Is there a list of TDs in the Dail were formerly in FF/FG
M Lowry
M McGrath
D Healy Rae
M Healy Rae
M McSharry
ROD
Naughton?
Collins?
Mary Lou McDonald
Chris Andrews
2 Likes
Could make a nice party there. Fianna Failed
One of the side stories of the last few weeks is Simon Harris being revealed as the cabinet leaker. I know Matt Carthy threw a Ra like grenade on it earlier, but is my sense correct that FFG collectively werenât that pissed off a few weeks ago to see him being unmasked?
It seemed to be a bit of a hit job. This government has obviously been a complete shambles from the start, but I was saying to my life partner lately that itâs really looking like curtains when formerly compliant stooges like Philip Ryan, Fionnan Sheehan, Hugh OâConnell et al test which way the wind is blowing and then start stirring too.
Wasnât it the Sindo that first named Harris without naming him? It was like the old board game favourite Guess Who? Is it a man? Does he have black hair? Etc etc. Their original story about the prolific leaker who briefs against HIS own colleagues referenced him being a senior FG minister with a high public profile but he wasnât Varadkar, Donohoe or Coveney. 
15 months ago Harris would have been tipped as a future FG leader and Taoiseach but Iâd say thatâs way less likely now.
5 Likes
Fairplay to Carthy on this one.
Harkin is unlikely to contest next time around. MacSharry has 6 months now to assess his future strategies. The anti-Martin seethe is strong here, based on his anti-SF stance and utterings. The voters of Sligo-Leitrim like to make up their own minds in these matters and the FF vote is currently in decline. Rumblings of a SFF arrangement should secure 3 seats at a minimum as FG are weak in the constituency.
You can add that mealy mouthed John McGuinness to the list of Me Feiners
MacSharry would be a massive loss for FFG. He speaks for the real people of Ireland
Good point. He is absolutely useless tbf. Lot of outrage and indignation about Coveney here and the corruption. Are people forgetting Bertie? Where does his misdemeanours rank next to Coveney? Would that not drop him down the greatest Taoiseach of all time rankings⊠Or are we forgiving and forgetting because he was a shrewder politician?
There were lads on here celebrating Peter Burke as some sort of political heavyweight when all he did was shout slurs across the studio when people were in the middle of answering questions or making a point.
It seems to be the FG approach to political debate, Richard Bruton and Josepha Madigan do it the whole time, waffle away when asked a question then shout over their opponents when itâs their turn.
The Indo naming OâDonovan and dragging him into this story now. This will run and run. Zappone has left some trail of destruction.
The Coalition has been plunged into disarray amid accusations of a Cabinet minister leaking details of the controversial Katherine Zappone appointment and the resignation of a Fianna FĂĄil TD over the long-running saga.
During a DĂĄil motion of no-confidence in embattled Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, Sinn FĂ©in alleged Higher Education Minister Simon Harris leaked details of Ms Zapponeâs appointment.
The explosive claim has been denied by Mr Harris, but details of an alleged sting operation by a junior minister, understood to be Limerick TD Patrick OâDonovan, has been widely discussed in political circles in recent weeks. However, a spokesperson for Mr Harris said: âThis was a clear misuse of DĂĄil privilege and it is untrue.â
The DĂĄil allegation followed the resignation from his party of senior Fianna FĂĄil TD Marc MacSharry rather than voting on the Coveney motion.
In a strongly worded letter, Mr MacSharry branded Fianna FĂĄil under Taoiseach MicheĂĄl Martin an âundemocratic totalitarian regimeâ.
He said he âcannot stand overâ a situation where âdifferent rules applyâ depending on who is involved in a political controversy.
Speaking during the debate, Sinn FĂ©in TD Matt Carthy said that ârather than dealing with the debacle, Fine Gael were running a sting operation to expose that Simon Harris had leaked the appointment from the Cabinet meeting because that is how business is doneâ.
Mr Carthy made the remarks during an ill-tempered DĂĄil debate on a Sinn FĂ©in motion of no-confidence in Simon Coveney.
Mr Carthyâs remarks about Mr Harris relates to an allegation in circulation that Mr OâDonovan set up a sting operation to establish whether a Cabinet minister leaked details of the appointment, which was made at a meeting of the Cabinet on July 28 before Ms Zappone withdrew.
Allegations emerged last month that the junior minister attempted to set up his senior colleague by pretending to be on a radio station talking about the Katherine Zappone controversy to see whether the other minister would tell a journalist. There was some criticism of the alleged sting at the Fine Gael think-in earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Mr Carthy told the DĂĄil Mr Coveneyâs account of the Zappone appointment meant âeither he is a very bad communicator or Katherine Zappone is a dopeâ.
âA former cabinet minister wanted a job that would get her access in the UN and her Fine Gael friends bent over backwards to make it happen,â the Cavan-Monaghan TD said.
During the DĂĄil debate, Taoiseach MicheĂĄl Martin said that TDs were being asked to accept that appointing Ms Zappone was âa gross abuse of officeâ but argued this was âmanifestly not the caseâ.
Mr Martin told TDs the Zappone controversy was a âperfectly legitimate issue of public concernâ and that the appointment was âhandled carelesslyâ. He said Mr Coveney was âacting in good faithâ when he deleted text messages related to official business, including the appointment of Ms Zappone.
Sinn FĂ©in leader Mary Lou McDonald said Mr Coveney tried to make up a job for a former cabinet colleague and tried to sell âa cock-and-bull storyâ to the Oireachtas.
TĂĄnaiste Leo Varadkar said his colleague was âdiligent, knowledgeable, sincere and loyalâ. He accused Sinn FĂ©in of using âgrubby moneyâ and running an âinternational centre of excellenceâ when it comes to cronyism. Sinn FĂ©in TDs could be heard shouting âbulls**tâ as Mr Varadkar made the remarks.
The Government motion of confidence in Mr Coveney, tabled in response to the motion of no-confidence, was won by 92 to 59 votes.
1 Like
Harris and OâDonovan.
I couldnât think of two bigger snivelling rats than those two.
6 Likes
Youâd swear it was Game of Thrones the way the media are going on about a âsting operationâ.
Bertie has the peace process
Thatâs his legacy
2 Likes
Neale Richmond is worse that both put together.
As a great debater yourself, I thought youâd appreciate the way Burke had him hopping mad and angrily waving a piece of paper around. Matt Cooper should have stepped in an stopped the pummelling.
Kneel is too fat to be a sniveling rat.
Heâs more like a fat sycophant.
Fucking nerds.
1 Like
Si getting out smarted by OâDonovan is not a good look.
4 Likes
Agreed. Like when O Broin had his arse handed to him by Ffs James lawless in a housing debate on Twitter. Deeply unsettling
1 Like
Looking at OâDonovan would give you chills