We need your help now
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.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A HOST OF new TDs will take their seats in the 32nd Dáil today and among them will be Gino Kenny, the new Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit deputy for Dublin Mid-West.
He will arrive at Leinster House this morning having taken the 151 bus from his native Neilstown in Clondalkin. On other days he said he’ll cycle the 11 kilometres into town. No car and absolutely no fuss.
He describes himself as a “normal working person” who represents working class people, and that’s very much apparent from his demeanour. In some ways, Kenny comes across as a reluctant TD. He doesn’t like to use the word politician, preferring to describe himself as a “shop steward on a factory floor”.
As for wearing a suit? No chance. He owns one, but it’s only for weddings.
“I’m not against suits. For myself, I don’t feel comfortable in suits, I have to say,” the soft-spoken former community care worker told TheJournal.ie this week.
“Personally I just wear… look respectable. I think sometimes the stereotype about politicians is a suit and a big car and that’s not me.
I cycle and walk and I get the bus in. I suppose, for want of a better word, I’m just a normal working person that wants to represent working people and that’s what I want.
Kenny was elected in Dublin Mid-West after years of campaigning and working on the ground. He previously ran unsuccessfully for People Before Profit in the 2007 and 2011 general elections.
But this time it was different. He took the last of four seats with just under 8,000 votes on the 12th count last month. The huge swathe of anger over water charges and other issues, particularly housing according to Kenny, saw the Labour vote “obliterated” and AAA-PBP capitalised.
Kenny, who was christened Eugene, is the first TD for Neilstown, an area he’s spent most of his life in.
“I was born in 1972. I was raised in Islandbridge flats and then we moved from Islandbridge flats in 1979 to Neilstown. So I’ve been living there ever since, in Clondalkin,” he said.
“In the 1980s, when a lot of people were put out to Neilstown, there was very little infrastructure.
Then it became bigger and bigger and there was certain problems that materialised because there was nothing to do for young people. Then drugs kind of took hold, heroin took hold and it caused absolute chaos.
Kenny said his own family has not been immune to the heroin epidemic. He has lost friends to the drug, while others have moved out of the area, but Neilstown, he added, is a “much better place to live in and work in these days”.
It’s not without its problems though, including the lack of social housing with many families forced to live in hotels or worse. Kenny has identified it as his number one priority in the new Dáil.
“There are people living in hotels for over a year-and-a-half, people on the waiting list for the last ten years,” he said.
“I mean before if you [had to be] socially housed it was an average of about seven years wait, no more than that. Now it could be anything between 10 to 12 years.
It’s a crisis beyond the crisis, it should be declared a national emergency.
Kenny said the government is too focussed on getting the private market to build houses when there needs to be a “massive build of social houses” over the next five years.
But what can one of six AAA-PBP TDs in the new Dáil do about it given they’ll be in opposition? Kenny drew comparisons with the water charges movement.
“Six activists in the Dáil is one thing but it’s mobilising as many different people on different issues – from water charges to property tax, the housing issue – on to the streets.
To us, that’s what counts. People power is ultimately gonna change things and mould things in society.
Kenny said he is humbled by the position he is in after three attempts at winning election to the Dáil.
Now he will try to give the people who elected him the best representation he can. His quiet and reserved disposition leads you to believe he will not be as bombastic as his PBP colleague Richard Boyd-Barrett or as divisive as AAA’s Paul Murphy.
“People need a voice politically and I think I’m very humbled and very honoured to be in that position, to represent working people of the constituency, not only the constituency but nationally,” he said.
That’s what drives me, all the injustices that go on in Ireland. Hopefully we can, politically, try to address them.
Almost a carbon copy of what happened to me during the week. Went to the credit union asking what I owed on 12yr old car, the credit union was closed, so I went home.
That’s terrible, Pingo. How dare they treat you this way. I suppose you’ll be off to the High Court to pi55 around for a few months while you drive somebody else’s car?
That’s only fair.
#justice4Pingo
Favourite comment in ages!
Should we have a whip around?
Is there anything to be said for saying another mass?
basil fawlty and the poor box comes to mind :P
A bog standard car no doubt :)
The answer is a lot more than when you started playing ducks and drakes with the law trying to avoid paying back what you borrowed. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to bring soo many cases at no personal cost using knowledge of the law that was supposed to be for the common good. Handy hint, if you borrow money then pay it back when it’s due or face the consequences
Most logical and balanced comment I’ve seen here in a long time
‘Handy hint, if you borrow money then pay it back when it’s due or face the consequences’
Handy Hint No.2:
If you aren’t in the middle or lower class ignore the above. No consequences attached
I say your honour didnt we go to the same school/club/masonic lodge/libertine parties/share mutual “friends” whatho free get out of jail card.
