interned to await execution at the hands of the victors.
According to the Government Press office Serbia's Marija Serifovic will be flying into Dublin later today to accept our nation's unconditional surrender which will take place on the deck of the LE Eithne in Dublin Bay.
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has urged the population to "co-operate with our new Serbian Overlords."
Monday, April 9, 2007
Did Bertie pay his UK Tax liability?
Cllr Keith Martin
1:07 PM
2
Bertie received monies in the UK from businessmen. Bertie says he did nothing wrong and that he has no tax liability in Ireland as the monies were received in the UK.
In 1994 Bertie received a payment in the form of a "whip-round" "gift" of €8,000 from 25 businessmen in Manchester. As he received this outside of the country he says he did not need to pay tax on it but did he pay the UK Revenue Commissioners their due?
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Bertie before the tribunal
Cllr Keith Martin
10:03 AM
0
Bertie is to be a witness before the Mahon Tribunal thus continuing a long tradition of FF Taoiseachs and former Taoiseachs appearing before tribunals of enquiry.
The Tribunal is investigating Quarryvale better known to us today as Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and the circumstances surrounding its zoning.
The Tribunal is investigating Tom Gilmartin's claims that nearly £80,000 (€101,000) had been paid to Mr Ahern.
In the statement read out prior to the court challenge, the tribunal quoted Mr Gilmartin as saying he was told that the money had been paid in two separate amounts of £50,000 and £30,000.
Mr Gilmartin said he was informed that Mr Ahern, who was Minister for Finance at the time, had been instrumental in blocking a tax break for a rival shopping centre being developed in Blanchardstown.
This is around the same time Bertie was receiving monies from businessmen in Manchester.
Mr Ahern has denied the Quarryvale allegation and we know he took the money in Manchester already.
Is Bertie dirty? Time will tell, because Bertie won't!
The Tribunal is investigating Quarryvale better known to us today as Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and the circumstances surrounding its zoning.
The Tribunal is investigating Tom Gilmartin's claims that nearly £80,000 (€101,000) had been paid to Mr Ahern.
In the statement read out prior to the court challenge, the tribunal quoted Mr Gilmartin as saying he was told that the money had been paid in two separate amounts of £50,000 and £30,000.
Mr Gilmartin said he was informed that Mr Ahern, who was Minister for Finance at the time, had been instrumental in blocking a tax break for a rival shopping centre being developed in Blanchardstown.
This is around the same time Bertie was receiving monies from businessmen in Manchester.
Mr Ahern has denied the Quarryvale allegation and we know he took the money in Manchester already.
Is Bertie dirty? Time will tell, because Bertie won't!
Monday, April 2, 2007
Enda Kenny gave the convention speech of 2007
Cllr Keith Martin
10:59 PM
0
Enda Kenny's speech was the speech of the 2007 political conventions.
It was presidential in tone but still allowed him to connect. It is the first time we have seen him look, act and speak like a Taoiseach should.
Kenny's speech awoke in this blog's heart the real possibility that Mayo could have a Taoiseach and a Tainiste come June. What's more Ireland could have some accountable and open leadership after 10 years of Bertie.
Meanwhile Bumbling Bertie pales away in comparison. I have heard a rumour that the reason Brian Cowen looked so fascinated during Bertie's speech was that Bertie's giveaway promises were news to him and had been written on the back of a beer mat.
It was presidential in tone but still allowed him to connect. It is the first time we have seen him look, act and speak like a Taoiseach should.
Kenny's speech awoke in this blog's heart the real possibility that Mayo could have a Taoiseach and a Tainiste come June. What's more Ireland could have some accountable and open leadership after 10 years of Bertie.
Meanwhile Bumbling Bertie pales away in comparison. I have heard a rumour that the reason Brian Cowen looked so fascinated during Bertie's speech was that Bertie's giveaway promises were news to him and had been written on the back of a beer mat.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Bertie's hodge podge cut and paste promises
Cllr Keith Martin
3:30 PM
0
Berite takes the cheese. Bertie will also take your clothes and your ideas if you give him the chance.You have to hand it to him though, as it takes guts to go in front of the nation with no ideas of your own and pass off the manifesto commitments of other parties as your own.
