Brian Lenihan’s narrow enquiry
Posted by Maman Poulet on 26 Jul 2007 at 10:49 pm | Tagged as: Irish Politics
I assume Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan will also be investigating the ‘behaviour’ of the Diocese of Dublin Catholic social service agency Crosscare in providing support to the Roma Family on the M50 roundabout, they also called on the government to put pressure on investigate human rights abuses against Roma in Romania, and they fed and clothed the family each day. They are also a publicly funded agency. Will he also be investigating the Children’s Rights Alliance of the Irish Association of Social Workers? They are among the 20 organisations who called for humanitarian assistance and human rights in Romania – not immigration reform in Ireland, but even if they had when did NGO’s lose freedom of speech?
The announcement of an enquiry into the role of Pavee Point stinks. When did humanitarian assistance become so unfashionable? And why only Pavee Point?
I listened to the report on 5 Live this afo and found myself thinking- what the F**K! when did we become a totalitarian state! Pavee Point cant give advice to the Roma families about how to stay in Ireland?? Thats a crime now? When did that happen? Who made that a crime?
More generally, I thought there was (unspoken) bad blood between MoJ and Archbishop on Q&A a few nights ago. Archbishop was quite pointed around community issues, and Lenihan seemed to be biting his tongue a lot. Wondered if there’s, as you suggested, “legs” on this story too??
Um, a third FF govt has been returned, I’d say its got a quite a ‘lot of tickets’ (as Aussies say) on it about what it can do, etc. Bunch of anchors.
Mr. Lenihan,
I cannot emphasize strongly enough that you not scrutinize Pavee Point for the purpose of condemnation the wonderful work being performed by Pavee Point.
I assure you that if you do, I shall do everything in my power to counteract this, your shady nonsense
.
As an Irish citizen residing overseas, I too understand the needs of the Irish travellers, more particularly now that I have researched the equally credible EU citizens, namely, the Roma people.
I know what it is to be poor due to my having grown up outside the small town of Báile an Róbha, (Ballinrobe) Co. Mayo in the west of Ireland. Allow me to remind you that Ballinrobe wouldn’t even have been recognized as a town if it weren’t for the large number of tinkers residing therein during the 1950s – 1970s.
Mr. Lenihan, I have witnessed poverty too – growing up on a little 17 acres farm three miles to the east of Báile an Róbha. My mother passed away in December 1964, I was a mere 12 years old; I had seen my mother sit by the fireside suffering from multiple sclerosis for some eight years.
Yes, we’d applied for her to be provided with a wheelchair; her application was placed on the Western Health Board’s wait list for over two years. Eventually, the suitable – a lower to the ground – wheelchair arrived in February 1965 – she’d been dead for over two months.
Believe me, I have been hardened by such events in my life; hardened to fighting discriminatory practices – this hardening however has never interfered with my profound sense of compassion for those who genuinely require my assistance.
I’m an extremely determined individual; therefore, I propose to take you on in every way I know how. I strongly encourage all publicly funded agencies to collectively rally and to unequivocally demonstrate a resolve to keep you in check.
I shall write to the ends of the earth, embarrassing you and modern Ireland’s frequently without ethics media into supporting the provision of services with a more compassionate approach leading to a greater mutual respect, a higher standard of living and better human rights record for the Roma and Irish community as a whole.
We have plenty of land lying idle throughout the Ireland’s countryside – these Roma people could be gainfully employed in great numbers for the production of Irish organic produce to sell worldwide. This surely is the better arrangement than to have my brother, a Mayo farmer purchase eggs and such from God knows where in the little town of Báile an Róbha.
With my idea in place, collectively we Irish can challenge the authorities in Romania and elsewhere toward greatly improving Romania’s human right conflict with the Roma. We can even invite their government ministers to observe first-hand how wonderful the Roma have it in Ireland and how wonderfully innovative we all are in Ireland.
– Innovation with the least amount of discrimination -