Earlier today the four Sinn Féin TD’s called on the Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue to resign. They did so because his position was untenable. Labour and Fine Gael followed suit. He has eventually announced his resignation and rightly so. He must go further and pay back expenses which he unnecessarily claimed. However the point has to be made that this cannot be seen as the end. John O’Donoghue should not be a sacrificial lamb. His actions were a symptom of a much deeper problem in the Irish political system. The lavish and outrageous expenses he enjoyed are enjoyed by many in both houses of the Oireachtas. His resignation must herald a new beginning of accountability, transparency and proportionality when it comes to the spending of tax payer’s money.
There is much talk of the need for the banking system to be cleaned up. It is now time to clean up our political system once and for all. The entire system of salaries and expenses to elected representatives at every level must be overhauled. One resignation is not enough. There are many more John O’Donoghue’s and Rody Molloy’s. However at the end of the day it is the system which needs to change. All political parties must now commit themselves to achieving this and bring about a new era of transparency and accountability in Irish politics.
His actions were atrocious, however Gilmore's direct confrontation swayed the decision, I'm sorry to say that nobody really takes any notice of sinn fein, however they were correct in this instance. It is a absurd claim that Sinn Fein forced O'Donoghue's resignation. I think you know that too Cllr.
ReplyDeleteObviously not everyone takes notice of what Sinn Féin has to say but to claim nobody does undermines the point you make - we are the third largest political party on the Island. The facts in this instance speak for themselves. Sinn Féin was the only party which called on John to resign this morning. Gilmore came under pressure and followed suit. My claim that Sinn Féin forced his resignation is neither absurd nor that important. The bigger issue here is whether this will result in a change of the system. I hope Gilmore, Kenny and Cowen will show leadership and work with Sinn Féin in commencing the neccessary process of cleaning up our political system. Thank you for your contribution.
ReplyDelete