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AT LEAST 112,000 civilians have been killed in the 10 years since the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq that ousted Saddam Hussein, a new report published today claims.
Including combatants on all sides of the decade-long conflict, as well as yet undocumented civilian fatalities, the figure could rise as high as 174,000, according to the Britain-based Iraq BodyCount (IBC) group.
“This conflict is not yet history,” it said in its report, which put the number of civilian deaths since March 20, 2003 at between 112,017 and 122,438. “It remains entrenched and pervasive, with a clear beginning but no foreseeable end, and very much a part of the present in Iraq.”
IBC said that, over the years, Baghdad had been, and is still, the deadliest region in the country, accounting for 48 per cent of all deaths, while the conflict was bloodiest between 2006 and 2008.
It noted that violence remains high, with annual civilian deaths of between four and five thousand roughly equivalent to the total number of coalition forces who died from 2003 up to the US military withdrawal in December 2011, at 4,804.
The most violent regions were, after Baghdad, the northern and western provinces, dominated by Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority which controlled Iraq during Saddam’s rule but which has since been replaced by the Shiite majority.
Meanwhile, the former British prime minister who led his country into the war remains adamant he took the right decision.
Tony Blair and then US president George W Bush were both convinced of the need to act against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
However, these weapons never materialised and although Saddam was ousted within weeks of the March 2003 invasion, Iraq soon descended into chaos at the hands of insurgents and militia groups.
“I still believe it was right to remove Saddam,” Blair told Britain’s ITV television. “We sometimes forget now what the regime was actually like and the devastation it caused.
“Hundreds of thousands of people died in his wars. He used chemical weapons against his own people.”
Blair’s name will be forever linked to the war in Iraq, and his rare public appearances in Britain are routinely dogged by protesters who want him tried for war crimes.
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Great work RTE.let this be an example to every other journo out there.its not as if the average Irish politician is hard to seduce/fool…
“Paddy wants to know what the story is”
…and what’s in it for me.
where is the Standards in Public Office Commission in all this?
asleep on the job.
What a great job RTE did on this one – undercover reporters is the way to go .
As everyone says this is the tip of the corruption iceberg and people are afraid to come forward .
There should be a whistleblower scheme for families looking for planning permission – that if they come forward with proof of corruption that their planning would be approved by default
Shame on all the parties and individuals involved
Indeed Jimmy. We must also ask why former FG environment minister Phil Hogan saw fit to cancel inquiries into planning problems in the local authorities in 2012.
Jesus, Irish politicians are cheap and desperate. 10 K ? That’s a level of some kind of front line inspector in Ukraine. This type of guys will cost you at least few millions. Well done RTE.
Nothing ever changes. It’s very disheartening.
For once Wally – you are actually making sense. I agree totally . This needs to be rooted out of Irish politics
Thanks for not cutting and pasting the usual guff. Makes the comments section easier to read
10k…to start. You can be assured this pig would have gouged them for far more. Watch Enda back away from this one like a scalded cat…
He may back away, but rest assured kenny and burton will still sit in the Dail and ignore Mick Wallaces questions about the NAMA deal which stinks of corruption and puts the matters dealt with in this RTE documentary in a hapenny place.
True Tony..I wonder how many jobs these gougers have cost their local communities, that’s the real cost of all this corruption. How many companies just walked away when faced with such a situation…..it’s hard enough getting companies to locate to rural areas without having to deal with such pocket stuffing s(um as well.
Couldn’t RTE have done this over the last 40 years? Do they deserve credit for getting close to a billion over 5 years and only now through some resources into this?
Hard to know whats worse the corrupution or the stupidity to fall for the rte story. Have they never heard of google. How many more of these wasters are corrupt but just better at hiding it. How can these stupid half wits get elected.
“How can these stupid half wits get elected.”
Cronyism and civil war politics. The demographic most likely to vote are also the demographic most likely to cast that vote based on who their parents and grandparents voted for.
It looks very like Hugh McElvaney knew he was being set up.
From the wording and language used, it appears he was fully aware of what was happening and was playing along.
RTE are, and always will be, the mouthpiece of the establishment. They won’t do anything to rock the boat.
Why no ‘cutting edge’ investigative documentaries on the water charges etc.?
There is not a chance he knew Zoe. He was caught with his hand in the till plain and simple
Typically it is an accomplice of a councillor who approaches the planning applicant in a pub or at a GAA match and who later collects the cash , and not the councillor themselves.
Yeah but they’d figure out a fiddle on that as well!!
Jimmy,
It’s very enjoyable to watch you squirming as your beloved blueshirts are caught once more with their hands in the greasy till.
Can you tell us exactly when FG will begin rooting corruption out of Irish politics as they’ve been in the thick of it for decades?
“The former leader of Fine Gael, former Taoiseach, current EU ambassador to Washington, gave evidence at the Planning Tribunal, illuminating a crucial moment in Irish politics in the 1990s………………..On 6 May 1993, Mr Bruton turned up to a Fine Gael fundraising lunch at the Red Cow Inn. At the end of the lunch Frank Dunlop, Fianna Fail activist and lobbyist, approached Bruton and told him that Fine Gael councillor Tom Hand had demanded a substantial bribe…………………… Bruton’s response to Dunlop was: “There are no angels in the world or in Fine Gael”………He didn’t confront Hand or launch a party inquiry, he didn’t tell the police. He did nothing…………………… In 2003, asked about all this by the Planning Tribunal, Bruton stated: “I refute entirely Mr Dunlop’s contention that he advised me then of the alleged demand made to him by the late Tom Hand”……………Last Thursday, John Bruton told the tribunal that he’d had a fresh think about the matter, having studied Dunlop’s evidence, and “it gradually came back to me”, that Dunlop, “did say to me something about a councillor looking for money”.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/brutons-evidence-came-too-late-26326249.html
He’s claiming he knew he as being set up on todays Indo but I don’t believe him having read the interview it’s leading with.
I don’t know anything about this guy Hugh McElvaney.
But from the wording of the interview above, it seems that he was fully aware he was being set up, and was playing along.
