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ONE OF ENDA Kenny’s top advisors has written a strongly-worded letter to the Irish Times criticising columnist Fintan O’Toole for “incomplete, one-sided stories”.
In a letter published today, the government press secretary Feargal Purcell accuses O’Toole of leaving out facts that don’t suit his narrative. Purcell is the Taoiseach’s chief spokesperson.
The intervention is a response to a column in yesterday’s paper in which O’Toole took issue with comments made by the Taoiseach last week.
Speaking during the crisis talks on Greece in Brussels, Kenny claimed: “In Ireland’s case we did not increase income tax; we did not increase VAT; we did not increase PRSI… ”
The remarks have been the subject of much scrutiny in recent days with economists and Fianna Fáil being highly critical of the Taoiseach.
They’ve pointed out that there have been increases in VAT – from 21 to 23 per cent – and an effective increase in PRSI as well as the introduction of so-called ‘stealth taxes’ like property tax.
In a column entitled ‘Who will dare say out loud ‘emperor has no clothes’?’, O’Toole wrote yesterday:
… we all know that the Taoiseach wasn’t making a statement about reality. He was telling a story. At some point in our lives – usually when we’re three or four – we all ask the question: “Daddy, did this really happen or is it a makey-up story?” And once we know which is which, we’re okay with it.
And by now, we’re more or less okay with the fact that Ireland’s primary presence on the European stage is as a makey-up story. We don’t live in a country; we live in a narrative, a tale with no more truth content than Cinderella and considerably less than “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.
The government said yesterday that Kenny has clarified the remarks at two subsequent press conferences.
In the Dáil yesterday, the Taoiseach also made reference to the cut in VAT in the hospitality sector as well as unwinding tax increases introduced by Fianna Fáil in the previous Dáil.
In his letter this morning, Purcell writes:
Fintan O’Toole likes stories. Incomplete, one-sided stories are his favourite kind.
In these, it’s okay to leave out any fact that doesn’t suit your narrative.
Fintan chose to leave out some basic facts about the approach of Enda Kenny’s Government to dealing with Ireland’s financial crisis.
The letter outlines that there have been no income tax increases in the last four budgets with tax reductions benefiting 742,000 people introduced in the most recent budget.
It also notes the cut in VAT in the hospitality sector which has created an extra 30,000 jobs.
Purcell concludes:
Enda Kenny’s Government has pursued pro-growth, pro-jobs policies with a range of measures to support small business, growth in jobs-rich sectors and foreign direct investment. Enda Kenny himself has explained this approach in full at two press conferences subsequent to his original comments but Fintan O’Toole, and others have chosen to ignore that completely. I guess it didn’t suit the narrative either.
O’Toole has already responded to the letter on Twitter this morning:
Fintan O'Toole / Twitter@EndaKennyTD 's "reply" to my column. Naturally, doesn't address a single point I made. http://t.co/e9EDRYXbin
— Fintan O'Toole (@fotoole) July 1, 2015
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
No income tax increases? As a self-employed person my USC was increased in the last budget.
USC is a tax on income earned. Therefore it is an income tax!
Put that in your one-sided narrative you Govt shill and smoke it…
Enda is a deluded fool who thought he could get away with nonsence comments on the international stage the way he does at home.
Not this time boyo!
Kenny is so used to lying at this stage he doesn’t realise where he is when he is doing it.
My USC was reduced, as was hundreds of thousands of others.
True Norman. But sure it’s the script and he sticking to it. I bet the above Govt shill who wrote it got into trouble for it, and is now loosing the rag at Fintan O’Toole.
It says to me “Hey look, all the other jounalists are sticking to the script, how dare you question it!”
USC isn’t an income tax. It’s an errrr ahhhh tincome iax. Yes, that’ll do.
@ James
Can you explain how your USC went up?
The top rate for self employed went from 10% to 11%.
But this was more than countered by top rate Income Tax lowering from 41% to 40% and the bottom rates for USC by 0.5% each.
There should be no reason you are paying more in Income Tax in 2015 than in 2014. If you are, can you explain how?
