Only if there are prosecutions from it. Otherwise it’s a huge amount of money just to tell us politicians are corrupt.

It depends on whether it’s findings are acted on or not.

Hey TheJournal, a better poll question, and one that would get radically different results I’d bet, would be:

If the Mahon report leads to successful prosecutions, will it have been worth it?

People seem to be voting no because they think there’ll be no consequences…

Is there anyway of finding out how much money the state recovered from those found to have being avoiding tax during the tribunals proceedings?

I voted yes, even though it cost more than it should, people were certainly overpaid, and the same job could have been done for less money.

It exposed (the tip of the iceberg of) the rotten culture that passed for normal business in Fianna Fail circles. And other parties too, but Fianna Fail were the masters of it and it was more ingrained in their culture – or their ‘core values’ as they like to call them. Its investigations were concentrated on one place, Dublin, and largely on a small number of projects, but I don’t think anyone now doubts that the same stuff went on, perhaps at a less lucrative level, at councils up and down the country and on other projects of various kinds where big money was involved.

And there was big money involved. Bear in mind that at the time they were taking this money, the figures were more startling than they seem now, when billions are tossed about with abandon. Pee Flynn’s €50k, which he got in 1989, would have bought him two or three houses – albeit perhaps not the standard of house in which he would have deigned to live.

The country has changed as a result of this tribunal. Before it began, such carry on was really just looked on as the way things were done, everyone knew, nobody seemed to know how to stop it. We didn’t watch our politicians like hawks or check on their affairs so carefully. They felt they were above the law and that these payments were their due and right. They don’t feel so cocksure anymore – they are all aware that they have to watch their backs and be very careful about what they do, where they go, who they hang about with and how they conduct their affairs.

No, we don’t have perfect politicians now, there are probably still some looking to exploit their positions and we need a lot more checks and balances. But they are more nervous now, watching their backs, knowing that they are not dealing with an electorate ambivalent about corrupt or inappropriate practices. And for that the high price paid was at least almost worth it.

how much does a pair of concrete boots cost would of saved an awful amount if money. it cost 140 million to build new hospital in tullamore and 250 million for a report on bertie. u f@ckin wasters and he’s not even in jail

What price does one put on democracy? Anyway, it would seem that the proceeds to the state from back taxes, penalties and CAB have mote than covered the cost of recent tribunals. But I haven’t heard that mentioned too prominently in the media.

And bertie still trying to squirm his way out with more lies.Need to strip him of the big pension we are paying him.3000 euro a week to that scumbag.

What’s €250 million between friends…….

I voted yes, knowledge is power after all, but the sad truth is that, without action, the net effect could be negative; we’re reminded at the corruption in our society AND the inability of our political and legal system to deal with it.

Talk about a disincentive to care about … well… Ireland.

The tribunal was worth it if it stamps out corruption.
And corruption has been a major factor in Irish politics for many years.

Never thought the corruption in Ireland was as bad as this, like reading about a country in Africa, was going to say Sth America but even there some countries have got their act together, wheras Ireland seems to have gone backwards.

I don’t recall hearing or smelling corruption in Jack Lynch’s (even though I was a kid then!) or Garth Fitzgerald’s time, came with Haughey and it stank to high heaven way back then and seems to have become a way of life and embedded with FF culture.

Just like it had been in Queensland in Australia in the past with the state National party.
Corruption at all levels government and police for about 20years, it was a well known fact but they seemed to be untouchable – it was the media who blew the whistle in the end and a 2 year enquiry (Fitzgerald) seems to have cleaned up the situation there.

Many state ministers including the police commissioner (who was stripped of his Sir title) were jailed, lets hope the same can happen in Ireland as Queensland has only gone from strength to strength since then.

Will we see any justice dished out or will it be the usual tripe/ we all know the way the law works in this country one law for the poor and another for the rich, same as the health service.

Someone on Primetime (or was VinB) last night said the tribunals from McCracken on, plus the DIRT enquiry, have recouped 2 billion for the State, from an outlay of less than 1 billion. Most of this would be from CAB and Revenue actions. The vast bulk from the value-for-money DIRT enquiry.

Nonetheless, it is worrying that the no vote has it in the above poll. Back in the 80s and 90s the Gards received complaints which they failed to act on. A number of journalists were reporting what was going on in Dublin local authorities. There were a number of pubs you could go in to witness the dishing out of largess by Frank Dunlop. The public galleries of council chambers were chock-full of developers, their agents and bag-men. Trevor Sargent was assaulted by a number of councillors when he stood up in the council chamber waving a cheque he received in the post from a developer (the FF councillor who had him in a headlock now faces expulsion from FF and possible criminal investigation). The Mahon report finds that there was endemic and systemic corruption in political life. The tribunal was regularly obstructed and this lead to Ray Burke and Liam Lawlor being jailed for contempt. Given the failure of State agencies in tackling corruption for so long, is it any wonder it took a tribunal so long, and at such cost to disclose the truth?

