John O’Donoghue is a waster, I can’t understand why he has not resigned.

26th August, 2009

I am not a TD but most people do not distinguish between TDs and Senators. We are all members of the Oireachtas. Our Oreachtas is now led by a man who is literally a waster. I can’t understand why he is still in his job and why he hasn’t commented on a month of revelations.

This winter this Fianna Fail led government will be debating social welfare cuts while setting up NAMA and will be asking people to vote Yes to Lisbon while making huge cuts in public spending. The public will look to the Dail to make sense of all of this.

However the Dail debate will be overseen by a man of whom the following is now known. That he:

  • Spent almost €10,000 on car hire during a trip.
  • Used the Government jet to fly from Cannes to Kerry for a constituency event, then flew to Cardiff for the Heineken Cup final and to London to attend a Ryder Cup event, then flew back to Cannes for a second time and then back to Ireland at a cost of €32,400.
  • Spent over €7,500 on airport pick-ups during a short trip to London.
  • Made a trip to Venice involving a €900 per night hotel

In the UK the Speaker of the House of Commons resigned because he did not represent the spirit of where the Commons needed to go in the future. How can the current Ceann Comhairle represent a spirit of change?.

Usually, Fianna Fail does not do resignations and has a history of sheltering wrongdoers. But the sheer scale of the outrages he has inflicted on the Irish taxpayer means must make his position untenable, even in the eyes of that Party.

The fact that he is the Ceann Comhairle- the Speaker of the Irish Parliament- makes his resignation even more urgent. The esteem in which politicians are held is at an historic low. We cannot allow the reputation of the Houses of the Oireachtas be dragged even further into the mire by this man.

At some point in the future the Dail is going to have to discuss the misuse of taxpayers money on ministerial expenses. How can it credibly do that with O’Donoghue in the Chair?