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APPARENTLY THERE’S SOMETHING happening tomorrow and our politicians are too busy to post their own Throwback Thursday snaps. Like a knight in shining armour, we’ve strode in and done it for them.
You’re welcome, one and all.
A little known fact about our Taoiseach: he had a brief stint as a tour guide in 2002. Before he reached the highest position in the Irish government, Enda Kenny would helpfully point out landmarks in the capital to passersby, such as the River Liffey.
In 1995, Ministers made a ‘go bald or go home’ pact.
Oh.
Following his addition to the Labour ticket in 1995, the Mission Impossible actor denied he was a token celebrity candidate, insisting he would “keep it real”.
Mary Mitchell O’Connor was raging when Ming stole her look back in 2011*. Such behaviour is considered a major Dáil no-no.
*This was actually for charity so fair play all round.
This is an actual thing that happened in 2003. As far as we’re aware, ‘Micky’s Butt Squad’ has since disbanded.
Try as they might, they just couldn’t figure out his new phone.
The young whippersnapper engaging in the popular 1999 game: ‘Drink from the imaginary glass’. Crazy kid.
Fianna Fáil gatherings were a barrel of laughs in the ’80s.
Bertie didn’t have the heart to tell Tony stand up just wasn’t for him.
Prince Philip had better luck with what was sure to have been an entirely appropriate remark.
This is just a caption competition waiting to happen…
So Enda, did you like our picks?
Great.
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More selfish squandering of the national fund.
@Machine Learning IRE: Could build a house for this money!
@Machine Learning IRE: Due to brown envelopes , more like.
@Machine Learning IRE: In fairness, it’s a lot cheaper than the printer that cost the state over 2 million :-( ….. Lessons will NEVER be learned!….. Scary that Ryan stands over such a project. No wonder we’re still paying USC with the attitude they have towards spending.
@Machine Learning IRE: over 18,500 per bike ,what a joke of a govt
@Machine Learning IRE: Was there a tender process?? All works over €100k must be published on eTenders under national legislation. Publish on OJEU if above €5.5M…….
@Brian Hunt: That’s a Bam good idea
@Machine Learning IRE: what a total waste of our taxes,shameful.
@Machine Learning IRE: yep
@Machine Learning IRE: it’s not squandering…… it’s called ‘Looting’.
I’d love to see a breakdown of the invoice, but there wont be any enquiry into this!
@Brian Hunt: Eamon could have got a decent lock for €20 and chained his bike to Leinster House railings.
@Brian Hunt: is there even picture of it, just to be sure it exists. Maybe someone could dig out the planning file and publish it.
You can order a 4 bike parking supporter on Temu for €200. That includes delivery from China. These guys have zero sense of financial responsibility with the money of other people. I.e. my money.
@Paul Whitehead: €18,600 per bike. A p1ss take. A symptom of what’s wrong in ireland. No financial governance. No responsibility or integrity. Somebody needs to held accountable.
I wonder How many are actually going to use it? Bar Eamonn Ryan when there’s a TV crew around, can’t see many rolling in on their bikes in the middle of winter.
@Seanie: as well as the 170 TDs or whatever number there are there must be hundreds of staff who work in the building as well
@Seanie: The Staff perhaps
@Bernie McGarry: it’s only for 18 bikes ffs
@Seanie: sure didn’t ryan want to dig up the car park to grow weeds, so the tds couldn’t drive to leinster house.
@Seanie: having been in the Dail their bike stands are never full, ever! Some of the bikes attached look deserted too!
@Shane O Neill: The article says it is for to accommodate 18 bicycles .
“A NEW BICYCLE shed for Leinster House which allows for storage of eighteen bikes cost more than €335,000″. It is unspeakable that so much of our money was spent like this but as we have no say in these matters, the squandering will continue uninterrupted.
@Gary Kearney: It will be a bit like the Dail creche, where TD’s having spent a fortune on it for themselves, couldn’t get a place in it because the Dail Staff took most of them AND no benefit in kind taxes.
Shur they can get away with anything, look at today’s poll, 2/3 of people want a FF FG government. They should build one for a million next time
I’ll do it for the one-time bargain price of €300k. In the national interest, of course.
@honey badger: chuckled at this mr badger
How in the name of jesus does it cost 355000 to build a bicycle shed. A shed for bicycles. Does it have underfloor heating and a cinema in it
Wow
@Paul Doheny: OPW …Office of public wonders otherwise known as the puzzle palace
Its worth noting that twitter was banned in Brazil on Friday and the mainstream media are saying nothing, anywhere…Getting a monopoly on information for the benefit of our beloved benevolent ruling class is a joy to be behold, huh.