This will be a lost opportunity if people buy the line it was all a waste of money. What price democracy? Is the concern about the cost of the report a sign that nothing is to be learned from it? Maybe people would consider reading it before deciding on its merits…

Name and shame,these bastards have no shame.Lining their own pockets is all they know.Its been said,the hospitals in Turkey are better than here.These politicians are a disgrace to Ireland.Moneygrabbing scumbags,every last one of them.

It will be worth every cent provided appropriate disciplinary action is taken by the state. My worry would be that those who were found to have acted corruptly or inappropriately will now seek to fustrate any further process by lodging interminable appeals.

So, when is Bertie going to get sent down…hopefully jail for a long time with criminal sorts…for his evasion of taxes????? Joe Bloggs would be.

Oh no, we can’t do that!! It’s Bertie Bassett…special treatment here.

I think the question is why the guards havnt got off their arse and done their job and left it to a tribunal to do it for them
Reminds me of the church crimes even the dogs on the streets knew about it but nobody in the guards did anything
TBH I’d luv to see the gardai restructured

I’m voting “Don’t Know” until a prosecution is made.

Exposing FF for their corruption – PRICELESS

I could of told you that for a rasher sandwich and a cup of tea, one sugar.

It needed to be done, perhaps when the revenue dogs are set loose on some of these guys we might recover a good portion of it?

I think the money it cost is horrendous…..yea there is a BUT ….. The findings is in black and White and no-one can or will deny any of it 1) we can stay negative and just complain and moan but do nothing and say ah shur that was then or we are are where we are and other such crap 2) we demand that heads roll and pensions are lost ,along with guide lines and expectations of requirements for applicants to run in elections from this day forth People let’s our pride and dignity back and stand tall together

Don’t forget the widespread multimillion euro payments to legal teams for useless tribunals which only tell us what we already know, and hold none of the investigated liable. When I or any other man or woman are suspected of criminal activity the evidence is presented in a court of Law which then imposes a penalty. It seems that along with enriching lawyers, tribunals demonstrate that politicians and their cronies are above the law.

It was hugely expensive way to expose these corrupt arseholes but it was their culture of nod nod wink wink here’s a nice brown envelope that got us where we are. With the help of the tribunal, and the big crash which wiped out a lot of the ill gotten gains, hopefully that culture will have gone, or at least diminished, so that Irish society can be much fairer for our future.
Here’s hoping anyhoo

We knew all along about it now that we have the proof in away wouldn’t it be good to continue and from that make a few laws so that it won’t happen again but laws in place that question everything about a politicians life style right down to him/her buying a car, hey they get the big bucks..pressure with the job too..

Sadly there is nobody left worth voting for.We need new blood in the Dail.All the parties have shown they are corrupt,or just turned a blind eye to it all going on.These people play golf,and drink together,so they all knew what was going on.Sad day for Ireland,when the trust is gone.Shame on all of them.

Why can you not comment on the sherry fitzgerald “property spin” advert???…

I think that all the corrupt politicians should have their properties siezed by CAB, and then be sent to jail for the rests of their lives, and come out only when they are buried. They could have cut costs at the tribunal like spend less money on tea and coffee, 80,000 euros spent on it is absolutely ridiculous, the barristers ect should have been made to bring in their own sandwiches and tea and coffee into work, instead of having it so handy. This will affect the way the household charge will go, which will be that most people will not pay it including myself, as all politicians are corrupt, particularly the ones in power now, and that means labour too. I only trust the ones who are sitting opposite the government, who are standing up for us. Phil Hogan should not be holding a council place in kilkenny when he is in the office of ministery, so he is affectively breaking the law, and he is telling us that we are breaking the law, and he is just a hypocrite, just like the other politicians involved in the mahon tribunal.

Did the State not make a lot of money being paid back in taxes and penalties that it would not have been were it not for the Tribunal?

200m to find out something we already knew, politician’s are corrupt. Biggest waste of money.

Money spent on confirming what we already knew. Inevitably the DPP will brush this aside, as the report itself deems some of its findings “inconclusive”. Regardless of the money recouped as a result of Mahon, without those named and shamed being brought before the courts, it very much wasn’t worth the time and more importantly, money spent on it.

Nothing will be learned from it.They will just be more careful in future.Most of them are millionaires.Where did Noonan get all his money from.He has massive shares in german bonds.Each and every one of their accounts needs looking into,and that includes off shore accounts.Where did they all get this money from.Basically from crooked deals.We need a complete new government now,as none of them can be trusted anymore.Get ordinary people in,give them advisers,and hopefully we can get ireland back on track.

It would of been cheaper if they didn’t bother hiring plants and someone to water them!

These “Tribunals” are even more corrupt then their buddies in the Dail. It would have been cheaper to just shoot the bastards.