AN engaging little man dropped into the French Embassy last Monday. Some small men exude an instant presence. Charlie Haughey and Napoleon come to mind. Nicolas Sarkozy had none. Initially, at least. But he could grow on you. The pre-Sarkozy coffee, croissants and cakes session was more enlightening than the message from the President of …
Monthly Archive
for: ‘July, 2008’
Bertie Bails Out The Bores
THANK God for the gaffe. It all promised to be oh-so boring. And it was. Until along came Bertie.Bertie Ahern’s silly comment about suicide last week did a power of good to his pals in the unions. Until Bertie arrived in the seaside resort of Bundoran, the biennial bash for the Irish Congress of Trades …
Last week the maestro lost his marbles
SEAN Quinn belongs in the pantheon of Ireland’s business heroes. He tackled the white-collar thugs in the insurance industry. He pumped capital into Conor O’Kelly’s dynamic NCB stockbrokers, enabling them to challenge the mighty Davys. He bought health insurer Bupa, ensuring the survival of at least one player to confront the VHI monster.
FAS: the €20m-a-week quango
SSHH. FAS is in the wars. And billions of euro are at stake. Whisper it. The national training and employment agency is the object of murky allegations. Inquiries are uncovering odd antics. People are asking: what does FAS do with its €20m a week? The answers are disturbing. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan could find the …
Semi-State Spending
On the last day of the Seanad session, I spoke on the Order of Business about the current state of the ‘Public Purse’, especially in light of the issue of the Irish Aviation Authority. A very important point must be considered in respect of yesterday’s debate on cutbacks. €116 million was spent on a radar …
Broadband Better Value Than Fás
I have a view on the economy and the political battle that goes on, that nothing is as good or as bad as both sides are saying and not all of it is particularly relevant. I spoke to Minister Lenihan about this in the Senate because of its immedaite and persistent importance. I am a …
Two Circuses And A Fiasco
GREAT to hear Richard Nesbitt of Arnotts on Marian Finucane’s brilliant RTE show on Sunday. Richard was agitated by last week’s column here about Greencore, the one that fingered the food company’s auditors Pricewaterhousecoopers. Insiders tell me Richard was keen as mustard to rubbish my unremarkable piece. Remember? PWC failed to spot a €21m hole …
FÁS Yet To Feel Pinch!
Today in the Senate I raised the very important Fás and their mammoth budget. I called for the government to examine in far greater detail this State agency, which has been something of a sacred cow for many years.