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FIANNA FÁIL’S JUSTICE spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan says that the issue of Bertie Ahern rejoining the party cannot be addressed because the former Taoiseach hasn’t applied.
A meeting of the Dublin Central branch this week unanimously agreed to ask Ahern to rejoin the party he led in government for over a decade.
Ahern resigned from the party in March 2012 following the publication of the Mahon tribunal. He stepped down as Taoiseach in 2008 and as a TD in 2011.
The tribunal found that he did not truthfully account for payments of IR£165,000 made to accounts connected to him.
However, O’Callaghan told RTÉ Radio One’s Saturday With Claire Byrne that the issue was something of media creation, not something the party was focusing on.
If we’re going to have coverage of motions passed at Fianna Fáil meetings, we’re going to need a separate radio station and a separate TV station.
“In fairness to Bertie Ahern, he has not applied for membership of Fianna Fáil.
“Fortunately I don’t have a decision to make in relation to this. If he does apply, it will be considered by the general secretary.
“I think the leadership will have to be respected on this issue.”
O’Callaghan said that Ahern, who is seen as unlikely to rejoin the party while Micheal Martin is leader, hadn’t sought any attention.
“It is unfair on Bertie Ahern to catapult him back into the limelight like this because he hasn’t applied to join Fianna Fáil.
Give the man a break, he’s off doing his gardening and he’s entitled to do his gardening.
“If he applies to join Fianna Fáil, I’ll come back to you.”
Read: Fianna Fáil branch to ask Bertie Ahern to rejoin party
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Digging up the money he hid?
@Robert Stack:
Jaysus! We’ll have Biffo back next!
What hole was he in for 4 years and who said he could crawl out now!
@Dave cullen: In this current political environment, if a dishonest, lying sack of shit can become POTUS, then one can become President of Ireland.
Leave Obama out of this.
Biggest mistake we made not jailing bertie
Bertie, it’s in the shoe box in your hot press!
Says a lot about Fianna Fail that they INVITED a corrupt politician back into their organisation.
@Paddy Reid: biffo is an employee of DOB now .corrupt time will tell.ff tried to sell our last asset off water and wasn’t it a coincidence that dinny so happened to win a contract for water meter installations site serve.question marks over that contract award are still being avoided and how dinny got a write down on the purchase of that company.while everybody else had to pay the full interest rates big questions.all these questions will be answered if we choose to move away from the establishment party’s.
He bought Siteserv in 2012 under a FG government
Only way Bertie would even think about it is if there was another pension on offer..
It’s been said Haughey was corrupt for himself but Bertie corrupted the whole system.
@lavbeer: if you think there is a difference between ff fg lavbeer your deluded.there all the one.why defend ff lavbeer what good have they done for you are they going to change not a hope.time to move on lavbeer and accept ff fg liebour wrecked this state.
@Robert Stack: He must be planting money trees, not much else happening in the garden at the moment.
Maybe he is selling Christmas trees down in Moore Street.
@Robert Stack: let them all out of jail …
Unless you’re an American or lived there under more than one party’s administration, please don’t comment
@Paddy Reid: of course Biffo was corrupt. He’s Fianna Fáil. By definition he’s corrupt. The only thing in Ireland makes the old 800 years of Brits look good.
@Daisy Chainsaw: Hillary lost.
He was in the Glorious hole of after dinner speeches and made a fortune. All paid in cash of course as he doesn’t have a bank account quack quack
A tad harsh. But I know what you mean. Republican supporters in the USA must be perplexed at the near total support from the Irish media and population for the democrats
No we wont give him a break, he betrayed this country and we don’t want him back, he is toxic.
His work on the peace process cant be denied though. His benchmarking process for CS PS and social welfare we will be dealing with for many years to come.
Stop regurgitating that shyte, he just happened to be taoiseach when the peace process was happening. He did f all, only line his own pockets and you know it.
Rubbish RN. His negotiating skills you can’t fault. Step back a little. 20+ years later … The Taoiseach and his minions regularly use the were in the IRA line when they won’t answer a question from a elected member A DUP lad says he didn’t know HIV wasn’t gay only Two simple examples ….. he stuck with it. Your own prejudice may he a issue here. Economic matters he was a disaster but mind you people bought the bribes
@lavbeer: it was Adams and Blair that made the peace process happen.
Lavbeer, his ‘negotiating skills’ consisted of buying every group he would off with wads of cash. It could easily be argued that Albert Reynolds was more influential in bringing peace to the north from this end but for me David Trimble was the peacemaker from the Unionist camp who risked all for the process and deserves full respect.
Booby. Would I be right in saying you have no experience in negotiating deals?
Bobby!! Apologies for the typo.
Agreed Winston that Albet Reynolds also played a huge part. Bigger than Bertie is a point for discussion. Bertie moved Alberts work forward and got it over the line. A great achievement with a nation where our leaders are idiots (the IW business case for example)
@lavbeer:
In fairness it was a stupid motion by the party to invite him back. Do they think we have all forgotten his shenanigans? These are the people who want to govern our country, God bless us all.
@winston smith: ye Trimble was a hugh factor and their was a woman as well who deserves respect I think her name is mo mowlam.Its a pity blair through it all away for the war in Iraq.but lets remember it was the ira that put the guns down first.
@lavbeer: thats ok lavbeer apology accepted ! :-)
Well said!
A local cumann Frank. And MM knew in advance. These are the people we vote in. 40% on the medical card. We truly are the sick man of Europe
@lavbeer:
yep, its hard to fathom really lavbeer.
And Irish and British civil servants…
Really, in which countries? Seems to me that the people of Northern Ireland made it a priority. Politicians will always try to sell you that line.
