Aengus if you’re reading this, you can safely assume if I die in a car smash with a Russian woman by my side she WILL be a hooker. No apology needed.
http://www.finance.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=6145
Statement by Brian Lenihan T.D., Minister for Finance
Monday, 4 January 2010
During the week before Christmas, I underwent tests in hospital which identified a blockage at the entrance to my pancreas. A stent was inserted and the pancreas is now functioning normally. Cancerous tissue has been identified in the material that has caused the blockage. My medical advice is that chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic treatment are required. I will begin the treatment later this week.
Notwithstanding this medical condition, I am feeling fit and well. Having discussed the matter with the Taoiseach and having consulted my medical advisers, it is my intention to continue to serve as Minister for Finance. I will not be accepting invitations for speaking engagements in the next few months. I will continue to fulfil the essential functions of my office. I will supervise the work of my Department and meet delegations relevant to this work. I will prepare for and attend Government meetings. I will make myself accountable to Dil ireann and carry out my parliamentary duties. I will convene and attend any meetings required for the implementation of Government policy. I will be available for media interviews about my work as Minister, as required. I will continue to represent the constituency of Dublin West to the best of my abilities.
The Government is determined to implement the plan for economic recovery set out in the last two Budgets. That plan has been endorsed by every member of the Government. With the full support of my colleagues I will continue to oversee its implementation.
I am well aware of the importance of the office I hold. My doctors have advised that I am fit to continue to fulfil my duties. If that position were to change in the course of my treatment, I would be the first to recognise it. At all times, I will act in the best interests of the country and in accordance with any medical advice received. I do not intend to issue any further statements about this matter.
I want to thank the very many well wishers who sent me messages of support following media reports of my illness. I have been overwhelmed by the goodwill shown to my family and myself from all sides. I am aware that many have remembered me in their thoughts and prayers. I thank them for it. I hope I can repay this goodwill by continuing to serve to the best of my ability as I undergo treatment for my medical condition.
I can’t agree with that. Nobody rushed to report on Seamus Brennan or Tony Gregory* but TV3 just couldn’t help themselves with Lenihan’s profile.
There is merit in reporting the story as a news item once it’s clear that the personal side of things has been dealt with. A fair amount of speculation was circulating about Lenihan at that stage and most politicians from all parties knew something was wrong with him before Christmas and the major news organisations knew it too. TV3 just waited until they’d be sure of an exclusive, maybe even got wind of the Sunday papers running with something, and then just went off and did whatever suited them. And they reported the whole thing very distastefully.
I’m all for freedoms of the press but there was no urgency on this story, it didn’t need to be broken as an exclusive and it reflects very badly on the tv3 newsroom that they broke protocol to get this sort of scoop.
Lenihan seems to have spoken well today, I wouldn’t be carrying on working if I was on his shoes but then again maybe he likes his job.
- It is to my eternal credit that I stayed clear of naming either of the above politicians in the celebrity deaths thread when aware of their illnesses.
But is there protocol like this in the media, Rocko? They’re all out to cut each other’s throat. Once it broke the other agencies rowed in for all they were worth and had the added bonus of being able to tear into TV3 aswell as a secondary story. What I read in the Star was fairly no holds barred, some morbid headline along the lines of “Pancreatic Cancer - lowest survival rate”. Four or five pages of coverage with all sorts of quacks quoted.
There is a noble point about the family having a chance to hear the news first but I think it’s asking alot in the age we live in for some sort of Omerta between all the journalists to be observed.
I’m struggling to understand what the issue is here. The only outcome I can see is sympathetic coverage of the man who introduced the most brutal budget in a generation. Are news outlets moral bastions? Are TV3 dedicated to public service? We know the answers to these questions already so it seems like a real non-issue to me.
I tend to agree and have more issue with the way the Sindo jumped on the criticism bandwagon, although Halligan handled it badly by talking in the past tense.