John,,,, i agree with your comment ” you borrow so you should pay back” but should that also apply to the private banking debt that enda kenny signed over to the public to pay for , for generation to come , after all they borrowed it so they too should pay it back not the citizens, that action by kenny was one of the worst acts of treason against the irish any goverment has ever done
Diarmait mac murchada of 1169 ireland would be proud of kenny
Mac murchada let the normans into ireland
Herr enda brought the germans
Andrew it was always said if you owe the bank a quid it’s your problem, owe them a million it’s theirs.
You’d have thought he’d have rang ahead and made an appointment.
I mean, if the media were there, I presume he told them he was going. You’d think he have told Mr Kavanagh, Fennell or Jennings he was popping in and arranged a suitable time.
Almost like he was hoping there would be no-one to answer his question.
Maybe.
But you’d have thought equally that if a guy turned up the door about money he owed you, you’d slide down the
banister to meet him.
And, you’d assume that as the creditor you’d be interested in resolving it…………oh, wait………
He owes BoI money, not Deloite.
> …if a guy turned up the door about money he owed you…
Unannounced? With the media in tow?
Seriously, now.
Complete stunt, no appointment no right to access offices of a private company.
You have to wonder about this chap’s business acumen if he’s unable to keep track of his own business dealings.
You owe quiet a bit.
Quite*
Ahh Sshh
How did the media know you were there?
Because they’ve been hanging around outside the house watching his every move for the last month, maybe?
Or the League of Landed Loons called them.
How is this man still referred to as a “solicitor”? How has he not been struck off yet?
You owe enough to warrant taking your mansion! looking for sympathy for 3 minutes of nicely asking after 4 years won’t be found here!
I have a limited amount of sympathy for him. That house is going to be sold for a fraction of what it was once worth, and while he brought that on himself, it must be deeply humiliating to see this happening and have the likes of Vincent Browne leading a walking circus through it for a cheap light.
*for a cheap laugh.
If you or I told the pack of lies to the courts that O’Donnell did, we’d be hoeing the garden in the Joy. If the extent of his punishment is that we have a cheap laugh at his expense, I’d say he’s got off lightly.
Maybe, if that’s the case, but since he hasn’t been convicted or even charged with lying at this time, we don’t know. I suspect his biggest crime is being extremely naive about how the world works. Hardly the crime of the century.
Also, if anybody did lie or do anything else wrong, it’s not for Vincent or his ilk to summarily convict and administer punishment.
I find it hard to see how you can have any sympathy for him at all, Neal.
He wasn’t that niave – he knew how to play the system and take advantage of the tax loopholes that were out in place through government legislation to aid the wealthy not pay their fair share. Tax avoidance for the equals tax evasion for the poor.
I though I just explained why, Alan.
** Tax avoidance for the wealthy
I don’t have any sympathy for him or his wife I have very little knowledge on how the court system works just looking from a bystander view point I feel this guy not only used the courts time on a merry go round but got their children involved with a story of how simple their lives were growing up in a daily newspaper Looking at this mansion both of them are top earners in good professional jobs nothing could be further from the truth.
Never heard of a naive solicitor …. Is that like a hen’s tooth …?
It took me 3 minutes to find out I was broke too. I emptied my pockets and there nothing in them….
Were they your pockets or the pockets of a pair of trousers you used to own but sold to a sibling so you could buy more trousers?
Alan, I like your style :-D Real knowledge of the subtleties of ‘High Finance’……
They were my siblings hand me downs and rumour had it he kept a stash of old pennies from his communion 50 years ago. Alas, he clearly found another hiding place before handing them down.
But you should probably claim they’re still worth the cost of the trousers new plus the worth of the pennies anyway…
How much is that bog standard mansion worth?
Just shows the attitude this man has to his finances that he can loose track of how much he owes, which seems to be in the region of 70 million! I dont know about anyone else here, but I know exactly how much money I have going in and out, and how much I owe on loans. If I missed one payment on my student loan, ONE payment, I would be very promptly reminded. His attitude and actions from the moment he had the thought that he was entitled to borrow to the hilt to keep his luxurious lifestyle with no consequences, is a show of how arrogant these rich fe***rs are. The fact that it got to 70 million before anything was done just shows how there is one rule for them, and another for us plebs.