As for RTE, I don’t trust them. The water charges fiasco will be the single most important issue, facing into this election. And RTE have consistently done their best, to ignore, and ‘play down’ this major issue.
Why no mention of Alan Kelly’s secret meetings and no record if same
.
Wally – I have no links to FG , FF, Lab Denis O Brien , Freemasons or neo-liberal lizard kings.
Just because I find your cut and pastes tedious ridiculous , does not make me any of the above
I am squirming with delight in fact that some of these shysters got exposed
Shame on FG , FF and the independents mentioned .
Can’t believe this is being described as ‘shocking’ ……have they not been following the history of politics in this country …it would be genuinely shocking if they found a clean bill of health in the councils around the country….there is nothing to suggest irish people will be shocked at this at all…I’d say the vast majority of the Irish public would say that this is our political classes living down to their reputation…
Surely Zoe if he was aware he was being set up, then instead of playing along with the “bribe scenario” why did he not play the “I’ll help you anyway I can if it will help bring work to my community” and end up looking like an angel…..instead of a corrupt pocket stuffer?
Zoe really !!!!!. If anybody with half a brain thought they were being stitched up they would have a recording and a transcript lodged with their party and solicitor along a copy lodged in court. This boyo was caught red handed and I wonder how many more are doing the exact same thing.
Don’t forget – they really sorted out that creche and that old folks home too…
Same old corrupt parties in power/out of power/ back in lining their pockets the moment the main chance arises.
There should be an investigation into how John Perry got a “soft” loan from a state owned bank of 2.5 million, to get Danske bank off his back.
https://youtu.be/0KslbvkiQWw
https://youtu.be/WTiepjVuDNc
A Wally Mooney
Because the shit would have hit the politicians full in the face.!
There’s an article with sf on another page thats where the blueshitters will be..A vote for fg ff labour is a vote for cronyism and corruption.Vote for right to change.
Zoe, to put any credibility in what you say, you would still have to believe in fairy tales.
Well done RTE, exposing the shambolic way County Councillors behave when they think it is their right to hold a seat in the council chamber. The same Monaghan County Council which granted planning permission to build houses on flood planes due to political interference over executive planning concerns. Common sense should dictate that two periods in office should be enough for any Councillor.
i knew as soon as I saw the 4 gold rings on his fingers and the solid gold watch, along with the fat neck that he was on the grab…..
Most of the staff in the countless “jobs for the boys” Quangos,spend their days sleeping “on the job”..
This the small scale stuff. This goes right up the party. Imagine the backhanders the top FG boys got for selling their country out over the past four years. The high level bribery for giving our country away and ‘paying our way’ . Phil hogan stopping inquiries into planning etc. And they smile at us like were idiots. No more u filthy korrupt Fine gael skum. Treasonous filth.
First of all sack the F ing Gangsters and second jail the F@kers. End of story.
Watched the show just now.
Fine Gael make the Soldiers of Destiny look like monks.!
Zoe are you smoking crack?
But it would also be great if Mick Wallace was to pay back that under declared VAT he owes the Irish people while he is at it.
FG PROMISED change and this is what we got instead remember that at the polling booth folks. Corrupt to the CORE. Right to the top this goes, ignorance is no defence
Zoe,
We are not dealing with water charges tonight . We are watching what a load of councillors will do to earn a massive amount of money.
That Hugh lad defines what’s wrong with civil war parties from top to bottom! Not one bit surprising though.
He did look like he was hamming it up, but what did he have to gain by behaving like this? His behaviour will be seen internationally- media outlets love a story like this- and most won’t see it as he knew what was going on and was trying to catch Rte out
Why would a politician risk so much ?
I, like everyone else knew this kind of corruption has been going on for decades – but still – watching that has made me feel sick!
Well now, the likes of McElheney keep getting elected. Also, “the people” who according to you are going to clear out the Augian stables,also voted down the referendum which would have enabled tribunals to operate a lot more efficient. But as a vote is vote no matter what the background of the voter. To quote an American senator ” the people have spoken, the b*st*rds”….
If Liam Lawlor were around today he been contemptuous of someone looking for that piddling amount ;)
Arrogant, entitled, self-serving and narcissistic free-loaders.
Why did we elect these people?
Zoe, sadly I grew up beside him and I can tell you first hand that he is a money grabbing, self serving, egotistical idiot who is so full of his own self belief that he thinks it is his god given rite to scam and demand bribes. I for one hope that it becomes a legal matter and that he goes away for this. Sad for his kids but good for the rest of the community.
The thing is, they are neither stupid or half-wits. They cleverly manipulate the system for their own ends. In the process, they also help out their constituents – they wouldn’t get elected if they were only lining their own nests – and are probably regarded as people “who get things done”. So, when they go forward for re-election they will get in because a significant body of voters are willing to overlook what they regard as minor ethical infractions once the perpetrators are seen as reliable “Mr Fixits”. Michael Lowery is the prime example. Tops the poll every time despite his appalling record as a tax evader etc.
Quite obvious that Hugh was just playing along with the reporter, he knew well it was a setup and all these eejits on here pontificating as if they never took money in their lives…holy joes…yea right, theyd probably be the first people to grab the money when offered
Enda’s tea boys on here have gone awful quiet…as has Enda himself..
Zoe nice try. A pathetic attempt to steer blame away from a guy who you ‘ know nothing about ‘. Even that is doubtful. Lucky the Irish people are smart enough to see when the child is caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
what secret meeting? interesting.
@ Pepper
RTE teamed up with SF/IRA to put Michael D in office
If we didn’t have all our corrupt politicians, we wouldn’t have any body else willing to run the country.
Nothing “shocking” here, just wish investigative journalism like this was more consistent…… And also that people didn’t still accept this behaviour as “that’s just the way things are”
Who is actually surprised. There is nothing new here other than the fact they are caught with proof. Pity it didn’t get more of the uneducated, arrogant and self loving bundles of sh*t. There are a few good ones but not many.
Sadly these are just small fry and the tip of the iceberg.
Why would anyone expect anything else, as there has been no accountability with such matters for years?