We didn’t hear much about the pay cuts for senior civil servants on E165k and up not going ahead though.
Is this what we have come to?
A genuine bloke trying to do his very difficult job through no fault of his own, you may not agree with it fine, but thinking that there is no problem with the way TV3 handled this due to the fact of some sort of karma for his budget cuts is disgusting frankly.
[quote=“farmerinthecity”]Is this what we have come to?
A genuine bloke trying to do his very difficult job through no fault of his own, you may not agree with it fine, but thinking that there is no problem with the way TV3 handled this due to the fact of some sort of karma for his budget cuts is disgusting frankly.[/quote]
I’m afraid this country came to this a long time ago Farmer.
Typical of us Irish to buy this hook line and sinker. Who leaked this to TV3 is what we should be asking? It wouldnt surprise me in the slightest of it came from the Dept of Finance to take the budget and Civil Service pay cuts off the news reels. If it wasnt them than it was a member of his family . Of course this is news, hes the minister of Finance !!! Pity RTE wouldnt be a bit more cutting in their approach to news items, we mightnt have been hit as hard financially if they had the balls to do some real reporting.
Anyone on here giving out about the morals of TV3 really needs to take a day off ffs.
Its probably a cover up eh S.O.? Cunt probably isn’t sick at all. Or maybe this is karma for how he destroyed the country, perhaps the cancerous state of the FF govt’s is manifesting itself in his pancreas?
Yea, of course TV3 had a right to delve into the mans personal welbeing and broadcast it to the nation, nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong at all.
[quote=“myboyblue”]Its probably a cover up eh S.O.? Cunt probably isn’t sick at all. Or maybe this is karma for how he destroyed the country, perhaps the cancerous state of the FF govt’s is manifesting itself in his pancreas?
Yea, of course TV3 had a right to delve into the mans personal welbeing and broadcast it to the nation, nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong at all.[/quote]
Who told TV3 ffs? They didnt just guess it. Yes they had every right to braodcast it once they found out abaout it, he’s a public figure ffs. Its part of the job unfortunately. As for karma there are far more deserving of a disease than Brian Lehinahn in the current govt so i don’t buy that.
*- As for delving into anywhere, who are we to say whats right and wrong? How many degrading pictures have you posted and commented on over the years of some poor lads daughter for example? Im not criticising you btw. You can’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds though.
What I can’t believe is that so many people watch TV3 news!
[quote=“Special Olympiakos”]Typical of us Irish to buy this hook line and sinker. Who leaked this to TV3 is what we should be asking? It wouldnt surprise me in the slightest of it came from the Dept of Finance to take the budget and Civil Service pay cuts off the news reels. If it wasnt them than it was a member of his family . Of course this is news, hes the minister of Finance !!! Pity RTE wouldnt be a bit more cutting in their approach to news items, we mightnt have been hit as hard financially if they had the balls to do some real reporting.
Anyone on here giving out about the morals of TV3 really needs to take a day off ffs.[/quote]
This ‘typical of us Irish’ condescending stuff really grates me. This is not an Irish trait and if it was an Irish trait then I am happy that it is because TV3’s behaviour was disgraceful and should be shown as being such.
Do you realise that reporters live in the pockets of TDs in the Dail, not just in the Dail but in the House of Commons etc etc. It is the most news worthy place to be. I would say the amount of murmurings that goes around the place is unreal and naturally Lenihan’s illness would become common knowledge - he went to hospital for tests before Christmas. All it takes is for one of the reporters to ask a TD a question, who they have probably known for years and they get the answer.
Fine it’s news but don’t go with a specially convened news bulletin on Stephens Day where the story is broken, talk about him in the past tense and wheel out some consultant to talk about how survival rates are low. It is unecessarily sensationalist and deeply hurtful to the man’s family. There was no need for it. It could have waited and could have been dealt with with far more compassion.