At the Fianna Fail Ardardfheis, he stole Labour's lower rate income tax cut. He stole the PD's upper rate tax cut. He used his old promise of more Gardai (which he has yet to deliver on since last time) and he stole the PD's pension increases.
He has also pointed out glaring faults in our public services and cast there as opportunities where FF will do great work improving. This argument only works if everyone ignores the fact that Bertie and Co have been in government for ten years in a row.
Bertie says "We will create a national network of primary care teams and ensure that every community has access to 24-hour GP cover."
I ask "Why, 7 years into the 21 Century and 10 years into your government, don't we already have this vital and lifesaving coverage?"
Bertie says "Making promises, delegates, is easy. Government demands hard, patient, and practical work."
Yes Bertie, promises are easy, stealing other people's promises is even easier.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Mr T advises Bertie on Public Speaking
Cllr Keith Martin
9:21 PM
0
Mr T has been hired to tell Bertie get his words out right! Da people need to understand wha' de Tcup is sayin' so FF have hired Mr T.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
.....pants on fire.
Cllr Keith Martin
11:47 PM
0
You know how the rhyme goes ...., ...., pants on fire.
Can you spot the lies here?
The following is from the Fianna Fail election manifesto of 2002. Remember while you are reading this that Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fail have presided over the wealthiest period of our nation's history (and I am talking all the way back to the Vikings!).
Five years ago Bertie and Co promised to
Bertie and Co have had the power, the money and the opportunity so tell me why FF has not delivered?
Can you spot the lies here?
The following is from the Fianna Fail election manifesto of 2002. Remember while you are reading this that Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fail have presided over the wealthiest period of our nation's history (and I am talking all the way back to the Vikings!).
Five years ago Bertie and Co promised to
- - Permanently end waiting lists in our hospitals within two years through a combination of bed capacity, primary care, secondary care and targeted reform initiatives
- - Extend medical card eligibility to over 200,000 extra people, with a clear priority being given to families with children.
- - Expand public hospital beds in line with a programme to increase total capacity by 3,000 during the period of the strategy.
- - Achieving the situation where 80% of taxpayers pay only the standard rate.- We will continue to reduce the pupil: teacher ratio in our schools. Over the next five years we will progressively introduce maximum class guidelines which will ensure that the average size of classes for children under 9 will be below the international best-practise guide of 20:1.
- - We will commit to a further expansion of the various social housing programmes so that we reach a target of meeting the housing needs of 15,000 households per annum.
- - Increase the number of civilians attached to the force so that trained police officers are released to operational duties tackling crime and defending our citizens.
- - Fianna Fail will on return to government ensure that a low cost facility is built at Pier D in Dublin Airport in time for the 2003 season.
- - Ensure the construction of a state of the art National Conference Centre and aggressively promote Ireland as a venue for international conference business
- - We will ensure the putting in place of open-access broadband on a national basis, to fully include rural communities.
- - We recognise the central importance of the Freedom of Information Act in ensuring transparent and accountable public administration. We will ensure that the Act covers all significant areas of public services, involving both those currently in place and such new services as may be established in the future.
Bertie and Co have had the power, the money and the opportunity so tell me why FF has not delivered?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Flight of the Earls? - good riddance!
Cllr Keith Martin
9:19 AM
0
Good Riddance I say to the Flight of the Earls, which is to be commemorated by Bertie Ahern in September and he will be announcing details of these ceremonies today.I don't have any time for the Earls. Just because they were Irish aristocracy as opposed to English we are supposed to have regard for them (because they were different, because they were our own leaders) but like all aristocracy they looked after Number One to the detriment of all others.
It was all very well for them to flee the English rule but all the plebs, i.e. us, were left behind to suffer. The departure of the Earls also opened up the six counties for plantation, the extension of English rule, law and customs to spread throughout our country and we have been living with the consequences of that ever since.
These were the most powerful and rich guardians of the Irish, our culture, language and customs and when the going got tough, they got going.
Good Riddance!