Instead, ‘we all partied’. Or at least we have all been forced to carry the collective financial guilt created directly by costs with this sector.
No accountabily = no penalty = no deterrent.
Better again, it is now shown the Irish people are suckers enough to shut up, put up – and quietly pay for the actions of their ‘betters’.
Small fry, an iceberg tip – but will serve to remind the bigger fish to be careful when going about their business.
No, it is shocking.
Remember the Fine Gael ‘New Politics’ promise? The ‘Democratic Revolution’? Fine Gael were elected on the back of a promise to root out this sickness and instead they’ve proven themselves to be as bad as Fianna Fail.
Make no mistake, these politicians were taking money to undermine the interests of their communities. They were prepared to stand in the way of legitimate investment and to block the creation of jobs simply in order to enrich themselves.
Enough is enough.
Shameful. What’s even more shameful is fg and ff let these people retire from the party for make up reasons. No accountability from the top. Shocking what has gone on and what is obviously being allowed . because the parties remain quiet on why someone leaves.
Tip of the iceberg, a huge dirty iceberg.
The silence from the usual swarm of blueshirt and soldier of destiny mouthpieces is deafening this morning.
Is anyone not supportive of this investigation by rte wally?
Thomas obviously everyone is supportive of this investigation by rte. It’s when their parties remain quiet on why they resign . let the public think one thing and a couple of days later or weeks , this comes out. Obviously no morals in the parties or they would be standing up against this kind of behaviour . instead they remain quiet. Shocking and shameful. But not surprising.
Well let’s see now Tommy. There’s the big blueshirt Phil Hogan for a start who we must assume is not supportive as he saw fit to cancel inquiries into planning problems in the local authorities in 2012.
Heard on the radio the Donegal councillor saying he had done this sort of thing before.
He should be given an amnesty arrangement for naming the companies that approached him and paid him money, make him resign and pay back the money he got paid for been councillor
This certainly explains why government TDs were getting all hot and bothered , last Thursday in the dail. Shouting and roaring when questions were being asked about wind turbines. Seems like a touchy subject for some.
The same goon, will be re elected anyway.
your all worked up wally over this :D
Why arnt politicians given an automatic prison sentence for this sort of behaviour,
Very few serve the interest of the people and the country
It should be CAB and Revenue investigating this, not journalists. But as we seen with The Moriarty Tribunal gathering dust in The DPPs office, political corruption is seen as a given in Ireland. Something we just have to put up with! A least when fainnafraud/finegael merge after the next election, all the crooks and gangsters will be in the one party! We could call them Fine Fraud!
A vote for FG is a vote for my corruption.
Philip, I think you might be cart before horse… Companies don’t want to pay off councillors to get business through, it’s that they *have* to pay off councillors to get business done. It’s up to elected officials to be clean from our side. Once they have cleaned up that side, then we can go after companies who actively bribe officials. In each of the examples by RTE, the councillor is soliciting the bribe.
Agreed. Irish politics and state bodies have no accountability to anyone. Therefore, they line their pockets knowing its unlikely they’ll be caught, and even if they are, that very little will be done about it, except a few harsh words in a newspaper column. The worst thing is we continue to vote the same clowns in. And I can’t see it changing at all much in the GE 2016, if the polls are anything to go by
Sad but true!
@ The Irish Bull
near far
i bought a new car
i was safe
in the dail and
my pension will
go on and on
@ Gearoid O Briain
if you vote for SF you might as well vote for the vatican
@ The Irish Bull
You’re here, there’s nothing I fear,
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
Good work Rte, greedy corrupt politicians have turned politics into a dirty word in this country
Ah come on now. Blaming politicians for what? I m sorry, its your mentality. You elected those people so you share their state of mind. The whole nation is corrupt not only politicians. Just admit it.
Agree, Tom. This is good work, and so vital to a healthy democracy. There are 1300 industrial wind turbines already built in this country. How many of these windfarms have gotten planning under corrupt circumstances? Seeing as how this huge existing fleet of wind turbines is only delivering a tiny 2.6% reduction in co2, and 2.3% save in imported fuel, it is incredible that we now have an energy policy that’s about to fund the building of 2000 more industrial wind turbines and a doubling of the national grid to facilitate it all, with no regulations to protect people from the devastating negative health effects of these giant generators. All this without any environmental assessment, or a cost benefit analysis. Community group Wind Aware Ireland detailed the murky connections and cronyism from more than 2 years ago, where once again a very powerful and well connected industry are massively benefiting from taxpayers generosity. http://www.windawareireland.com/the-social-network-and-groupthink/
We don’t all think like you Pavel.
Pavel it’s not the mentality of us all, but you are absolutely spot on that that is the mentality of a majority of people in this country. FF/FG and independents who are knowingly corrupt and represent external interests repeatedly get voted in by the sheep. Anyone who doesn’t think Ireland is corrupt is a fool, in denial or corrupt themselves.From charities, public service, politicians, groups like the IFA, banks, professional services they are riddled and they are facilitated by establishment media and so called journalists who are part of the cartel.
Pavel feel free to leave anytime.
Not sure about his, Pavel. The majority of people in this country are decent hardworking and honest folk. The overwhelming percentage of teachers, doctors, gardaí, firefighters, public service workers etc are the same. We expect our public representatives to represent our values. It’s all the more shocking when they don’t.
I blame the party political system for this. It corrupts people and exists to serve only its own interests and not the interests on the plain people of Ireland. This is why I will only vote for independents who have a rational and intelligent message.
Brian, the majority of people who vote in this country do it on the basis of “site didn’t he get the pothole fixed” or “didn’t he get the school that extra teacher they weren’t entitled to”…Is that not a form of corruption/bribery? Our public representatives do represent our values, we just don’t like to state/admit publicly what those values are
There’s a lot of truth in what you say, Dara, but I’m not convinced it’s the whole truth. The problems with political representation in Ireland go back to the foundation of the state and earlier. These problems are systemic and not individual, I believe.
I still hold to my view the majority of people in Ireland, or India, Iran or Israel, for that matter, are fundamentally decent. However, as members of the human species, we have a shadow and we’re a combination of light and dark, of self- and other-interest.