It’s just a pity that it’s not in a prison garden.
Absolute dirt bird, sleeveen cowboy Big gluttonous neck on him
The garden he should be digging is the garden in M::::: J
Or a hole just outside the perimeter fence at the end of an airport runway…
Absolutely the most vile person to ever be called leader of this country), I hope guilt eats him up for what he done to the ordinary working class people who he claimed to represent
So you think Enda is better.
Is our current one any.better?..,lol
Heard FFs jim o’callaghan on the radio earlier.
Did you know that fianna fail DIDN’T pledge to get rid of Irish Water, and that if you read the following in their election manifesto on page 5…
“We will:
• abolish Irish water and water charges”
…that those words aren’t really there and is just your lying eyes playing tricks on you???
https://www.fiannafail.ie/download/An-Ireland-for-all-Fianna-FaCC81il-Manifesto.pdf
Having introduced the Water Services Bills in the first place, they have some brass neck. If you can’t fix it, don’t break it. FF are looking to have a rising tide lift their boats while attaching heavy anchors to most of the voters.
Didn’t see paul Williams try interview this gangster doing his gardening
Sure we all know what we’d like to break of his.
@Rob Mills: Yeah…. legs, arms, back and finally neck…….
Let him back , with him in ff it will ensure total destruction of the party.
I wouldn’t underestimate his ‘talent’ to get ahead even now. How many have lost their gardens under his watch?
Bejaysus ya can be sure we’re back the tiger times if they’re talking about bringing back Bertie. With the help o the Lord we’ll all be sitting ontop of brand new jetskis eating breakfast rolls by the Summer
In most normal societies Ahern would be behind bars. Not in this country though. He’s laughing at us…..
He is an Idiot joker a laugh of a Taoseach please i couldn’t look at him every day.
Von who was the last Taoiseach you didn’t feel that way about?
You’d have to go back as far as Jack Lynch lavbeer.
37 years ago .. wow ….. i was i school I wonder do most people share y5hat view. There’s a Sunday morning article for the journal … click bait ready
37 years ago it was 1st year college for me. An article such as that would most certainly make for an interesting read, I liked jack always a man of integrity, the sh*te that followed him however……..
Couldnt even stomach reading the article after the first 2 sentences!
Well Mr O Callaghan put him in and you lose no one and i mean no on should vote FF to make Bertie Ahern richer. He ruined this Country and FF will do it again.i listened to you today on M F you don’t care about the People or Ireland just FF.
Core Priority No 2 Fianna Fáil manifesto 2016,
http://buncranatogether.com/home/2016/3/11/fiannfail/core/priorities
Getting rid of the billing system is a no brainer now but the parties need to look after their own and their benefactors. Assets need to be transferred out of IW and then a centralised approach in the DoE. Water will be huge for future generations long after we are gone. And we have lots of it !!!
Maybe he’s right we should not be unfair to Bertie, I mean people voted for FF knowing the caliber of reptiles that belong to that party. Now that FF are back the door reopens for those who escaped justice because we have such a weak democracy. History is being rewritten and all the hundreds of millions wasted on tribunals are forgotton because reptiles shed there skin and a new shinny image it behond reproach. Poor Bertie the Saint. It’s not FF fault it’s the people who cast there ballot believing the promises that FF would not go into coalation with FG. That Irish water would be abolished and such a thing as “new politics” exists. But people are happy with the lies and believe that individuals standing for FF would not be infected by the party’s core values. Let’s him back into FF he is just as curropt and dishonest as all the rest. He can count on the GAA vote because church, FF and the GAA are all the one and it’s what people want.
@leartius: I have heard old people saying sure they have learned their lesson.gullible is all I can say and ignorant of information
Then they have very short memories; it was FF who introduced the Water Services Bills in the first place. And I’ve heard old people saying the country’s gone to hell and they do not care. They say they’re glad they won’t live to see it get worse for people. Completely selfish as well as gullible.
“give Bertie a break” ?…..does he mean an arm or a leg?
If the likes of Adams , Ferris can represent the people in the Dail what’s the fuss about Ahern ? , guns ,thuggery and bank robbery weren’t his way and while he bears some responsibility for the financial disaster don’t forget that the entire opposition constantly called for more spending. , Joe ‘ Cuba ‘ Higgins , FG and the Shinners have to accept some blame for what happened
Well they say $h1t grows good roses his must be spectacular.
Nice one Alan Nolan.
Plant him in the garden,permanently.
This to me just shows how off the wall FF are. That they would even consider this to be a good idea is astounding to me. It’s the sheer nerve of it too…mentalers. How out of touch they are. If I was even slightly getting over what they did this has just brought me right back. In one foul swoop they have just reminded everyone they have no common sense or reasonable judgement on what people have been through these last few years.
Enda should give him a buzz regarding the craic going on with the Unins at the moment or even to help negotiate Brexit when it does happen. Say what you want about Bertie but his work negotiating in the North, shows he can do a good job and having him back in that capacity could really benefit this country.
@Pilib O Muiregan: 200 billion debt and you want him back your off your rocker pilib.everything he did was with borrowed money then saddled the debt on the backs of the citizen.I have enough of ff wrecking this country the are a bunch of gombeen politicians no thanks never again
Civil Servants did most of the vital groundwork.What amazes is that people would pay to hear Bertie’s after dinner speeches.Bertie’s verbal diarrhoea reminds me of the Monty Python character vomiting all over the guests and tables
Kevin the Carrot is waving at him?
He should have wed the garden back in the past.
Bertie’s two passions, gambling on the horses and gardening!
Leave Bertie a loan.
What’s he growing? Some sort of
Good question! A certain cash crop that needs hot air?
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