[quote=“Special Olympiakos”]Who told TV3 ffs? They didnt just guess it. Yes they had every right to braodcast it once they found out abaout it, he’s a public figure ffs. Its part of the job unfortunately. As for karma there are far more deserving of a disease than Brian Lehinahn in the current govt so i don’t buy that.
*- As for delving into anywhere, who are we to say whats right and wrong? How many degrading pictures have you posted and commented on over the years of some poor lads daughter for example? Im not criticising you btw. You can’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds though.[/quote]
Yes, my, or anyone elses output here probably does garner as much attention as TV3 news alright :rolleyes: Its a National News station FFS. I take the point you’re making but this site, popular and all as it is, doesn’t have the same viewership as as a National Broadcaster.
Also as to who told them, when a Minister is rushed to hospital, especially such a high profile one, its only natural that they would do some investigation work into it, every political journo in the land would do likewise, the only diffence being TV3 ran the story without consulting the family. It was a health issue that he would have addressed in his own time, in his own manner, surely he deserved the right to do that?
It just smacks of crassness on behalf of the news media, and TV3 will bear the brunt of that, because it was them that went with it first.
It wasn’t “leaked” to tv3 news. People in Dept of Finance knew he was sick, obviously members of his family knew and people in the opposition knew.
The same happened when Tony Gregory got sick. People found out in the time and manner that Gregory wanted to tell people. Not every transmission of information to the media has to be a leak. As Ferghal Keane has said on RT over Christmas he knew before Christmas but there was a decision taken by RT (and by all other media outlets) that it would be insensitive and unneccessary to break this information before Lenihan had a chance to tell people himself.
And WTB you don’t need to be public service to be bound by the code surrounding news broadcast in this country. If you want to put out a news programme then that carries more responsibilities than your standard chat show.
The way TV3 handled the issue was disgusting to be honest. Bringing the budget and any other of Lenihan’s political manouvers into this is completely irelevant (and I’d be a strong critic of much of his work). Nonsense the argument too that he is a public figure and we had to know on St Stephens Day. The very least Lenihan deserved was to publicise the story when he saw fit. Today FM, RTE and I’m sure many other media organisations were aware of the story. They of course didn’t stoop as low as TV3.
Perhaps we should draft some sort of a letter of complaint.
Larry has experience in this department and may be of some assistance
if the information was out there then to report on it seems reasonable you would think, i have no great issue with reporting of confirmed facts.
however this is not what tv3 did, they reported he had pancreatic cancer, and they were wrong.
they had a lengthy discussion with the countries leading oncologist on the topic of pancreatic cancer leading the viewer to believe very simply that if you have it then you are basically fucked. it turns out he doesnt have pancreatic cancer.
Lenihen was referred to in the past tense, again they were wrong he is still at work.
tv3 have made complete cunts of themselves on this and will forever be a tabloid newsstation from now on.
say what you want about them but rte, maybe forced into it by tv3, reported half an hour later that the Dept of Finance had no comment to make on reports that lenihan had cancer, they said he was spending Christmas at home with his family and left it at that, they left it with the facts.
[quote=“Special Olympiakos”]Who told TV3 ffs? They didnt just guess it. Yes they had every right to braodcast it once they found out abaout it, he’s a public figure ffs. Its part of the job unfortunately. As for karma there are far more deserving of a disease than Brian Lehinahn in the current govt so i don’t buy that.
*- As for delving into anywhere, who are we to say whats right and wrong? How many degrading pictures have you posted and commented on over the years of some poor lads daughter for example? Im not criticising you btw. You can’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds though.[/quote]
S.O Id guess the leak came from within the hospital. Once two people know its not a secret anymore. This would have been known throughout the hospital very quickly, from Oncologist to porters. How many nurses, doctors, admin staff and lab techs would have come into contact with BL and his results, a lot would be my guess.
Spoke with real dignity yesterday I thought. Absolutely shocking your suggestion that he is using this to deflect attention from the budget when he hasnt sought to duck any questions on it at any point. Shocking.