Last night was somewhat of a watershed for our political system.Despite Pontius Cowen washing his hands over Maire Geoghegan-Quinn and her enormous pension, ("I do not want to get involved in particular issues") last night our greedy commissioner finally admitted that she was wrong for screwing the state.
Just not in so many words. Instead she has asked for her Dáil and ministerial pensions to be "gifted to the state" for the duration of her post as commissioner. What a generous gift, what munificence, what...
Wait a second, the Irish people pay your €100,000 a year "pension" and you were appointed by the Irish government for your role as European commissioner. And now you're gifting your pension to the Irish people!?
Despite the commissioner's glib, self-important statement last night (a significant u-turn from her position that she didn't want to talk about it last week) this is only the start of the change that we need.
The Stagg and Ho-Chi Quinn came out today and said that they'll give up their Minister's Pensions while they're serving the Dáil. By my count that leaves 14 currently serving TD's who are also drawing 'pensions' from the Irish people.
Top of the list of Dáil wasters has to be Bertie Ahern, the architect of our downfall and someone who is in receipt of €98,901 a year while also drawing his TD's salary and some serious wedge for private speaking engagements.
That all of this waste was ignored by the media and the electorate for the last decade, while people were living rough on our streets, and while 76,000 Irish children still live in poverty, is a disgrace.
Call me a bleeding heart liberal, but when I see politicians, whose giant pay-packets are matched only by the size of their giant behinds, I get more than a little pissed off.
When I see politicians, double chins-a-wagging as they shake their heads when asked should their equally corpulent colleagues give up their 'pensions' while they 'work', I get a little pissed off.
When they then try and compare Maire Geoghegan-Quinn with a widow claiming the widow/widowers pension and the old age pension, I get more than a little pissed off.
In Ireland, we have been going around with our heads in the sand when it comes to our politicians. We need to change the way politics is done in Ireland, where the elected ignore what's best for the electorate and instead prefer to line their own pockets.
The electorate has put Fianna Faíl in power for 20 of the last 23 years. That much is amazing in itself, but that we have continued to do so while they bleed us dry is unbelievable. Future generations will look back on this period with disgust and disbelief, shocked and disgusted with our undeniable gullibility.
What this Banana Republic needs to keep our political class on their toes is a few politicians heads on a stick, or perhaps a few of them hanging from the lampposts outside Leinster House.
Whether those heads are metaphorical or actual is up to the people, but our politicians need to start paying attention to their paymasters and their paymasters need to keep an eye on the hired help.
But today is a good day for this country. Perhaps it's the start of better days to come and a real Republic.
Edit: Now the rest of the FG and Labour lads and lasses have finally got on board, and bloody hell, Bertie has too. What next, the apocalypse?
That all of this waste was ignored by the media and the electorate for the last decade, while people were living rough on our streets, and while 76,000 Irish children still live in poverty, is a disgrace.
Call me a bleeding heart liberal, but when I see politicians, whose giant pay-packets are matched only by the size of their giant behinds, I get more than a little pissed off.
When I see politicians, double chins-a-wagging as they shake their heads when asked should their equally corpulent colleagues give up their 'pensions' while they 'work', I get a little pissed off.
When they then try and compare Maire Geoghegan-Quinn with a widow claiming the widow/widowers pension and the old age pension, I get more than a little pissed off.
In Ireland, we have been going around with our heads in the sand when it comes to our politicians. We need to change the way politics is done in Ireland, where the elected ignore what's best for the electorate and instead prefer to line their own pockets.
The electorate has put Fianna Faíl in power for 20 of the last 23 years. That much is amazing in itself, but that we have continued to do so while they bleed us dry is unbelievable. Future generations will look back on this period with disgust and disbelief, shocked and disgusted with our undeniable gullibility.
What this Banana Republic needs to keep our political class on their toes is a few politicians heads on a stick, or perhaps a few of them hanging from the lampposts outside Leinster House.
Whether those heads are metaphorical or actual is up to the people, but our politicians need to start paying attention to their paymasters and their paymasters need to keep an eye on the hired help.
But today is a good day for this country. Perhaps it's the start of better days to come and a real Republic.
Edit: Now the rest of the FG and Labour lads and lasses have finally got on board, and bloody hell, Bertie has too. What next, the apocalypse?
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