No sympathy. Not an ounce now or ever.
Its probably not that hard to lose track of what he owes, when banks and whoever start seizing properties and flogging them for whatever they can and don’t tell him how much is debt is reduced by. I’m assuming that’s the info he’d looking for. A bit different from your car loan.
He said he hasnt known for four years. Its very different from my loan in the sense that I was sensible and borrowed what I could pay back to create a career that would give me the ability to survive. He borrowed for his holidays and expensive suits thinking that they would just let him off without repaying it. He didnt keep track from the start because he didnt think he had to. I know I have to, and that as a responsible adult I should. Looking for info now that he knows he isnt going to get away with it is the greatest show of arrogance.
He doesn’t owe anyone anything any more – it has all been taken off him, and the receiver is distributing it as he sees fit and it is none of Brian’s business. They have been made bankrupt because they owed more than they owned, and now someone else if minding the finances and seeing the blatant and potentially illegal shifting of money and assets to their kids they are tightening down and having to go to court to stop this constant legal stalling.
The sad part is they completely believe everything is still theirs, and are clutching onto their contacts in the legal and political circles to make this happen for them.
Amy, you are making an assumption that he didn’t care what he owed because he can’t get the figures. A multi million portfolio of investments is a little bit more complex than your bog standard student loan.
Amy,
If you,I or any of us so much as missed a week’s rent or mortgage repayment, the treat of being f*ucked out the door would actually be real. These jokers have been left stay in their mansion after every court hearing. They OBVIOUSLY have zero intentions of handing the house over. How in God’s name can a man end up owing over €70 million and be allowed to stay in a house worth €7 million for this long?
I heard one of that family on radio talking to Maria Finnukey and the sense of entitlement is unbelievable.
‘Maria Finnukey’, who in the name of jasus is that?
The law profession in Ireland are the greatest crooks of all.
Their fees are made up as they go, the simplest cases are dragged on and on for no real reason, bar pushing up costs. Their arrogance is second to none and everybody just excepts it.
It’s a closed circle and none of them are going to rock the boat.
I’m not one for conspiracies etc but I believe that the legal system is even far ahead of politics for greed, self importance, and shady dealings
Pay me €300k (cash) and I’ll let you know there bud.
If you don’t know how much money you owe….. You owe too much!
So if a rich fella loses his money it’s his own fault, but if a poor fella loses his money it’s the fault of the bankers, government, etc.? I don’t expect this comment to get many green thumbs but at least think about it before reacting.
@Bert As a matter of public interest, how did it take a full 3 minutes to cop that your pockets were empty? Were you not wearing trousers when you first checked?
I recently bought one of those plastic shed type garden storage units. They’re very handy, you could nearly live in it if you were stuck…I’ve named it Gorse Hill, ’cause it’s only the bog standard model.
I suppose its whether the receiver is under any legal obligation to disclose anything to the person who previously owned the properties but was unable to keep up the repayments.
Hardly matters because I’d say the chances of you paying it back are slim to none.
Jeasus the dogs in the streets all know by now how much he owes….
Bernie Maddock springs to mind , Lee Majors also.
Isn’t it possible that he spent three years trying to find out how much the bank got for disposing of his assets only to be stone walled and this ‘stunt’ was to highlight that even though the banks say they are engaging, they are not really.
Asking how much he owes? 70 odd million you tit and you having no intention of ever paying it. F**k off back to London and take your spoilt kids with you. Oh and if you could take that Fianna Fáil b******s beads with you that would be great.
Great support for the “righteous” O’Donnells. RTE, The Indo, M Finucan et al all so worried about the ordinary folk. If it were you or I we would be out on our asses but media, judges and all so want justice for those with a mere 71million debt. The law is for the little people.
The o Donnells have to pay their debts- just like any ordinary joe soaps. But shur of course O Donnells will get away with it- and the normal folk who don’t pay their TV licence will get a jail sentence
Vinnie Browne is buying it .
Vin B actually sold his family home to pay the debts of his failed business!
He should get in contact with a good psychiatrist ,boi.. It might help him with the process of letting things go..Does he know one,like ?
Sap!
Does he want to clear his debts ????.
The king is dead Long live the king
i wonder how many millions he stashed away and if you think he has not YOUR IN DISNEYLAND.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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