At 12.15pm Ciaran Cuffe posted on his blog with reflections on the last two weeks in Irish politics. An hour or so later the word on Trevor Sargent’s error of judgement emerged.
By 5.00pm Trevor had resigned.
Trevor Sargent resignation speech from Alexia Golez on Vimeo.
Having listened to his interview on Six One News I don’t understand why Trevor didn’t send the constituent to a solicitor?
We’re not going to get any time off this to talk about the economy, NAMA taking charge of those many many ghost estates, hotels and office blocks, Incinerators, you know the important stuff?
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What are the chances that the cops investigate who leaked the letter to the herald? About the same chance as the cops solving a gangland murder. 100/1.
Chances that the cops investigate who leaked the dean lyons report to the herald? 1/100
In 1989 my sister was crossing the Forrest Rd in Swords when a maniac who was a major figure in the local golf club in Forrest Little came flying around the corner above the legal limit of 30mph and threw my sister “30 foot into the air”, according to witnesses, who also mentioned that the car “shot out of nowhere.” The Gardai up the road in the village were contacted, fortunately, by some miracle, my sister was not badly hurt, and the Gardai then told my father than they were pressing dangerous driving charges against the driver.
This was back in the good old days of the reign of terror of Rambo Burke, and quietly, the matter vanished, never to be heard of again.
North Dublin is kind of like a country parish when it comes to crime and punishment. There is a real disconnect between enforcement agencies and the ordinary public in urban areas, and a matter cronyism in the golf club buddies of “old” Ireland outside of that. Sargeant was based in Balbriggan, and like most towns in the region, these places are socially more like Mallow or Letterkenny than Ranelagh or Dundrum. There is a “village” core still in these areas that is more like a country market town. If Sergeant did the same thing in Clonakilty or Listowel, his back would be slapped and he’d be lauded as a “great man” who “looks after his own.”
I’m really saddened but unsurprised by his resignation as he got elected on the back of an anti-corruption agenda from day one. This is, remember, Ray Burke and GV Wright county, where politicans are demigods who are entitled to do what they like. But Trevor was always absolutely opposed to the backslapping and cronyism that accompanies the unfairness of that whole system (don’t start me on the fact that 2 of the 3 people I know of who got social housing in Cork and Kerry in the last 3 years claim that their local FF councillors “helped” to “push them” to the “top of the queue.”) Even the tiniest tip into this system was inevitably something he’d have to resign for.
So roll on the byelection. Lets just hope that Labour puts somebody good like Tom Kelleher up. I have little faith in FG in that constituency – for reasons I have stated elsewhere.
Anne Devitt Laura. She is, eh….
Feck it. I don’t think I’ll bother voting again. ever.
Cough cough cough cough, she’s also a solicitor so I’d hold my tongue if I were you, itchy. The carry on over the HSE lands, consulting fees for no actual consulting work, and a tax bill, and yet STILL not expelled from FG?
Still sorry about Trevor though, he got himself into a thorny situation by the sounds of things, that he should have distanced himself from.