Gavinsblog.com

Category: Irish Politics

  • The John O'Donoghue files (Part 9 – Turin)

    The minister heads to Turin with his wife, his private secretary, secretary general Philip Furlong and assistant secretary general Con Haugh. They use the Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) to do it. Tur01 Tur02 Tur03 Tur04 Tur05 Tur06 Tur07 Tur08 Tur09 Tur10 (MATS receipt) Tur11 Previously: JOD Part 1 (India) JOD Part 2 (Birmingham) JOD…

  • Donations to TDs 1997 – 2008

    Myself and Mark Coughlan, with huge help from Elena Eghawhary, have been working on spreadsheets for the past number of weeks. We are beginning to publish the results. First off is a spreadsheet of all declared donations to TDs on record. We have setup a new blog to start publishing this data, along with the…

  • That trip to India

    Remember John O’Donoghue and that trip to India? It was part of a trade mission to the country, and JOD was not the only one to go. Bertie Ahern, Mary Hanafin, Micheal Martin and Donie Cassidy (and a pack of journalists) also went along for the ride. I wonder if they shared the limo between…

  • Bertie Ahern – just commit suicide lads

    Back in July 2007 Bertie Ahern said people who talk down the economy might as well kill themselves. Fresh from a general election, the property bubble had burst, and we were on the way down.

  • John O'Donoghue's PVC appointments

    Thanks to a reader, I got my hands on a Phoenix article from 1999, detailing then Justice Minister John O’Donoghue’s appointments to prison visiting committees (PVCs). PVCs are traditionally great tools for political patronage (or clientelism). During her time as Justice Minister Nora Owen appointed party hacks to the roles, as one would expect, and…

  • The Morris Tribunal website

    About 8 weeks ago I went looking for a particular transcript of Morris Tribunal evidence, and to my horror discovered that the entire website had been removed. The transcripts are held digitally in an obscure format, for which you need special software (another story in itself), and they were nowhere to be found on the…

  • The John O'Donoghue files (Part 8 – New York)

    The minister goes to the Big Apple with his wife, private secretary, the secretary general of the department, a Mrs Furlong and Paul O’Toole. Ny01 Ny02 Ny03 Ny04 Ny05 Ny06 Ny07 Ny08 Ny09 Ny10 Ny11 Ny12 Ny13 Ny14 Ny15 Previously: JOD Part 1 (India) JOD Part 2 (Birmingham) JOD Part 3 (Berlin) JOD Part 4…

  • The John O'Donoghue files (Part 7 – Manchester)

    The Minister, his wife and his private secretary fly to Manchester, then on to Cheltenham Races via Stratford on Avon. This is after they attend the Ireland vs Scotland rugby match at Landsdowne Road. They spend St Patrick’s Day at the races. Money is also paid for their driver to overnight. Man01 Man02 Man03 Man04…

  • The John O'Donoghue files (Part 6 – Venice)

    Then Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue, his private secretary Therese O’Connor and his wife Kate Ann, jet off to Venice. Highlights: Government Learjet from Baldonnel to Venice, and back to Farranfore. The infamous watertaxi receipts… Ven01 Ven02 Ven03 Ven04 Ven05 Ven06 Ven07 Ven08 Ven09 Previously: JOD Part 1 (India) JOD Part 2 (Birmingham) JOD Part 3…

  • FOIs, spin and the media

    It might be useful to make a stab at a chronology of events. It would certainly help to understand the news cycles at work. Sunday July 26, 2009. Ken Foxe in the Tribune publishes details of expenses he had obtained via Freedom of Information requests. Sunday August 2, 2009. Ken Foxe publishes more details of…