Barry he said his USC was increased and you just confirmed it and now you’re asking him to explain how it went up.
That is gold!
@ Norman
Enda Kenny lied. That is clear.
But it is completely disingenuous to claim Income Tax liabilities rose last year, as James was doing.
No one is paying more Income Tax in 2015 than 2014. James’ post was as much of a distortion as Kenny’s statement.
Countering Kenny’s distortion with a distortion of your own weakens the counter argument.
The rise in USC was more than compensated for by the cut in lower rates of USC and the cut in IT.
Actually Barry, James described USC as an income tax which it is he claimed it rose for him which it did and you confirmed it.So wtf are you on about?
@ Norman
His opening statement was “No income tax increases?”
The answer to this is no – income tax liabilities went up for no one last year. No one.
Even if you factor in USC (which he is right to do), overall income tax bills went down last year for everyone.
Trying to claim otherwise is simply false.
It is spinning the same way that Kenny was spinning.
Barry – get your chit together me ould mate – methinks you had better ring Purcell and see how he would handle commenting on the journal,trying to make kenny out not to be a liar, especially seeing as you are making a complete balls of it.
You think Purcell doesn’t do his own work on the journal?
Barry I suggest you reread James comment, he stated his USC increased which you confirmed. I’m done now before I end up as confused as our “Dear leader”.
@ Norman
Fair enough – I’ll try using an example.
James states USC is a tax on Income – i.e. an income tax. I agree 100%.
USC went down for everyone in the county last year earning less than €70,000. Fact.
If James’s USC bill went up last year it is because he is in the top 5% of earners.
Income Tax went down for anyone paying top rate last year – from 41 t o 40%. Fact.
If James earned over €70,000 last year, his overall Income Tax bill went down by a €747. Fact.
James claiming that Income tax rose last year because one element (USC) rose is disingenuous, because overall income tax fell for everyone last year. Fact.
@ George
I agree.
It was government spin and demonstrably false government spin.
But countering spin with more spin (as I believe James did), wastes everyone’s time.
We have always thought that the Irish Times is yesterdays news propped up by second rate ‘wanabee journalists’. We buy it on Saturday for the TV/ weekend guide and readers letters.
Who`s We? – you and the Missus?
Purcell must be an eejit, instead of letting this lie he reanimates it.
and mine was increased from 4% to 7% in the 2013 budget
“Intelligence and ability are often placed down the line of importance when a Taoiseach appoints the Cabinet after geography, loyalty and popularity are taken into account.
“This long-standing anti-intellectualism within Irish politics remains strong and academic pedigree can be counter productive for a successful career.
“Into this space in March, 2011, stepped Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who by any standard is no intellectual.
“Kenny is a wooden performer, a poor orator who needs considerable propping up and managing by his highly paid advisors.”
Irish Independent, June 2015.
Barry. No point in arguing rationally with the mob with facts when they don’t want to listen. Enda Kenny made a ham fisted statement and while FG/Labour have been very disappointing in many areas, they have got the economy back on track after FF effectively bankrupted us. You have to give them credit for that but the hard lefties on this site will not listen to reason on that one.
Its a charge, not a tax. So you can avoid paying it? No? then its a tax.
If indeed the economy is getting “back on track” , I think it’s in spite of Enda etc.
It’s not a surprise from a Taoiseach who said that the minimum wage was €35,000.00pa.
Out of touch and out of time.
No he does,nt really mind,he,s getting 180,000 p/a weather he lies or not.
It’s O’Toole’s job to write opinion pieces. Of course he’s not going to put in things that would counter his argument. It is the Taoiseach’s job to run the country and he SHOULD see all sides of a story. Instead all we hear about is jobs growth, GDP etc while he refuses to be drawn on the multitude of things wrong with the country and doesn’t even have the balls to do pressing interviews. This government runs on spin and Fintan O’Toole was spot on. This response letter only reinforces that.
Fintan O Toole is Captain Hindsight… a great man to tell you after the fact what you should have done.
Opinion pieces, reporting as factual, doesn’t make it a fact.
