Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THE TAOISEACH HAS released a list of six former Fianna Fail ministers who received severance payments amounting to over €171,000.
At a press conference in Dublin today, Enda Kenny said that the former ministers had done so despite a pre-election pledge from the Fianna Fail leadership that former ministers re-elected to the Dail would forego severance.
The five ministers who were re-elected and the amounts read out by the Taoiseach are:
John McGuinness: €61,918
Dara Calleary: €53,708
Michael Kitt: €27,174
Billy Kelleher: €20,172
Willie O’Dea: €8,064
In addition to these five, former Minister Mary Hanafin, who is contesting a seat in the local elections under controversial circumstances, recieved a payout of €88,000.
Speaking this morning, the Taoiseach said: “I know that the Fianna Fail leader said any former Minister who was re-elected to the Dail would not accept severance payments.”
He continued:
That was a firm commitment given by FF that people who were Ministers would not accept severance payments, but all these people have done so.
Speaking on Newstalk this lunchtime, Fianna Fail justice spokesman Niall Collins said that the Taoiseach was acting like a ‘gombeen’.
He said:
He’s supposed to be the Taoiseach and he’s going around the place like a latter-day gombeen…he needs to start acting like a statesman.
When presenter Jonathan Healy said that he was showing a lack of respect for the office, Collins responded:
“Of course I respect the office but I don’t respect the way Enda Kenny is acting. He’s the office holder and he needs to grow up.”
Advertisement
Shatter expected to ‘do the right thing’
The Taoiseach was responding to questions over whether former Justice Minister Alan Shatter will accept a €70,000 severance payment he is due after resigning in advance of the publication of the Guerin report into Garda whistleblower claims earlier this month.
He said: “I would expect that Alan Shatter would do the right thing, and the right thing is to comply with the wishes and the intent of what the Government decided.”
SME loan package
The Taoiseach was speaking at the publication of the first progress report on the Government’s action plan for jobs 2014, where details of a new bank with a war chest €500 million were discussed.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the Strategic Banking Corporation, which has an initial budget of €500 million, is projected to have a balance sheet of €4 billion after five years.
He said that the SIBC will be funded by cash injections from the European Investment Bank and the German-government owned lender KfW.
The first loans are expected to be sanctioned by the bank before the end of the year, with legislation to establish it passed by the Oireachtas before the summer break.
The Taoiseach said that the original idea had come from discussions between him and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
When asked if the Government has front-loaded positive news in advance of polling in the local and European elections, the Taoiseach exclaimed: “Oh God, no!”.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Abi, as an experienced mountaineer and someone who works in the mountains only a few hundred meters from where the above photo was taken I can assure you that no one local would dare try cross the gap unless in a very specialised 4*4.
It happens evey time there is snow on the gap people who are in experienced in driving in snow / un used to mountain roads try drive up to see how far they can go and very often get stuck resulting in calling out the likes of DWMR to come help them.
I love seeing folk heading off in the 4×4′s and no formal training..
A landy with a lift kit,mudzilla’s,winch and a snorkle being towed out of a ditch with a pajero..Class.
Anybody driving up there when they know the conditions and been warned to stay away and the road closed deserve all they get, should be made pay the expenses of the mountain rescue team.
Was up there in a land rover Defender earlier. Properly kited out. Also have trained to drive a 4×4 in the snow. Loads of fun. However Roads are feet deep in snow. Little or no room to turn around if it gets difficult. Would suggest if people don’t have the correct equipment to stay away. There is a fine line between fun and getting stuck. If you are going to play at least put on your lights. Easier to see a person coming and find a suitable passing spot.
the driven wheels or engine position of the vehicle are not the issue here, it’s down to the type of tyres fitted to the car, if you have standard road tyres on then you are going nowhere fast, winter tyres help to a certain extent, but the ability of the driver is the key here, basically if you don’t have experience of driving in these conditions or on mud or loose surfaces, then stay the f*** away, at home where its warm and safe, anyway i cant see what would bring people up to the gap, there’s nothing there anyway.
If these people are stupid enough to try driving around the mountains in the snow and get stuck..let them pay to be rescued and maybe everyone else would learn a lesson and get BLOODY SNOW TIRES
I dont often do this ….. NOT …… but it has to be said. I would be the first person to challenge this sort of really stupid behavior of people driving out in these conditions when it is unnecessary and I totally agree local people would know better. Believe it or not there is something such as personal responsibility that still exists in this country, although to view this behavior you wouldn’t think so.
However, the really moronic behavior is the failure of the local authorities and Gardai to block road access until the roads become clear again. Putting up a small sign saying ‘road closed’ is an insult to human intelligence especially those who may not be able to read. Simple block the road until it is OK to pass again.
Stupid people should have to pay for the rescue. If it was a standard 500 Euro per car, people might think before going up there. With regard to the road closed sign, most people ignore them, because the Council or the Gardai, forget to take them down when the road is reopened. There are still signs up all over the country about roads that were flooded a month ago. No-one bothered to take them down.
Taoiseach leads tributes to jockey Michael O’Sullivan who died aged 24 after fall at Thurles
Updated
16 mins ago
33.7k
Villach
Stabbing that killed teenager and wounded five others in Austria was 'Islamist attack', says minister
Updated
1 hr ago
5.2k
south anne street
Murder investigation launched after fatal stabbing in Dublin city centre
Updated
18 hrs ago
97.2k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 148 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 102 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 133 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 103 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 75 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 74 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 36 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 32 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 124 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 59 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 72 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 79 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 42 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 24 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 82 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 65 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 48 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 81 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 60 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say