@Dere: It’s on here, RTE, Virgin. Are ya expecting a carrier pigeon directly to your gaff?
@Dere: Musk is the polar opposite of a responsible and competent source of information. There are degrees of untrustworthiness. Pointing out just how bad Musk is doesn’t imply anyone else is great, just that Musk himself is terrible.
@Dere: There was an article on it on this site yesterday, and all the other ‘mainstream media’ have reported on it too, so ‘the mainstream media are saying nothing, anywhere’ is a barefaced lie.
@Numinous20111: Not like RTE so?
@Brendan O’Brien: I already said it. Shush Factor 50.
@Numinous20111: purely from an observational point of view it seems that’s it’s all good when Socialists become totalitarian….if it was the previous government you wouldn’t have heard the end of it…..20th century alive and well.
@Dere: I dont know what the actual fk you’re talking about as it’s been on every major news outlet. Eejit.
@Dere: There are good reasons for the Brazilian ban. It’s a reaction to a would-be totalitarian (Musk).
@Brendan O’Brien: Common sense is chasing you Factor 50, but you’re like Usain Bolt.
@Dere: lol. It’s literally been on every news channel across the globe. (Fox, CNN, BBC, Russia today, la Monde, Berlin morning post, NY times and even RTE!) And I think X made some references to it too.
@IzwvqAph: I’ll take your obsession with me as a weird kind of compliment. I don’t suppose anyone has ever been obsessed with you.
@Brendan O’Brien: I’ve a barring order against your ma.
@Brendan O’Brien: how exactly is musk a would-be totalitarian? Is it just because he allows speech you don’t agree with? I find it funny how he went from a media darling to the devil overnight once he bought twitter and then people like you start thinking he’s a dictator or something!
@Dere: As opposed to our benevolent billionaire who has a clear Pro Trump, anti Union, anti Trans, anti anything he doesn’t like agenda
@Dere: are you going to say WHY it was shut down in Brazil?
Or are you go going to hide behind free speech?
Musk fan boy
@Dere: you have no idea what you are taking about ,just shouting into the void
@John K: Musk is a “would-be totalitarian”, because he does allow anti-democratic people acting on his platform at free will, lying, inciting hate on “alternative facts”.
From Trump, not accepting the election, to Brazil, with ex-government members attacking the democratic decisions of the people.
They caught him on a formality, not having a legal representer in Brazil.
Musk believed (again) he’s too rich and powerful and can do what he wants, and lost (for now).
He’s trying to influence actively politics in countries to his liking.
Twitter has become an anti-democratic cesspit under his rule and is just free speech platform in disguise.
@Dere: Where have you got your head placed for your observation?
@Wolfgang Bonow: all of what you described is just speech you don’t agree with. I don’t agree with a lot of it but the problem is who gets to decide what is “hate speech” it won’t always be someone you agree with who decides.
@Dere: I only watch msm and I’ve heard about it
@John K: Freedom of speech and freedom to spread misinformation are not the same thing. If you cannot tell the difference, and many can’t, you just need to watch for when your favourite politician is in favour of their own freedom to speak but not in favour of other people calling them out on their lies.
@Paul Ennis: who decides what is misinformation? Do you expect Musk/X to carry out independent research anytime someone posts something that is contested? The answer to bad speech is more speech. Not sure what point you’re trying to make in your last sentence, no reasonable person or Musk is in favour of limiting people’s rights to call out politicians on their lies.
Could they’ve got a couple of sheds and padlocks. Store them around the back. Then, put the leftover money into getting special needs children educated.
@Annette: or the poor children with crooked spines
@Geoff Bateman: in all fairness, the government gave extra money to cover the spinal surgery however the HSE decided to spend it elsewhere. Public sector needs root and branch reform as these people have no idea of budgets and sticking to them.
The OPW said a business case was “not needed”. The OPW refused to provide scoping documents for “security reasons”. [Quote from article] However, the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl replied to say it was “extremely unlikely” that planning permission would be provided and that the existing facilities were underused. [End quote]. I imagine that a “We cannot comment on individual cases” statement is imminent. I’m not levelling blame on everyone who works for the OPW, but whoever was in charge of this work obviously knew how things work when your direct clients are the members of the Oireachtas.
@Numinous20111: The head of the Labour Party trying to greenwash themselves. Also trying to keep her seat!
Was the builder another “friend” of fianna fail?
@Michael o connor: Bertie’s pal – Bob the Builder.