Enda Kenny has told so many lies that a 2 year old could see it. Really looking like a fool at home and abroad. A quick search by any journalists at home or abroad could see that enda likes to lie.
Here is a fact Minister Noonan increased Vat by 2% in the 2012 budget.Last week Enda claimed to a bunch of reporters in Brussels that his government did not increase vat.
To be fair now, poor pitiful Inda-know probably didn’t have his entourage of SpinTriloquists at hand to prompt and sign for him!
For once I agree with FG on this. Enda Kenny’s comments about VAT reductions – were made in relation to the hospitality & tourism sector.
Fintan O’Toole quoted Kenny’s remarks completely out of context. Not the first time the ‘Irish Times’ have done this.
Distorted and misleading journalism from them once again.
Zoe, Kenny said in an interview to international reporters that his government did not raise vat.Are you the only person in the country still paying 21% whilst everyone else pays 23% ?
Zoe here is what enda keny said. Where does he say hospitality and tourism. “In Ireland’s case, we did not increase income tax, we did not increase VAT, we did not increase PRSI, but we put up alternatives to those measures proposed in order to keep a pro-growth policy and make our country competitive, grow our economy and provide jobs for our people,” he said. He didn’t .
zoe, Enda`s comments were NOT made in relation to the hospitality sector, BUT to his whole four years in tenure, He gave NO timeline for what he said, therefore implying that what he said was in relation to his time in office, not just one specific point which yuo would like everyone to interpret in the same way as you.
Here is what he said , Courtesy of the Independant (of all papers)
He said proposals from Greece had to make economic sense.
“In Ireland’s case, we did not increase income tax, we did not increase VAT, we did not increase PRSI, but we put up alternatives to those measures proposed in order to keep a pro-growth policy and make our country competitive, grow our economy and provide jobs for our people,” he said.
Show me where it only alludes to the hospitality sector.
You only have to look at the meltdown in Greece this morning, & think – we could easily have been in the same boat.
At least FG did something, to pull us back from the edge of the cliff. What have the likes of Fintan O’Toole ever done for anyone.
The media played a significant part in Irelands economic collapse in the first place. They made a fortune advertising property during the ‘boom’ years. This has never been investigated or reported upon by the same ‘Irish Times’
Here’s a fact Norman, mi I stet noonan reduced vat for the hospitality sector to 9%, creating thousands of new jobs.
Thousands of low paying jobs; that’s the lowest paid sector in the economy, FYI. I should know; I work it in.
Zoe so first you claim fintan misquoted enda. When he clearly didn’t. Enda lied to journalists. Then when it’s shown to you what enda actually said , you then ask what has fintan ever done for anyone. You sound as desperate as endaand his advisors. The fact is he lied and his lies where plain for all to see.
in the name of…here’s another fact he did this by stealing large amounts of money from private pension funds which in turn will reduce the benefit to tens of thousands of future pensioners.
@ Zoe: how could we be “in the same position as Greece”? Did we cook our books? Did we have a retirement age of 55 with full pension and benefits? We’re in the position we find ourselves in because we issued a blanket bank guarantee to zombie banks and then this shower of idiots concerted the promissory note to sovereign debt illegally. The two situations are vastly different.
So Zoe you’ve ignored the fact that Kenny lied to an international audience.
Haha the failgeal slime bags are out to defend a spineless lying coward and his excuse for a government. Back in your box enda till Denis lets you out.
Tell Hugh O Connell that……
The Irish Times said almost nothing during the ‘boom’ years, to question what was going on with the ‘Celtic tiger’ bubble. They just sat back and reaped the massive rewards form advertising property – like the rest of the Irish media.
The journalists or economists who questioned what was going on during those years were a minority. Now Fintan O’Toole pontificates to everyone else about economic recovery.
I have zero time for Irish media commentators. There were too few of them speaking out when the Irish economy was heading for the rocks.
Speaking of Captains, Ireland needs a Captain Foresight and regrettably it’s not going to be Enda.
For example, in relation to boosting future exchequer returns…
If CGT were reduced to 20% the new yield would more than surpass current, which is based on a 33% charge.
