Michael Woods – resign

From the RTE archives. September 30, 2003. Michael Woods is interviewed about the indemnity deal. Up to now it’s been sitting somewhere without a link on the RTE website, I pulled it off.

First, an analysis of the C&AG’s annual report 2002, which questioned the indemnity deal:

Then, the Michael Woods interview. Hold onto your hats.

Miriam: The report suggested today we could be looking at a bill of 1 billion. Was that a good deal you brokered?

Woods: That is a guesstimate by the Comptroller and Auditor General. He has made his own sums up and says what he thinks might be the case. As you read out there, he says that the average is going to be 96,000 and multiplied it by 10,000 and all this kind of thing, and got the figure.”

Actually even the Comptroller was off by a fair bit. It turned into 15,000 victims of abuse, and a €1.2bn bill. Mathematics, Mr Woods, mathematics. Here is the report being talked about. But then what would the Comptroller know about figures compared to Dr Woods?

Some more choice quotes:

“The State carries the major responsibility, there’s no doubt in my mind about that”

“The country will be glad in time that this shadow on the people of Ireland has been lifted – because it was done by the people”

Just to emphasise that final bit, I recorded the last 2 minutes in a separate video:

No, Mr Woods, it was done by the religious. And you blame us.

You did a secret sweetheart deal with the religious. Resign your seat and disappear with your gold plated pension. I never want to hear from you again you fool. You were either incompetent or complicit.

Resign.