Our system in Ireland is corrupt and this unnerves people and makes us feel unsafe. We often don’t respond from our best when unsafe. Political parties inhabit this shadow area. My penn’orth!
Dara we need politians who looks after small stuff. That’s the entire idea of the local representative. If he/she can’t deal with a few potholes , what us think will happen when they get a shot at a big job, same nothing.
It seems like there is far too much power vested in just a few hands. If you trace the origins of how we have arrived at a situation where we ( us..taxpayers) are about to spend 14 billion on a roll out of an energy plan that will see the building of 2000 industrial wind turbines, and a very generous subsidy regime to support it with a doubling of the electrical grid to facilitate it, it begins with Green Party TD Eamonn Ryan getting the job of minster for Energy. He appoints Brendan Halligan to head up SEAI (chief energy adviser to govt). Halligan was / is on the board of a wind developing company (Mainstream) and a major shareholder. Ryan introduces the National Renewable Energy Action Plan ( NREAP), and Grid 25 ( Eirgrid plan to double our grid to facilitate windfarms) He was legally bound to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment on this but didn’t. And lo and behold, without doing any assessment on what effect this plan would have on our environment, our economy or our society, it was announced that Ireland would have 40% of its electricity produced by renewables (almost entirely wind). Windfarms receive a guaranteed 15 year price for their product, whether its used or not…as in, a developer still gets paid even when the grid doesn’t need the electricity it’s generating. There are huge tax breaks…and the taxpayer pays the 4 billion plus bill for the grid build out to connect all these dispersed generators…great little country to do business in.
Brian, are you aware that one of the three councillors (33.3%) identified in the main part of this investigation is an independent?
I am indeed, Neal. This is sad but, as I said, the problem is systemic. The political system here does not really cater for independents. Fianna Gael and Fine Fail call the shots.
@ Dave Fingleton,
Politics has always been corrupt, but don’t make it out to be a wind thing only.. you are obviously against wind development and you must have a personal agenda going on.
RTE used the wind industry as a trap for these guys, the result is brilliant
My point here is that the undercover journalist could have been from construction, civil projects, local investments, creating local jobs and the elected representatives would all be looking “brown envelopes” (PS Im not a wind developer)
Dave like others said I don’t see it as a wind farm issue, but a corruption issue. For what is worth in in favour of wind farms, solar, wave etc. We have to start change somewhere. I’m a country person and personally I don’t find wind farms as an eyesore. I see them as hope for the future, like I said you got to start somewhere. That said of course honest open planning should be in place
“The whole nation is corrupt”
Nope. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
@ Tom Kenny
I would think our problem is local authorities, every planning application, “civils projects, houses, business parks, renewables etc” should be taken care of by one nation wide authority. resulting in something like the following
1) local politicians cant influence the so called planning experts in the local county council.
2) standardising the planning process and hopefully speeding it up
3) having skilled people who can focus on different applications nationwide, inside of jack of all trade and a master on non local planning guys.
And yet Michael Lowry is still a hero in the fine gael party!
a post without mention RNU, im impressed mike :D
@Pavel Shipilov,
Then why are you here?
Nail on the head. Personal greed is the real cause of the issues this county has, and will have again.
Of course nobody wud like having a finger put in their eye. But let’s have a cost closer look, the banks here, they will strip you off, the nama, you consider all dealings being transparent? The “I scratch your back you scratch mine ” system is well alive and going strong, I worked in public sector and reported wrong doings of the management to the bigger boss. .. instead of dealing with corrupt management the big boss instructed them to find an excuse to fire me. What they did. What is that called please tell me?
@Dave Meagher. We already have politicians to look after the ‘small stuff’ and they are called local council representatives. What you’re saying here is that our TD’s should be as much concerned with fixing potholes rather than with fixing the country!
By the way, Pavel was right to point out the easy acceptance among some Irish politicians towards corruption. Just look at the grief that Tom Gilmartin RIP received when he challenged that mentality?
I have researched wind energy / grid infrastructure for years, seen how politics and energy policy interface, made submissions, represented my community at bord pleanala, high court etc..I have seen this from the bottom up…and it’s really not pretty..I’m not qualified to speak on the other issues you mention, but I’ve seen enough of how wind developers / Eirgrid / bord Pleanala operate to do me a lifetime. Energy policy is a cess pit of corruption and cronyism. That is a fact. 75% of all wind / grid planning applications in the last 2 years have ended up in judicial review in the high court. The wind industry is rotten to the core.
Pavel…that’s the Irish approach to whistleblowers….. Could have been worse..they could have framed you for criminality to totally discredit you….
Nuclear power plant replacing Money point is only way to go. By the time that’s build we have both hydrogen and 500 miles electric cars.
@Dara
But isn’t that what they’re elected to do? To represent and try and help and get the best for their local community?
@ Tom Kenny
they are hard to vote for .. all of them
1 Adams SF
northern bank and IRA murder and IRA abuse
2 Martin FF
they bailed out the banks then deny it
3 Kenny FG
promised a recovery and delivered (a recovery that the wasters deny )
So now the truth come out about McElvaney. He resigned the FG party whip a few weeks back on the excuse of pylons. Obviously knew this story was coming out. This is the same man that tried to bully Monaghan county county planning Dept into allowing him to build a housing estate on a flood plane. I drove by the area of his planned estate on Friday and it’s a lake as far as you can see as it is every winter. Imagine have bought a house there.
Dealing with others up there you’d need a stab vest !!!!
Massive back handers, undeclared interests, etc. It shows the corruption culture endemic in Fine Gael.
FF/FG? Same party. There’s no difference.
Mickmc not saying you’re wrong, but be careful what you say on a public forum
A FG councillor and TD from Monaghan resign over the “pylon” and a couple of weeks later one is on court on assault charges and the other is exposed as a corrupt weasel. I wonder will this thread be taken over by the YFG trolls as most others are. The abuse they throw at other parties on here on a daily basis, talk about glass houses for the hypocrites!
Fg/if are two cheeks on the same arse.
“You guys make the mafia look like nuns” The beat of corruption and threatening behaviour by our elected council goes on and on and on !
