LAST June I received a fascinating visitor. The guy said he was a former internal auditor of AIB. He wanted advice. At first I was not overexcited. I sometimes seem to attract every crackpot in Ireland. Some are genuine. Others are headbangers. Eugene McErlean was no headbanger. He was the real McCoy. At first he …
Monthly Archive
for: ‘March, 2009’
Broadband Still Being Neglected
In the Senate on Wednesday night, it looked like the government might be finally ready to sit up and listen to what I have been saying about broadband for the last number of years. This hope was unfortunately immediately dashed when it became clear that the motion was little more than a token gesture. I …
The Land With Two Brians
LAST week was a tale of two Brians. Brawny Brian and Brainy Brian. Brian Cowen stormed the White House in Washington. Brian Lenihan headed for London. Well, who did more for the cause of Ireland? Brian Cowen was a guest of President Obama. Judging from the late arrival of the White House invitation to the …
Never Trust An Institute
NEVER, never, trust an “institute”. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) ranks with the financial regulator as the winner of the wooden spoon for watchdogs. The ICAI boasts such illustrious members as Charles Haughey, DCC’s Jim Flavin, even recent heroes like Anglo’s trio of Sean Fitzpatrick, David Drumm and Willie McAteer. Boring old …
The Slush Fund For Failures
EOGHAN Harris was in flying form in the Senate last week. He and I sit on opposite sides of the House, but it is always reassuring to see a friendly face on the Government benches. I settled comfortably into my seat, ready for a dose of compelling rhetoric from the Senate’s most passionate speaker. Eoghan …
A Nation Of Narcotics
LAST April I met a hotshot Dublin businessman in a southside pub. He was not a household name but — at that time — he was as rich as Croesus. And he was angry at a piece I had written about Anglo Irish Bank.