Sep 26
On Saturday, Sinn Féin senator David Cullinane was asked where any money above the €530 per week allowance he received from the party went. He replied “into the local constituency employing people who work for the party.” When I asked the senator David Cullinane where the legislation governing political donations made a distinction between money …
Sep 25
Let’s recap some more. A TD earns €92672K. She pays her taxes. For a single PAYE worker in the private sector with standard deductions, that’s a net income of €55615. You can get away with less, but let’s go with €55615. If she’s a Sinn Féin TD, she takes home €530 a week. That’s €27560 …
Sep 25
Let’s recap. Last week I asked: If a Sinn Féin TD only takes home the “average wage” and donates the rest, how much is Sinn Féin getting as a result of that donation? And how does that square with SIPO requirements? Last night, I had a twitter exchange with Sinn Féin senator David Cullinane, and …
Sep 19
An individual is allowed to make a donation of up to €6348.69 to a political party in any given year, according to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO). In addition, the individual may donate up to €2539.48 to an individual member of the party; a TD or senator or councillor, or someone who is …
Sep 18
Nine months ago, I wrote a story about Sinn Féin and the average wage. In brief, Sinn Féin say their TDs and senators are paid only the average wage, and hand over the rest to the party. Which is fine, except for a few things. One, there are legal limits on how much can be …
Feb 07
Pearse Doherty got into bother last week, when the Donegal Sinn Féin website identified him as a civil engineer. [Not just the website by the way, as shown by the image opposite, from Pearse's byelection literature]. Here’s Pearse on Highland Radio: “I’ve always been up front. I told people in many interviews that I left …
Feb 17
Green party senator Dan Boyle used his twitter account to express his frustration after the government won a Dáil vote of confidence in Defence minister Willie O’Dea earlier today. The Cork-based politician said he was “not happy with what happened today” using the online messaging service. “As regards to Minister O’Dea I don’t have confidence …
Jun 20
I spent most of the week in London. From what I saw in newspapers and on television while there, Gordon Brown seemed preoccupied by the ongoing row over MPs expenses. He lost another minister on Wednesday, though Kitty Ussher was keen to say in her resignation letter that she had done nothing wrong, and was …
Jun 02
Fianna Fáil has the support of one in five voters, if the latest Irish Times poll is to be believed. Labour are three points ahead of them, and Fine Gael lead the pack with 36%. Independents are supported by one in ten, Sinn Féin by one in twelve, and the Greens by only 3%, a …
May 12
Dublin is to get a new directly-elected mayor within a year. The first directly elected city leader will be chosen by the capital’s citizens next summer. ’2010 will see the direct election, by the people of the Dublin region, of a highly-visible and accountable Mayor who will have the authority and powers to deliver real …