Will make for interesting viewing
while it is great to catch the bad guys this investigation would obviously have found some very good and decent people in public office (irrespective of party). it would be good to show the other side also. obviously throw the book at any wrongdoers that goes without saying
A great little country to do corruption in Thomas don’t you think.
that depends on what happens when you are caught i suppose. cant understand why rte didnt actually hand them the money and catch them proper
A bit like selling of state assets to your friends at mates rates you mean.
The “other side” as you put it Thomas should be seen through the work they do for the very generous salary they receive from us. Sadly is is not.
This man has become the victim of his own greed
aodhan o’reirdon labour t.d said there should be no upper limit to the number of refugees that Ireland takes in……..I wonder now why he made that statement??
10 Grand?
What’s that in Denis O’Brien money?
Jaysus McElvaney some gangster. It’s like a blast from the past. Serious man for a shake down.
Peanuts!
McElvaney, reminds me of Harry Enfield’s Loadsamoney.
It greatly disappointing that we are not more discerning in who we vote to represent us in public. We seem to still be very partial to the cute hoor
So Enda you’ve been in power nearly 4 years and you haven’t had time to reform our planning? Don’t get too comfy in your current opinion polls.
Thomas. So robbing is ok. Lets open the jails so and let the robbers out.
How you can say that is beyond me, they were trusted by the people to do an HONEST JOB not rob every time they got the chance.
that corruption was condemned by Gerry Adams in leaders questions earlier today
can you imagine what SF say behind closed doors ? when they think no one is listening ?
Don’t worry, Kenny promised transparency and the end of corruption…..
Hahaha…could barely keep a straight face :)
Kenny is a liar. The most corrupt of them all.
Corruption in Irish politics? Quelle surprise
Cowboys Ted!
Well done prime time, now a investigation should take place for into all their previous dealings.
Surely an 8 year tribunal would be the better and more likely option?
This is sickening. These people are even worse than criminals. Corruption and abuse of public office has to be stamped out, there should be zero tolerance and a mandatory sentences for such abuse. The public have to demand it.
“These people are even worse than criminals.”
These people are criminals. The sooner people realise that the better.
Thought they chased the snakes out of Ireland ?
@ KK
i don’t know which is more disgusting
the corruption caught on camera or the hypocrites in the Dail condemning it
And we as the electorate will just accept this……..shame on us.
Yep. No doubt he will get voted in again like Michael lowrey et al
Keep up the good work RTE, make sure none of these cockroaches feel safe.
I wonder how many oversights there would be on politicians interests there would be if there was a hefty penalty involved. Revenue would have no problem fining lay people for such oversights.
Why was i not shocked outraged well it little old Ireland, the land of the robbers and i’m alright Jack. I hope the Counties the where they voted the People will get them out.
Then No pension or 188€ a week maybe.
Career politicians…Now why would you want a career in politics?
Answers in a brown envelope please.
Corruption in FF, FG and Labour? I’m shocked!!
And independents
Simple solution – ban local politicians from any involvement in the planning system. They’ve proven beyond any reasonable doubt that they are incapable of the responsibility.
This doesn’t scratch the surface of how zoning decisions for party donors are facilitated which is an even bigger problem.
Cute Whorism is alive and well.
I’m sure some interesting footage didn’t actually make it to production….I’d say a few more of our “leaders” dodged bullets,and they know who they are……
“I want loads of money”. A perfect tagline and summary of Irish politics. Utterly disgraceful and nothing will happen as no one is accountable. This is the reason why 1000s upon 1000s of people do not vote. They’re all as corrupt as each other. Fu*king rancid country.
After the show air, all our politicians will be ‘shocked’ as usual, like their were shocked by the IFA, the salaries paid to charities. Shocked, I tell you. But why is it almost always left to investigative journalists to uncover scandals in this country? Time after time it happens, and our establishment is always shocked. Don’t we have a standards in public office authority, or something? What are they doing? Why does nobody report these crooked politicians to the gardai?
Only shocked that they were caught
This begs the question now from all parties if anything will be done about this, we’re supposed to have standards in Public Office, which in itself is something of a contradiction. This allows them to routinely lie with impunity and it would appear there’s no oversight, nobody checking, ok so now that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, can those standards be seen to be done? Can we see the various political parties take action or will it be the usual lip service and they’ll form a committee and hope to Christ for a miracle and this will disappear over Christmas?
This is Ireland, I am not one bit surprised by these revelations
The tweet machine is going to get some hammering tonight!
Its a start. Barely scratches the surface I’d say. Better smoke a joint before watching this as i could break the tv otherwise.
Criminal charges should be the next logical step in this process.
Dum Dee Dum Dee Dee……..Just waiting for the YFG trolls to arrive…….Dum Dee Dee……mmmmh, a bit late this morning are’t they?
…They must be all flaked out in the YFG frap room after all the rubbish they posted last night about PD not signing off on the Bland Inquiry.
Tim Cowhig is a former Fine Gael director of elections and running mate of Simon Coveney. He is now head of Element Power, an Irish based sub of international energy utility giant Hudson. They have massive plans for wind farm development in Ireland. Currently seeking planning consent for the enormous Maighne windfarm in Meath, and also the driver behind the Greenwire project to build over 1000 industrial wind turbines in the midlands to export electricity to UK. At the recent Fine Gael presidential dinner, the executives of Element power took a full table. Like THAT round of golf where the bank bail out was never discussed, no doubt there was no discussion of an energy policy that plans to give enormous quantities of taxpayers money to wind developers.
Well, surprise, surprise.
Hugh asks “What’s in it for me?” A jail sentence would be nice.
Tip of the iceberg.
Just sick sick of all these making money there a filthy lot let change Ireland
“O’Donnell goes on to say that he doesn’t want to be seen to be involved because “there are so many begrudgers out there.”
Classic Irish use the word “begrudgers” there to describe people who are critical of illegal gains rather than legal gains.
Let them role, let them roll , let them roll!!
Hugh Mcelvaneys excuse of play acting catching RTE out is probably the most ludicrous excuse i have ever heard. He needs to be removed from office. He cannot continue. This has gone beyond a joke.