@Michael o connor: Thomas MC Feeney. Hé buried 300k in the bicycle shed.,but can’t find it now
They should be made to pay for the shed out of their own pockets. Not out of unvouched expenses but out of their salary. These risible pigs waste so much of taxpayer’s money on a fu. cking bike shed when thousands are homeless. Get rid of the Green party once and for all.
@Gerry Lamont: you will still be left with the same officials, bar maybe suggesting a bike shed politicians wouldn’t have been involved with this. Now repeat across the whole public sector and you see why we don’t seem to have good services for the level of tax we pay.
Scandalous waste of money.
It is just unbelievable what this Green Party can imbibe on the people of Ireland. That is a disgusting amount of money to be spent on building a Shed. There will be a come up pane for the Green Party at the next election but it won’t put that money back in the Coffers
@Geoff Bateman: Doubt it’s anything to do with the Greens. This is trademark FF/FG overspending on a tender that the company will coincidentally behind will coincidentally have some personal or business connection to a cabinet member.
For years all of these kind of contracts that went dramatically over budget would wind up accepted by various different DOB owned companies until Catherine Murphy raised it to public attention.
Don’t forget the 50k/ annum maintenance fee
Could someone find out if bikes actually fit in to it???
€18k per bike. The waste of taxpayers money continues unabated.
Eamon that rides to work with his bike in the boot
As always there’s more to this construction “project” than meets the eye – there always is but none the less it’s gob smacking all the same and if the story is as reported simply just wow!! I hope the government now understand the rip.off that Ireland has become for EVERYTHING. No value to be had anywhere.
@Thomas Meaney: this has Paddy the Plasterer written all over it!
God forbid Eamon and his cronies might have to walk for three minutes, and place the bike shed in a less ‘sensitive’ location, slightly further from the front door of the building. Of course, you probably have to be seen ‘arriving’ on you’re bike, thus a more remote bike shed location would be futile.
It gets more comical as each day goes by, would be celebrity politicians and now this, Ireland never short of a good few laughs.
OPW refused to release the scoping documents for security reasons, it’s a bicycle shed, not Garda Intelligence HQ, ffs. Hiding the facts from the public behind an excuse just like Govt & RTE hid behind the Non Disclosure Agreements to the RTE crew, no transparency anymore & Harris & RTE shouting about Misinformation. The country is sliding down a river of sleaze. A local Multinational company built a Bicycle shed & Motorbike shed, 50 Bikes & 10 Motorbikes for just over €35K, it’s fully covered in, has security door access & cameras & is built with high quality materials & non slip floor. The cost of this Bike Shed which is obviously not covered in, is an absolute scandal & an abuse of Taxpayers money. The Largesse in RTE & the Dail continues, criminal behavior.
Truly shocking
Easy to spend other people’s money!
Did they not have a spare closet/room/ shed they could have used. That’s an absolutely crazy waste of money
What’s the big deal, it’s only 18,611 per bike space. Bargain!
It’s a bike shed … Eamon Ryan should hang his head in shame at this expense. You could hire a full time security guard for 6 years (?one already not on site) at this expense to guard this “underutilised” shed!
I’d do it for 200K then farm it out for 50K, You’re Welcome. All the Best.
Par for the course in Leinster House, remember when they purchased a near 1 million euro printer that wouldn’t fit in the door? Has this bike shed got Valet parking or something, ridiculous expense
Could you imagine the insane ineptitude the Metro would cost
But yet the normal Joe soap needs planning permission to install a shed in his back garden.
What a scandalous waste of public money, will someone get that tosser Eamon Ryan and waste of space Green party out of decision making their stupid policies are costing Ireland a fortune
Did paddy the plasterer do the walls?
LMAO
great bunch of lads.
Not sure what all the school kids relying on donations from parent groups and waiting years to provide bike sheds in their school yards ought to think of this really. We could perhaps recommend TDs to use foldable bikes that could be carried into their own offices which presumably don’t lack space for it?
Ridiculous waste of money. Plastic bag over the saddle would be fine. Why do bikes require underfloor heating or whatever- their purpose is to provide transport outdoors in all weathers surely.
As was once quoted, “It’s not funny when it’s your money.”
Look at brendan O’brien’s comments in this article, about twitter!!! Nothing at all about the massive waste of money for a ducking bike shelter, not even a proper shed!!! Ffs.
Goodman brendan keep up the good work for the government. P#ick
On yer bike..
€355000 for a lean-to and a couple of bicycle stands, are these people for fk n real !!