Charlie McCreevey, FF, showed remarkable foresight during the nineties when Minister for Finance to adopt a 20% rate, something that increased yields many fold.
In reply to In The name of regards opinion pieces being fact….
Give it up Zoe, you were found out.
yeah, thousands of zero hour contracts. yipee
Vinheffer89. Now you’re being economical with the truth. We were in serious financial trouble of our own making before any bank guarantee was given. That was just a poor decision made in the heat of the moment which made things much worse but to try and pretend it was the only factor is just plainly incorrect. We screwed up our own economy all by ourselves long before that point.
Kevin; Mr Kenny et al are using the fact that if Greece defaults, we will lose out on circa €350m. The conversion of the promissory note means that we will be paying back billions per annum for generations in interest on a debt that wasn’t ours in the first place. That’s the real millstone around our necks. I mention this because these are the context in which Mr Kenny lied in regard to taxation. I don’t think I’m being economical with the truth; the Celtic Tiger was a time of speculation and madness from several sectors but the real killer is the conversion of the promissory note to sovereign debt.
Kenny said among other things that during our bailout programme we did ‘not’ raise vat.This was said to a group of international journalists in Brussels whilst Enda was trying to persuade the Greeks to roll over like he did and covered by the RTE news.Is his handler now trying to reword what Enda said?
Is this not the same audience he told We all went mad and partied.
He was blaming all the lads called ‘Paddy’ -Get your facts right .
Enda Kenny earns more than €185,000 a year.
…..sorry, I mean he gets paid more than €185,000 a year.
(plus his teacher pension).
Pontius your admiration for FOT has me at a loss. His economic prognostications over the years since the start of the crisis could all charitably be described as ‘bag of a fag packet’ standard and the recent surge in growth and employment is the exact opposite of what he has been predicting for the country.
He has a few ‘old reliable’ stats that he constantly wheels out like the increase in consistent poverty to 2013 but you will never hear from him that the three biggest drivers of this stat are people having difficulty replacing furniture, going for a night out and entertaining people in their home. Families experiencing these difficulties is clearly not a good thing, but it’s hardly Oliver Twist.
“incomplete, one-sided stories”. ah now that terrible fintan….its not like enda and his cronies do only give half the story…..your awful fintan…why cant you be truthful like our government!!!!
I almost lost my coffee over that one too!
At last a more realistic political narrative is getting out their regarding and about time too! More of this kinda thing in the media please Hugh. It’s obvious those at the helm are getting lazier at reading the script from the Eurocrats. Just waiting for Kenny to say “sure that’s what you say when elections on the horizon”
U can call it anyway u like it but all I know is that beween somewhere in 08 and 2012 my take home pay went down by about 300+ a month it went somewhere I have certainly seen no value for it.
I note that Mr Purcell dies not address the fact, as rightly pointed out by O’ Toole, that Enda Kenny lied in virtually everything he said in relation to taxation. He presents only spin and bluster in response to O’ Toole who was spot on in his assessment in that particular instance. A key point in this spinfest relates to, as Kenny constantly alludes to, “jobs”. Mr Purcell, the dogs on the street know that wages are falling and taxation levels are rising. The man you speak for is a liar who was elected under false pretences. O’ Toole is correct; the Emperor has no clothes and you are trying to tell us that he’s wearing the finest embroidered silks as if we’re all fools. You’re as embarrassing as the man himself but I feel sorry for you in a way; having to defend the indefensible.
I think you meant to say the man you lie for is a liar who was elected under false pretences
“Mr Purcell, the dogs on the street know that wages are falling and taxation levels are rising.”
Where is the evidence that wages are falling? The opposite seems true:
“A pay rise could soon offer financial relief for cash-strapped employees, with a survey showing that more than three quarters of Irish businesses expect to give pay increases in 2015, up from 64 per cent last year. And pay-cuts, which characterised many businesses in recent years, would appear to be on their way out again, with no company-wide pay cuts are projected for 2015 and 2016.”
Try the CSO figures not all sectors are seeing an increase.