I nearly died laughing when I heard him on newtalk… the only possible excuse was to say he was playing along.
Any logical person if they thought they where in the middle of an entrapment, they would have covered their arse by not even mentioned any money. but this guy runs the risk of going all the way and then saying he knew it was a trap… it will be interesting to see if his eyes are scanning the reporter to see if she had a camera… im pretty sure he didn’t look
an expose from rte ????? i wonder what is the big news they are not telling us ??
No one from the Labour party or SF ?
Anne Phelan from Labour for not registering her second home. Sinn Fein must be clean as a whistle because you can be dsmn sure RTE would’ve spent more time investigating them than any of the other parties.
If you think of councillors in you area, and gave a guess as to which ones you think are corrupt, 9 times out of 10 I’d say people would pick FF/FG guys. So many of them just seem like sleazy me feiners.
SF ‘clean as a whistle’ – thousands lying in their graves might tend to disagree. Corruption should be eradicated from all parties but SF/IRA is not a normal party and is beyond help. The record speaks for itself – death, destruction, murder and mayhem.
Tap this topic is not about Sf now piss off.
Yeah keep banging on about the past there Tap. The rest of us acknowledge the past but also see that SF are heading for Government, if not in 2016, then within 5 years because they represent the people who vote them and not foreign governments, banks and corporations like FF and FG do.
Keep talking, Tap… keep those clever thoughts in full view for everyone to see
Pat/Tap, who are this sf/ira party you speak off? I for one have only heard Jim Allister and Willie Frazer and the like use this term in Ireland, but they’re two weirdo halfwits. Are you a weirdo halfwit too Pat?
@ Peter Buchnan
SF are up to their neck in murder and abuse
i dont think their corruption needs to be exposed at this stage
There should be very serious sanctions for non compliance, whether it is an oversight or not. Personally I would like to see them thrown out of office.
To be fair to the lads,I don’t think they were stepping too far out of their remit in asking for a small consultancy fee,for their time at the very least.I know this position won’t be popular but sure these wind crowd ms will be making a fortune out of their turbines why shouldn’t the man who did all the work setting it up for them get a few quid for his efforts,wouldn’t you expect the same??..Seriously,what’s ten grand in the wider scheme of things,I think all the do gooders should lay off the lads and wise up.
@francis….your hilarious bud…lol
I see some guy on video clip expressing surprise and shock… Really? Standard practise in Ireland . It’s FF and FG most involved as they have largest groupings on councils I’d be surprised any major planning permission is awarded without a “what’s in it from me”…
Nothing will happen to these guys. Remember as an example Iceland jailed it’s bankers. Irish ones didn’t even lost their jobs. Some even got bonuses.
It’s Ireland sure
Not one bit surprised at these chances..
Every single one of them should be arrested. If not, it really shows up the Gardai for what they are: political police which work for the government and not the people.
Reminds me of a well known politician in this area who was allowed to distribute 50,000 euro to his local club or indeed the former senior civil servant whos close relations had no difficulty avoiding paying rates….and what about the card carrying member of FG who used his position in the HSE to target a family member of a political rival. Wexford politics and public service is rotten to the core….
Snouts in the trough again. Nothing changes. I’m sure we will have the phrase “on mature recollection ” bandied about in the coming days.
Was anyone approached who acted honorably in this scenario? It would appear its like the biblical story of Sodham and Gahmorra where not one good person could be found in order to save it from the Rath of God.
I would hazard a guess the story from the bible arose from a similar situation.
This is inevitable. we already pay civil servants to deal with housing issues, medical card, hospital waiting lists and social welfare issues. By their own admission this is what they spend their time doing. They spend their time trying to jump friends and likely voters up the housing list, displacing people entitled to be there, the same with waiting lists or trying to subvert the normal course in welfare issues. The better their ability at corrupting the system ( you scratch my back and I will scratch yours) the more they can use this as a stepping stone to the real gravy train, dail eireann.
They also deal with planning issues, this is were the real money is, but have no qualifications to be an authority to deal with planning issues.
This Idiot, McElvany, must think that the people of Ireland are all fools. He is trying to turn the case around and pretend that he saw them coming. This is hilarious behaviour , why didn’t he tell them to fcuk off, or just say that he was not interested in any of this thing. Why did he resign from Fine Gael last week, just as Conlon did, when they both knew that the game was up. He is hardly going to fool The Intelligent people of Ireland with this type of tripe. He is a good spoofer all right, but his race is now run. He had better Resign from the County Council now. To try and go along with something like that if , as he says, he saw them coming, would be a very dangerous thing to do. That would only make one believe that this man has very bad judgement in deed.
Eugene he should be dragged screaming from the council and thrown into a prison cell.
The media know who is on cocaine, which ones are having affairs, which are bisexual, etc etc but they trade favours for information. How many Journslists have Drunk driving charges against them ? Considering they conducted oat of their business in pubs and are known as heavy drinkers – they trade favours with everybody as that is part of their job. Information is their currency and the best ones use it to their own benefit not necessarily the publics benefit. They need the politicians, Gardai, senior Civil servants, etc to earn their crust so they constantly compromise their positions. Hacks are Hacks for that very reason.
excellent that this is exposed. well done to rte keep up the good work
Politics in Ireland was always about ( whats in it for me) are we thick it never was any other way.
Our electorate would still elect this lot..Irish politicians, like most have head up arse syndrome
Paddy Machiavelli is alive & well. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if RTE are forces to pull this programme at the last minute due to an injunction. This Republic is seriously rotting from the inside out.
Well done RTE for exposing these shysters .
It shows corruption is alive and well in Ireland .
McElvaney, double agent. Absolutely brilliant. You just couldn’t write this stuff. ‘I know people will find it hard to believe……but I was playing along’ Dimwits like this actually represent us. I mean Irish people are responsible for electing this calibre of person to a body which is supposed to act in the public’s interest. And this guy thinks we are going to swallow a story about him acting as some kind of double agent? A 4 year old wouldn’t make it up. Name and shame these gangsters and then get them in front of a judge.