Eamon Ryan is out on his own in terms of incompetence, this is a man with over 10 Advisors. Does anybody in Journalism analyse the damage this man has done to Ireland, Data Centres now using more Energy than all urban homes in Ireland, Generators bought by his Dept left in the Docklands as they are too heavy to transport over the M50, Electric Buses left in a Depot for 18 months as there was no charging facilities for them, Dublin Airport shambles, now his Bike Shed, probably the most expensively built Bike Shed in the world. His colleague Catherine Martin overseeing the RTE scandal, Roderic O Gorman flooding the country with people costing the State Billions & services at the point of collapse. Greens can never be in power again, they have destroyed Ireland.
Can’t wait to see who uses it.. and how often.
@stephen deegan:
They need to be photographed with their bikes every day to make sure this expensive shed is being fully used.
Criminal is what it is,another vanity project by the looney left in kildare street,this is total madness the lunatics have really taken over the asylum
Well done the greens
Wonder how much it cost to tarmac the lawns at the front. A billion for a ring road in galway, with peoples homes demolished, no one bats an eyelid…
Hope they Have A bed in it For Ryannn
I’d say that there’s going to be scrapping every day amongst all the TD’s to get space in it for their bikes, and the Garda will have to get involved.
Is that the final bill or will there been more add ons , if it’s not fully covered, BAM probably got the job, so the sky’s the limit as to the final figure
How many spaces? I assume 2000?
FFS
Ffs
sums up eamon Ryan in a sentence …a waste of public money
Get the TD’s to pay for it themselves.
Who cares about the brake down of costs for a bike shed, lets see the break of costs for the children’s hospital.
Probably the same lad’s who are building the children’s hospital doing a little” Nixer”.
Great to think that, if I go to see my TD in the Dail, there will be a safe, dry and secure place for me to park my Eamon Ryan inspired electric bike. Will there be recharging facilities?
How many modular homes could be built for the homeless. This is a revolting use of taxpayer money. I’m so furious at this entitled government. And as for Eamon Ryan. Has there ever been a more selfish airhead in government.
Someone … getting a lot of money to build a bike shed .. you scratch my back
BAM! BAM!
Could have gotten 18 brand new 300 euro bikes every year for the next 62 years for that money.
I suppose a new bike each year wouldn’t be that ‘green’? Maybe donate them after a year, and you’ve actually done something for the public?
My God – involve the good ol’ OPW in any project whatsoever + watch the bill morph into many multiples of what it should be…..
I assume they needed planning permission, can’t access the CoCo website, anyone want to give it a try to find out the scope?
Do they not realise that’s taxpayers money that they are spending
I don’t know how this isn’t getting more airtime. 335k to park 18 bikes! When it comes to politicians and expenses etc. they don’t mind flushing taxpayer money down the toilet when spending it on themselves. How can this be justified? They have tried to say when finally scrutinised that it is in a sensitive location etc. Them don’t put a bike shed there then. Certainly not one that costs the same price as a house those these days you wouldn’t even get much for that.
Sinn feint could build 2 houses for that amount would anybody except the people with the use of tax payers money privately pay that for 18 bike stands not even enclosed what is wrong no accountability opw we will run this waste of money
It’s hilarious never ends
I am fed up of reading about gross misuse of public funds, it saddens, annoys, angers and frustrates me. This is only todays example, there will be another tomorrow and next week and so on. There is zero accountability and they can do as they wish with it, we are a beaten spineless race.
Really fora bike shed..what kind of people have we running the government they don’t even cycle to work and if they did they might notice all the homeless people.That money could be put towards something that is for the people that need help
W2w15#5○|||•#0 》”٪
Disgusting, no other words
Don’t mind me
Anyone got any vaseline?
*bends over*
Gosh what’s new it’s the government
So, if you’re a citizen and want a bicycle shed, it goest to An Bord Planeala and gets refused. But Leinster House squanders the price of an entire house on 18 bicycles and gets no PP ? https://irishcycle.com/2024/07/21/an-bord-pleanala-writes-16-page-report-rejecting-bicycle-shed-but-owner-now-might-replace-it-with-trailer-which-isnt-covered-by-planning-laws/
Back to Celtic Ireland squandering public money. What a rip off!!!
I hope the bikes won’t melt like the chocolate did in that million euro shop they built at the gates of Leinster House , oh that’s gone
20k per bike. Yeah that’s great value for money, said nobody ever!
They have just noticed that the more they blow money on stupid things the more popular they get. Who is this a reflection on,them or ……..
Remember this kind of abuse of taxpayers money by the current government when it come to the next General Election. Scandalous !!
I bet there’s charging points for electric bikes and they’re free to use. No bik there . If only a journalist would investigate this?
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