You are right Sean http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/john-drennan/john-drennan-grim-battle-gearing-up-as-travellers-colonise-town-estates-3203456.html

Calling on travellers in Rathkeale to be investigated by CAB , he does not like them in his own area ….

This political points scoring is sickening. The facts are , anyone who has had any involvement/suffered with the travelling community do not want them living next door. Due to rubbish , fighting or stealing.

All Phil Hogan was doing was trying to help the people that voted him in ! Should he have ignored them ?

Ah lads come on now. As a tax payer do you not want some of these guys investigated by cab. Are you stupid enough to think they pay tax in there earnings. You are moaning for the sake of it now. They tax office don’t have the man power to tackle them.

If people have concerns around anti social issues they should complain to the council or Gardai , not you local gombeenman.

M

From what I read, the anti social behaviour was 20 years ago and the culprits are dead.

Donncha are you truly that nieve to think that if the people die that the trouble will end!?

Well, I wouldn’t place responsibility on others for the actions of people that are dead for something that happened 2 decades ago, no matter who they were. You can call that naive, but I’d call it fair. Also, from what I have read the family haven’t caused any problems since they moved in.

hogan said that family has anti-socially behaved, while the letter initially sent to hogan was about another family, so is what hogan said about them true?

Clearly someone who has never had to deal with him on a personal or professional level. An off the cuff and stupid statement not backed up in anyway

It was exactly that , an off the cuff comment , in reference to last week when he issued a statement in relation to apple maps on the latest iOS software , or a ” strongly worded statement ” released in wake of gang killings” , he’s never usually shy about releasing statements…..that’s why I made an off the cuff comment.

Next election is 2016. Every 5 years usually. You should try doing the Math sometime.

Bit grumpy this morning Michael. Why would I do maths when ur here to tell everyone. Go back to bed.

5 years is the maximum term of Government. If you read the stats instead of doin the math you’ll see the full term has only been achieved twice in the history of the state. If a not too unlikely upcoming Labour collapse happens sooner rather than later then a snap election may happen at any time. They’ll probably all sit pretty until after Feb next year when the required 2 year time period for pension eligibility will have passed before magically remembering their selective values and start rumbling on the back benches.

Thanks lee for a positive answer instead of a grumpy one.

With a name like Chucky most of your work was conducted in dark basements over the years.

You don’t get the main point, he shouldnt have intervened and he abused his position as a minister. Do Councillors get elected for something, If not then they are not needed? We were promised change, we got less and a crowd worse than the last bunch of monkeys!

so ministers shouldn’t intervene on behalf of their constituents??

Ministers represent the whole Country, not just their constituents. It was a local matter, not a parliament matter!

Phil hogan got requests from local residents to keep anti social criminals away from them, he did just that.

Well done phil, you can be my TD if ye want.

they represent their constituents, collectively they represent the whole country.

Stephen and Chris are lovers of this horrible man, google him and find out about this guy. He represented his constituents, while inteferring in council business and would he have done it for people in other parts of the Country. I don’t like any of these parties, from the socialists to FG, what about you chris and stephen? Are you both FG lovers, be honest?

Well I presume he wouldn’t have done it for people in other parts of the country seeing as he is not their local TD and wouldn’t have been contacted to do so.

Stephen, in principle he was not acting outside of his duties as a representative of that locality and i was under the impression that you were arguing against that. so your just bitching about politicians in general then. Im not party specific and i certainly don’t have a favourite politician Haha

I am not a fan of the guy but at the end of the day he attempted to help his constituents. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, if they were moved in next door to you you would be the first one on to your TD.

He’s an idiot because he tried to help people?

Would you be 100% ok if they moved next door to you and you had experience of the family causing trouble?

If I was a TD, I’d move them away from my place and over to your place.
That’d be ok, right?

Call me an idiot but I don’t get this story at all. Some constituents were concerned about a family being moved next door and we wrote to them to say they weren’t? Is that it? Was there something offensive written in the letter? Did he divulge personal information about the family involved? Did he personally interfere with the housing process?

Travellers in general have a valid reputation for anti-social behaviour so regardless of who exactly this family is, the constituents had reason to be concerned. Moving the family seemed to be the responsibility of government, and the government has a responsibility to its constituents. Seems cut and dry to me.

He is a minister, what part of that don’t people get? He is supposed to represent everyone, even travellers aswell and not just his own constituency. It was a local matter, contact your local councillor or deal with it locally! Would he have done the same, in another part of the Country? No, he wouldnt and you can’t do that! Wake up people!

Have you seen the letter? Do you know what’s been said? How do you know that what was said was a sweeping allegation? Everyone here is forgetting something: if travellers moved in next door to you, would you like it?
Everyone here is a hypocrite, and they’re just as bad as the ones they’re complaining about, if not worse.

Spot on Michael.

The family got the house, no? Why the legal advice?

Because a Minister wrote to a constituent saying they wouldn’t. If I was in that position I’d be seeking legal advice. Did the Minister make representations about this? Who did he speak to, what did he say?

The minister wrote a letter. He did not speak to the deciding council, the deciding officers, or anyone else – Kilkenny council confirmed this yesterday.

It pleases that you seem to know me so well from a couple of short comments. It looks you take the same lazy approach to the topic in question. I know plenty of Travellers who are model citizens, despite attitudes like
yours.

Also, if someone new moved next door, no matter who they were, I’d be a little nervous. But I don’t have any right to stop them from living there, unless I’m the landlord of their house. I’ve actually been in this situation, and lived near Travellers growing up. There’s always a few idiots no matter what their social background, Traveller, settled, black, white. Now, if you were moving in, I might make an exception….

Donnacha you are acting blind in an effort to be offended. If this family really was feuding with another family in the estate they should not have been moved in under any circumstances. I wonder has anyone spoken to the other traveller family in the estate who seem to have no problems and who they were supposedly feuding with. They could have been one of the residents who asked for the other family not to be moved in. Wouldn’t be the first time that has happened.

Yes, it would have been a misuse if his position. That it was a traveller family is irrelevant. He acted like a feudal lord, and those days should be long gone. But that’s not news to yourself, I’d imagine.

What kind of evidence?

Why are they regarded with such contempt ? Whose fault is that ? Why should we cherish this way of life ? Give me a break would you !

I can honestly tell you i’ve never met one of these “cultured” travellers you speak of.

Arbitrasure, my family records go back to the 1400s.
How about they “cherish” me, my lot were here first!
Anyway, we can’t just move all travellers away from all Fg voters, that sets a nazi tone.
#sorry; nasty tone.

Can someone qualify what exactly their culture is??Should we cherish people who refuse education and live off state benefits?Travellers themselves are guilty of terrible discrimination within their own society eg. gender discrimination