Pylons again hahahaha some crowd that Fine Gael, that’s him and Conlon in Monaghan over the last few weeks, one on assault and the other taking bribes. Is monkey and his alter egos on yet to make this about SF yet back in 1980 someone done something.
The common denominater seem to be Fine Gael.
Remember “I won it on the races” ?
Everyone remembers stories of bottles of whiskey being bought for the P&T man to skip the queue for a telephone.
Corruption is endemic in Irish society and needs to be weeded out with strict enforced laws.
I can’t wait to see the outcome of the inquiry Fine Gael set up for this in 14 years.
There is no accoutability. Enda will just bush this aside as always. We deserve what we get. Vote them, accept them. Think next election….
A new round of Tribunals on the way, the ciricle contiunes so now the Solicitors and barristers can fill their pockets at the taxpayers expense
Did ye ever watch that movie “Spirited away” where the kids parents had turned into pigs and are stuffing their snouts in the food at the bar?
When I watch that I see Irish Politicians in my head. Am I mad?
What’s in it for me? A self-serving politician whose biggest concern is feathering his own nest. Say it isn’t true!
Where are CAB and where are the f^ckin Fraud Squad? Are they afraid to investigate the white collar criminals? Well see how many if these guys will face any prosecution over this?
Every one of them should be sacked, and brought to justice.
Bertie and his friends were worse than these guys and Bertie is still walking around on a big pension. Charlie before him was even worse. Who was the FG TD who took the money in the Cherrywood Planning farce? She will run for President. All rotten and we elect them but at least they are not terrorists.
Mindfulness, they all start with the 1000 or 2000 and move up quickly!
@ Mind full irish
oh don’t you know????
Bertie left his mothers grave side to bring peace to northern ireland ©
Great reporting on the epidemic of corruption within the established ranks of FG labour and ff silver spoon brigade parties. Let’s hope that the electorate realise this in the next election.
Why are they allowed rectify their forgetfulness by The Standards In Public Office ? If the situation was declare everything or loose your position I bet that wouldn’t take long to help them focus their memory. PS I for one do not belive when they plead memory loss.
Watching on TV; What a bunch of thundering scoundrels. They’ll go down in history! Deservedly! It’ll be interesting to see if they’re prosecuted to the full extent of the law
Nothing will happen to these guys ,they know it and could not give two sh***
Filth. Should be sacked immediately and arrested. Not likely to happen in this banana republic though
He’s just been on pat Kenny. He looking forward to it. Some neck.
Until such time that elected representative are held accountable for their actions, this corruption will continue I would suggest jailing all involved and the seizure of all assets (from both parties).This would reduce corruption quite a bit…
In the mean time all I’ve got is my vote, so for the first time in forty years I will not be voting for FF or FG. In fact, I will not vote for these parties for the remainder of my life unless of course the corruption is routed out and they can prove it…
And what will the penalty be for these corrupt blanks? Nil, and thats fact. Country so needs change.
These revelations by RTE merely reveal the point of the tip of a massive iceberg of political corruption in Ireland practicised by FG and FF. Two not very bright local Councillors were caught. Bear in mind what the Mahon Tribunal discovered and the massive and systemic corruption in relation to zoning flood plains for residential and commeecial developments. FF and FG thrive on backhanders.
i bet you the RTE journalists who exposed this corruption are SF supporters
the timing couldn’t be better for SF/IRA
I presume next February or thereabouts we will all have the opportunity to exercise the “what’s in it for me” proposition. Exercise it very carefully!!!!
i think we need a change in the way people are elected in this country. people who are capable of getting themselves elected for however means possible are the least suited to do the job. you shouldn’t want to be a td/senator or whatever but if other people see a person in the community who has the correct morals and attitude and knowledge/education then they should be put forward by the people.
Paddy. When the politicans come knocking on your door don’t say what’s in it for me ask what’s in it for them.
O Gosh, never knew this stuff was going on for decades !!!!!!!
The ghost of the late, great Tom Gilmartin RIP has finally come back to haunt these greedy, corrupt b@stards.
we need more of this sort of investigation. I may consider paying the licence fee if this is a trend – they could go a lot deeper, mind you.
Kick this man out of the country?
I think we should all wear tee shirts with “N/A” printed on them when our politicians come calling come GA time. :)
Necks like a jockeys bollix….
How the mighty have fallen!!!
Call me foolish if you like,but why the hell isn’t there an independent state employee ,at a senior level,doing the kind of cross checking re property folio/cre/mortgage charges that rte managed to do..hardly rocket science…
This looks good. Well done RTÉ!
Enda what is the story ?. Regards Paddy.
Its laughable and truth be known only the tip of the iceberg Anyone else hear the theme music from killinaskully reading this or was it just me
Fr. Ted comes to mind here… It was just resting in my account lol.
Is this ment to shock us ??
Don’t rely on the government, make a sucess of your own life & just laugh at these stories. People look out for themselves.
A prison sentence would be a nice a little earner
Where you have people you will always have corruption.
As long as voters leave their brains at home when they go to vote then the abuse of citizens will continue.
- Landlords who max your Rent
- Banks who max your Debt (societal and personal – just to get a roof over your head)
- Political Parties who max your Tax ( and use whip to pass laws to allow Revenue to take it from your pay and pensions)
Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and an Independent councillor – the three most popular groupings in the country according to recent polls.
We really are screwed!
Could we not ask the investigative team for this program to assume the Independent Planning Regulatory body? They have done a terrific job. At this point im not confident that an Independent body setup would be uncorruptable. FG is onerous here. They have not put in place recommendations put forward in the mahon tribunal. They were elected 5 years ago!
Those hoping to be elected should declare their interests when standing for election. They’re open to scrutiny then, not afterwards when it’s too late! It might get rid of a lot of these opportunists!
Now there’s a shock! A corrupt politician. RTE were really taxing themselves with this one! But what really concerns me is, while RTE are running this story and working the public up into a frenzy what exactly are the government getting up to?
Cant help but feel all this from RTE of all stations is a softening precursor to something hughmongus about to be released as no way of hiding it. Could be me, but i do wait in anticipation…
GUBU
to RTE: We want more!