PMLS! The governments strategy is to create a narrative and hope to ram it down enough hroats through their media engine that enough people who haven’t had their votes bought yet believe it to be the truth. All headed up, of course, by the Dails Walter Mitty, who finds himeslf waxing lyrical about his delusions of adequacy, people phoning him to remark on how much extra they have in their pay packet (which was later claimed to be a ‘figure of speech) and of course fantasy confrontations with men holding two pints in his local who can for some reason get past endas minders just in the nick of time for the leader of the state to land a crushing……remark.
Mary exactly what in O’Toole’s column was wrong?
Vat was rose.
PRSI was increased by abolishing the allowance.
This is just 2 examples of what happened but Enda claimed didn’t.
Freedom for journalists to tell the people as it is, needs to be curtailed now according to FG/LAB.
FASCISM coming through again from this government. They lied to get into government and continue to lie to remain. BUT putting the lies in the public domain is unacceptable for Enda and Co. Please bring on election.
Please spell out exactly how they are curtailing Fintan O’Toole’s right to say what he wants?
Enda was probably talking to ‘a fella he knew’ in the pub, that just happened to have ‘two pints in his hand’ when he made the statement!!
Fergall Purcell you are a joke. What do you take us for? Thanks to your Great Leaders failed policy of appeasement to his German boss he has left the country in pieces. All our youth , the very best of them, the ones who could make a difference to Irelands future have shown what they think of your government by leaving in droves and the majority of them will make lives abroad never to return.
I never heard of you before, are you one of his overpaid “advisors” well I have advice for you pal…..get your CV up to date, you will be needing it soon enough, or maybe emigrate?
Bit of a clumsy effort from someone getting paid a small fortune to convey the governments message. Schoolyard stuff.
Delusion ! is property tax not a tax ? does enda and his crew not realise that it comes out of people’s income.
Purcell’s An overpaid spinmeister trying to prove he’s worth even a fraction of his salary, but failing badly in that. Kenny’s like a robot , with faulty batteries, losing the connection to his remote controllers.
fintan is right,enda is a liar and this fella has a hard neck trying to defend lies,its people like him we also want sacked.
But Enda met a man with two pints in his hands who thanked him for not increasing taxes?
kenny lied that’s all there is to it.
Economists call Kennys bluff. Mr Purcell is paid handsomely to spin ( lie) for Enda. Laughable & sad of him.
Typo towards the end of the story, you have 30,00 I presume you mean 30,000, although I am sure both figures are wrong and spin.
30,000 jobs created , how many of those are actually full time. Probably 90% part time seasonal work only. As for the so called usc cut think I’m up €3 p/w woo hoo
I’d believe fintan o’toole any day of the week considering the amount of bs and spin constantly coming from this gov, who don’t know the meaning of the words straight and truth.
Furgal takes sycophantic serfdom to a new low. The kind of man who’d tell the black and tans where his granny was hiding.
Feargal Purcell may have taken too many blows to the head, definitely has to the nose.
Play the ball, not the man LesBehan, is that the best you can do? – ridiculing a mans looks while ignoring the fact that he points out the truth, Typical blueshirt carry on
Sorry LesBehan, I misread your comment, My apologies to you.
I wasn’t ridiculing his looks at all, I was pointing out a possible reason why a man would try and defend a proven liar against accusations of lying.
Been called a blueshirt, I think that hurt the most Pearse ;-)
Sorry again Les, when i read your comment i thought you said Fintan O`Toole, not Feargeal Purcell,
My bad on the Blueshirt jibe, i retract that, ( or is it redact that?)
Enda is a decent country school master who has chosen to surround himself with an ex army thug and a bullying kerryman, neither of whom offer good advice, and if they were ignored we might have some decent policies.
Thomas so you’re blaming Enda’s faux pas on his advisors, seriously ye FG supporter’s are priceless.Who hired the advisors? Enda had no input?really.
No, instead he has surrounded himself with spin merchants,liars and thieves, this guy purcell is only butt hurt that someone had the audacity to print an article that doesn`t stick to his narrative and perception of the truth, in a newspaper that he can`t control.