Of course Bertie won't be in government in September to commemorate them either. That of course won't be a flight it will be a rout!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
Voters leaving government parties
Cllr Keith Martin
11:30 AM
0
The alternative coalitions are polling neck and neck, according to the latest Irish Times /TNS mrbi survey which shows a decline of five percentage points in the combined support for both Government parties since December. Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are now just one point ahead of the Fine Gael-Labour alternative.That's according to today's Irish Times. Support for the PDs is at an all time low proving that while the PDs love their leader (he is up six points among PD supporters) no-one else does.
The shine too is coming off the Teflon Taoiseach as despite rallying around him when he cried and told us all about all the money he took, people are deserting FF.
However Labour and Fine Gael have not benefited from this decline as the support has gone to alternatives like the Greens and Sinn Fein.
It is up to Labour and FG to catch these voters and bring them back to the fold.
However it increasingly does look like Labour, FG and the Greens will form the next government.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
3,500 days of Bertie- hed enough already?
Cllr Keith Martin
9:28 AM
0
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern marks his 3,500th day in office today. The Dublin Central TD, who came to power in 1997, has vowed to leave politics in 2012 when he turns 60.
He is currently the fourth longest-serving EU leader but could leapfrog Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair if he wins a third consecutive term this year.
Had enough already?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Political Quote of the day- Albert Reynolds
Cllr Keith Martin
11:27 PM
0
"I always strongly believed that there was no way a member of a government should finance anything he was doing in that respect."
---Albert Reynolds on Bertie Ahern's receipt of monies while a Minister in Reynolds government
---Albert Reynolds on Bertie Ahern's receipt of monies while a Minister in Reynolds government
Monday, January 15, 2007
Albert bites Bertie
Cllr Keith Martin
5:33 PM
0
Albert Reynolds has struck out at Bertie Ahern over the payments Ahern received as Minister for Finance.
Bertie has already blamed the scandal on a sinister conspiracy which brought the matter of the payments to the attention of the media. Read about Bertie's nixonesque behaviour here.
However the scandal (known at the time as "Bertiegate") of his accepting tens of thousands of euro seemed to have died down recently as the media moved on to other issues.
Bertie has already blamed the scandal on a sinister conspiracy which brought the matter of the payments to the attention of the media. Read about Bertie's nixonesque behaviour here.
However the scandal (known at the time as "Bertiegate") of his accepting tens of thousands of euro seemed to have died down recently as the media moved on to other issues.
Just when Bertie felt he could relax and even went so far as telling the Sunday Independent that he would "love to bury" the person who made the details of these payments available to the Irish Times.
Suddenly out of the blue and out of the past comes Albert, Bertie's former boss to publicly criticise the fact that Bertie had let down the body politic by accepting the money.
“I always strongly believed that there was no way a member of a government should finance anything he was doing in that respect. I was Minister for Finance and nobody ever offered me money,” Mr Reynolds told RTÉ Radio One’s Marian Finucane Show.
So Bertiegate is back on the national agenda. And they said Enda Kenny was having party troubles!
So Bertiegate is back on the national agenda. And they said Enda Kenny was having party troubles!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Stand up for yourself and others - join the Labour Party
Cllr Keith Martin
12:18 AM
1
Labour Party membership is due for renewal and this is a good time for new members to join as we face into a General Election in May.Labour under Pat Rabbitte are committed to bringing integrity back into government, committed to providing housing, tackling the scandal that is our health service and committed to ending the continued privatisation of public services.
Each new member will have a chance at helping bring about this change and at removing Fianna Fail and Progressive Democrats from power.
The litmus test for this government is "In ten years and given the billions at their disposal, has the government done a good job?" The answer is a definite "NO!"
The question will be asked of us on election day, by joining Labour you can help us in actually removing Bertie and Michael from power.
The Labour Party in Ireland stands for many things but its core principals are
Monday, January 8, 2007
Bertie Ahern's 138% pay rise
Cllr Keith Martin
11:50 AM
0
Why is this man laughing (right)?Bertie is chuckling not only because his friends gave him €50,000 and 25 businessmen in Manchester gave him €8,000 but because he has given himself a 138% pay rise over the last 10 years.
Bertie's salary has risen from €112,159 when he first took office on 1 January, 1997, to €266,492.
The figures also show that, 10 years ago, the Taoiseach was paid six times the average industrial wage. But today, that gap has widened to 8.5 times the wage of an average Irish worker.
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