McElvaney gesturing as though he were scraping piles of money off the table and lumping it all into his pockets really reminded me of that corrupt crab boss with his lovely crab claws ‘Henry J Waternoose III’ CEO of Monsters Inc. And we all know what happened to Waternoose, the slug got him!!!! :o
I think I’d like to see the program first before being so knowledgeable and expressive about it…
All three should be jailed.
IRELAND THE COUNTRY OF BROWN ENVELOPES AND BACK HANDERS THE POLITICS OF THIS Country IS A FARSE A JOKE THE GREED MAKES ME SICK TO THE CORE
25 years for each of them. Outrageous. #rteinvestigates
Nothing to see here. Let’s move on. Let’s forget it. Let’s not dwell on it. Let’s not investigate. Let’s not bother.
http://louthnoises.com/rte-caught-in-county-councilor-sting/
While I believe we desperately need a change from FF/FG/Labour, we have to be realistic. Many alternative candidates will have similar ethical issues. Luke Flanagan made a similarly bizarre and unbelievable claim that he was a deep cover agent pretending to take advantage of penalty points being waved purely to wait in the long grass until the time was perfect to reveal the corruption……..Total BS trotted out in an attempt to extract Flanagan from a moral quagmire and completely taken apart on Vincent Browne’s ‘Tonight With’ (on YouTube). We are going to vote candidates into a politically inert system (The Dail) where there is serious temptation to settle for self-interest and far too much opportunity for self-interest. Flanagan got exposed and bogged off (no pun intended) to the European Parliament (where pay & expenses were even better than being a TD) all the time claiming that this was all to be in a better position to help the Irish public. Excuse me while I vomit my brain out!
When can we expect proper legislation to ensure that those in public life found to be corrupt can be dealt with effectively
Will the Gardai be asked to enqire into the disclosures in this programme
Jail for the lot of them, and they pay their solicitors no money from the people.
Explosive? C’mon now, what surprises me is they on found three seemingly corrupt officials currently in office. Although damning as it was there’s little likely to happen to these men until the next election. Sensualised journalism.
To be fair to the lads,I don’t think they were stepping too far out of their remit in asking for a small consultancy fee,for their time at the very least.
I know this opinion won’t be popular but think about it..these wind crowds will be making a fortune out of their turbines why shouldn’t the man who did all the work setting it up for them get a few quid for his efforts,sure wouldn’t you expect the same??Seriously,what’s ten grand in the wider scheme of things,I think all the do gooders should lay off the lads and wise up.
You make a good case for fascism because I wish you weren’t allowed vote.
Hi Francis… I see your reply here was removed… allow me to replace it from my email notification
“Author: Francis Finnerty
Comment:
So I should only be able to vote if I share the same opinion as you?…I don’t think you understand the very basic principals of democracy.”
I don’t think you understood what I said there. I meant that you make a good case for moving AWAY from democracy.
You’ve also reaffirmed my opinion with your reply (although I’m not sure why the Journal didn’t allow it… there was nothing untoward in it… maybe they were just trying to protect your reputation.
)
Francis, no comment on that even needed! It takes one to know one
It happened again… happy to help…
“Author: Francis Finnerty
Comment:
I’m surprised they didn’t allow my comment either,I thought it a fair and polite retort.
Imagine all the comments the journal must be censoring if this is the bar that’s been set.
Are they attempting to unbalance the narrative,to angle the opinion in the direction of their choosing…it appears you’re not alone in your facist views Mr. Phillips.”
I must call you on the ‘fascist views’ bit though. I think I’ve demonstrated the opposite here, despite my original point that you make a good case for fascism, which I still stand by.
I agree that you were you were polite but you were not exactly fair because you didn’t take the time to digest what I said and so your reply wasn’t relevant to my comment.
I don’t know why The Journal your replies aren’t coming up here, but they’re coming to my mailbox which must mean they’ve been received at the Journal’s end.
Anyway… your point above that we should turn a blind eye is stupid and irresponsible at best. At worst, it advocates corruption. That is not a valid stance to take and for that reason I think your comments are no great loss to the article, except to work in my favour here by saving me the trouble of showing everyone the rubbish you’re writing.
sorry for the typos there… hope the message is still understood
Ah yes. The old ‘counter sting’ . Well played sir.
So they did not declare what they should because it was a genuine mistake, “oversight”????????? Do they think we are fools?????????????!!!!!! It is so frustrating…this country is a mess!
busted!!!
Why do people become politicians?
1) for the greater good of their country
2) for the greater good of themselves
3) for the power and influence
4) for the admiration and respect of their fellow-country-men
5) for the massive perks and pensions
6) they are no good at anything else
7) Daddy was at it before me
8) They like being on telly
9) EGO
10) All of the above, except no. 1
Sadly it looks like columnist Fintan O’Toole is right, “So long as impunity reigns, the rare eejit who gets caught will always evoke sympathy…” http://wp.me/p4l6Mg-lr
” The Northern Wolf”
This is another key reason why the system of checks and balances needs to be completely overhauled in Ireland. There is no one willing to stand up to corrupt people within the political system. Lenster house needs a thorough scouring. We need to consign Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to the dustbin of history. They are totally wrong for Ireland’s medium to long term future. In real terms we have not advanced one iota since the foundation of the state.
Tip of the iceberg really,i wonder how many senior planners and county managers were “convinced” to go along with certain planning decisions. Unfortunately this is Ireland and it will all be swept under the carpet and things will carry on the same
Sadly, I agree with you!
Hugh McElvaney has done great work in Monaghan for over 40 years, where were RTE when he was working tirelessly for us each and every day of the year for the past 42 years ? Show me a Dublin councillor with as
This is a load of commotion over nothing, Hugh knew he was been set up.
Village editorialised last year about the hypocrisy of official Ireland – the apathy of the media and politicians to ongoing and endemic corruption, especially planning corruption, and whistleblowers. http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2015/12/hypocrisy-about-whistleblowing-official-ireland-is-indifferent-this-time-about-donegal/
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