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… Continue reading Difference
Tag: memes
When is a political donation not a political donation?
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… Continue reading When is a political donation not a political donation?
Don’t worry yourself about it
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… Continue reading Don’t worry yourself about it
‘SIPO has no record…’
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… Continue reading ‘SIPO has no record…’
The average wage question
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… Continue reading The average wage question
The Wild Irish
“Politics with Hidden Bases” looked at Irish TDs, and found Fianna Fáil TDs are more likely than average to have Gaelic surnames, while Fine Gael have an above-average number of Old English surnames. The explanation offered is that in patriarchal households, so you vote like your Da, not your Ma, and the Gaels are rebels.… Continue reading The Wild Irish
#YoureFired
About a week ago, comedian Morgan C Jones tweeted his intention to stand outside Leinster House next Thursday at midday. He didn’t care if it ended up as a one man, silent protest, he just felt the need to do something. He invited others to come along if they shared his feelings. It was one… Continue reading #YoureFired
One more thing
I’ve been thinking for the last couple of days about whether I should blog on the PWC email controversy. Or rather, about media coverage of the story, in particular the decision by some Irish newspapers and websites to publish the photographs of the women concerned. I considered a trawl through Facebook and LinkedIn, to find… Continue reading One more thing
One-nil
The Irish Independent today carries the story of the 10.10.10 virus. “Fears that a computer virus could be unleased (sic!) on October 10 – 10.10.10 – are circulating on the internet, with experts warning users to be careful”, the newspaper reports with breathless urgency. (10.10.10 has a particular significance to many in geekdom, since in… Continue reading One-nil
It wasn’t Simon
Fianna Fáil is in a spin about twitter. Nothing wrong with that, all political parties spin. You might as well criticise a dog for barking. The Fianna Fáil spin is that the criticism of the taoiseach’s performance on Morning Ireland is a storm in a pint glass, all the fault of Simon Coveney and Fine… Continue reading It wasn’t Simon