Bottom line is that Enda lied again, this time on the international stage.
i suppose when enda said that EVERY other finance minister rang kenny over the weekend is a lie as well, judging by his track record, it was most probably a lie/turn of phrase.
Kenny lied in Brussels. Taxes have been raised since 2011 and it is not true to say that they haven’t been.
But just because O’Toole wrote an article calling him out on it, that does not make me suddenly think O’Toole is the best thing since sliced pan.
I’ve disliked Mr O’Toole for years. My opinion isn’t going to change suddenly because of one article he writes.
“If nothing else, to misquote Karl Marx, I’ve been reminded that analysing the world is a lot easier than changing it.”
Fintan O’Toole on his decision not to run for election in 2011.
Why are you making this about O’ Toole? No-one is going over the top about him here; people are just agreeing with his sentiments in this instance.
The sad truth is that poor little Inda doesn’t seem to grasp the idea that many people use social media and know exactly what’s going on. With so much information available to blatantly lie about Ireland’s situation makes him look weak and stupid…
pales in comparison to every person in this state paying 9000 euro each for the cost of the odious banking debt.policies from fianna fail continued by fine gael
What about that as Enda has left out democracy from government, which is slightly more worrying, isn’t it.
A balanced argument from a journalist? Whatever will they think of next!
In my view, Fintan O’Toole is a self hating Irishman, critical often not just of the political system in this country but also the Irish people as a whole. I consider myself to be politically liberal but Fintan O’Toole is the definition of a liberal elite, talking down to people rather than talking to people. He had a chance to put his money where his mouth was in 2011 and he passed that opportunity, yet he still deems himself worthy to spew bitterness towards all and sundry from his ivory tower.
He compares poorly to Vincent Browne, also an Irish Times columnist, but one who I believe cares for this country and who is a patriot on his own terms. Vincent is critical but I’ve never found him critical of us as a people in the same way as Mr O’Toole. Vincent Browne also has a true commitment to social justice which I admire.
Sorry for the rant, but I just abhor Fintan O’Toole and his narcissism.
Just a question though despite your hatred for O’Toole, who’s the liar O’Toole or Kenny?
I’m not too keen on O’ Toole either actually but in this instance he was correct. There is something vastly wrong when the leader of a country is lying through his teeth in such a manner. He had to be called on this. It’s a disgrace; to ourselves and to the Greeks.
@ Norman:
Kenny lied in Brussels. Taxes have been raised since 2011 and it is not true to say that they haven’t been.
But just because O’Toole wrote an article calling him out on it, that does not make me suddenly think O’Toole is the best thing since sliced pan.
I’ve disliked Mr O’Toole for years. My opinion isn’t going to change suddenly because of one article he writes.
Kenny is a liar would have sufficed.At least you’re willing to acknowledge he’s a liar.
Sorry for not joining in with the “Fintan O’Toole is wonderful” party here on The Journal…
I have yet to see one poster on here that is lauding Fintan O`Toole, all i see is everyone agreeing with what he wrote.
Ryan the only person here who has put O’Toole and wonderful in the same sentence is you. I’m just happy to see someone with a high profile call Kenny out for the liar that he is and gald that you agreed Kenny is a liar.
“In my view, Fintan O’Toole is a self hating Irishman, critical often not just of the political system in this country but also the Irish people as a whole.”
Enda Kenny and this government treats this country and it’s people with complete contempt. Loads of people voted FF,FG.Labour into government, those people are morons.Finto seems to be on the ball so far.
LesBehan, he could be angry at the Irish because the people allow the government and the E.U. just to use them as a door mat??? There is always that?
“…..Feargal Purcell accuses O’Toole of leaving out facts that don’t suit his narrative….”
Pot, Kettle, Black……make of those words what you will!
Isn’t amazing Kenny / Noonan /burton dictating to Greece to enter bailout ? And can’t get banks here to adjust interest rates what a joke !
i tell you no lie but i met this fella with a pint in each hand on his way to Greece i did so i did or my name is not enda
Who’s that kid Purcell unelected rich kid who probably never knew what anything less that a 50 euro note was
what about phone ESB all cut from 69. to 35e
have your say