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SINN FÉIN TD Dessie Ellis has criticised Environment Minister Phil Hogan over a report that he raised a query about a second Traveller family who were being housed in his constituency, asking if they had any dogs or horses.
The Irish Daily Mail today reported that information released to the paper shows that the Minster made the query about the family two weeks after he was informed that the McCarthy’s, another Traveller family, would not be moving into the local area.
Ellis today called on Hogan to “stop interfering in the housing of families with a legitimate housing need and get back to doing his job”.
Hogan was criticised last month when it emerged he wrote to constituents in Bonnettstown, Co Kilkenny, informing them that the family would not be moving into the property.
When the Minister was informed that another Traveller family, the Cashs’, were earmarked for the property, he reportedly raised a query in relation to horses and dogs attached to the household and was told there were none.
“Legal reasons”
When contacted by TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for Minister Hogan said he had no comment to make on the report for “legal reasons”.
In a statement today, Dessie Ellis said Hogan is doing “a poor job” as Minister.
It would be a better use of Minister Hogan’s time to work on these issues, stop interfering in Kilkenny County Council’s decisions on who should be housed where, and to give up with his fixation with the traveller community. Anti-Traveller racism is a serious problem in our nation and the Minister should be more mindful of the consequence of encouraging this scourge or legitimising it.
The Sinn Féin TD said Hogan should apologise to the traveller community and its leaders.
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This has been going on for many years but I’ve yet to see any virtue signalling Facebook or The Journal profile pictures displaying the DR Congo flag.
@Dan Broderick: That might be because Ukraine is a fellow European country, that more directly affects us, we have more of an affiliation with their plight; we host 60,000 Ukrainian refugees and we see the effects of the war daily on TV news and websites. It more directly affects us, regardless which side we favour.
And I suspect if we were to look at Facebook profiles of Congolese people from the region, and other peoples of neighbouring African countries, near were this massacre happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lack Ukraine flags but display various indications of Tutsi and Hutu support, they might not be directory involved but have a side they support, because their neighbours got massacred this time or previously (ca. 5.4 million dead though war and famine in the last 25 years or so). What do you think?
I suppose it would be virtue signalling if Irish people started showing Hutu flags in or Hutus started showing Ukraine flag in their profiles. But that’s not what is happening.
@Dan Broderick: careful now, you’ll have your comment deleted. Seems the journal delete every comment they don’t like! Censorship deprives the public from perspective
@John White: Does it?
@John White: https://jrnl.ie/5938495
@Gavin Conran: there’s a big difference in deleting comments that are factual and not identifying anyone in particular vs making hurtful accusations against an individual, guilty or not it’s for the courts to decide. That’s not what I’m disputing, I have had multiple comments deleted that were PC and factual as have many others.
The UN are a complete waste of space.
@Mike Dunne: fully agree.
animals
@joe doyle: animals are far and away better than these so called human beings.
@joe doyle: Animals, financed by the biggest conglomerates in the World. The Congo was plundered by Belgium before independence only to be replaced by big business. The Congo is blessed or plagued by the minerals that’s found there. Our mobile phones work because of Cobalt which is mined in the Congo. Diamonds Gold are just a few of the resources that is fought over in proxy wars in the Congo.
The Gov in the Congo uses the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, as it’s security force and a sister company holds most of the mineral mining rights as payment. Be very careful before you jump to any conclusions about events in Congo!
@Liam Dunne: The use of mercenaries in the Congo since it’s Independence has been the norm. South Africa has been a major source for mercenaries funded by Western Big business. The last thing the conglomerates want is the Division of the Congo to unite and have a stable government. Kinshasa broke away from the rest of the Congo after Independence, It was the richest part of the Congo in minerals etc. They had no problem in using mercenaries from Europe, Rhodesia,South Africa paid for by mining companies. Nothing has changed. The mineral wealth of the Congo makes it a battle ground for proxy wars.
They are worse than animals. Savages. With no civil or human morals. There has to be something that can be done with savages like these that are slaughtering innocent villages of people just trying to live their lives. They should be massacred themselves. Them and their ilk raping children and babies as a tool of their power. Big power with their machetes and machine guns. An absolute disgrace that this is still going on and there are Supposedly UN troops designed to tackle these so call armies. Why is this still happening. There are too many movies made from actual events and record of these events throughout the years and they make for disturbing viewing and yet even though acknowledged, there is more and more still allowed to happen without proper intervention from powers that be. SADLY
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