Like Tiger Woods, FF has finally been forced to break off its long affair with its spoiled public sector mistress.
Fine Gael will be forced to follow suit. That leaves the Labour Party as the last sugar daddy of a privileged caste of permanent and pensionable employees whose snese of entitlement has estranged then from the body politic in the past two years. Fat good this opportunism will do Labour.
He goes onto to say that the media are reporting rubbish. A revolt by FF backbenchers did not happen. He says that they were trying to save themselves from revolt. This opposes the leading piece on the Cabinet split.
On to Callely…
The Sunday Business Post is reporting that the investment bank Investec has seized a site in Clontarf owned by Callely and three other investors. The bank is allegedly owed between €6-8m. One of the other investors is named as John O’Dolan, a Galway businessman that died last July. The stake was declared by Callely when he entered the Seanad.
The twin pressures of a deep divided Cabinet and an unprecedented public outcry forced Taoiseach Brian Cowen to break off talks with the trade unions on unpaid leave for civil servants.
It is understood that the Cabinet meeting last Tuesday afternoon was divided on the proposal by five votes to eight with one minister uncommitted.
Mr Cowen, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan and ministers Batt O’Keefe, Eamon O’Cuiv and Brendan Smith were all in favour of continuning the partnership talks with the unions on the controversial issue.
But opposed to the proposal were ministers Brian Lenihan, Martin Cullen, Mary Hanafin, Willie O’Dea, Dermot Ahern and Mary Harney as well as the two Greens John Gormley and Eamon Ryan.
Minister Micheal Martin was believed not to have come down strongly either way.
Rapidly mounting pressure from private sector workers and constituents was reflected in a heated FF parliamentary party meeting on Thursday evening where TDs referred to the growing anger of the public which had been pouring in all day to their constituency offices.
Any chance of giving a very quick summary of the Harris and Callely stories below the folds?
@Neil:
Harris, as always is a treat isn’t he?
He goes onto to say that the media are reporting rubbish. A revolt by FF backbenchers did not happen. He says that they were trying to save themselves from revolt. This opposes the leading piece on the Cabinet split.
On to Callely…
The Sunday Business Post is reporting that the investment bank Investec has seized a site in Clontarf owned by Callely and three other investors. The bank is allegedly owed between €6-8m. One of the other investors is named as John O’Dolan, a Galway businessman that died last July. The stake was declared by Callely when he entered the Seanad.
I’m struggling to read the front page story in the sindo. Does anyone have a better picture/digital copy/summery of the story?
Quoting the piece by Liam Collins: