So much for a hybrid inquiry. What a cop out. No political accountability. No public hearings. No compromise to the Greens whatsoever despite their bleatings. The only thing that’s hybrid about this is that the Greens went looking from a compromise and Fianna Fail compromised by giving them a process with even greater degrees of opacity than a straightforward Commission of Investigation. (more…)

Dan Boyle said he hopes to see a hybrid inquiry emerging from this morning’s Cabinet meeting.

Hybrid equals compromise equals fudge equals watered-down mish mash.

Attorney General Paul Gallagher has supposedly given advice that a Commission of Investigation is the safest option. I would not be surprised if that is the case, given Gallagher’s very conservative approach to date (judges’ pay being the most signal example).

(And while I’m at it, wouldn’t it be great if we knew the identity of the 30 beaks who have not ponied up any contribution to the pension levy).

Brian Lenihan will outline the scheme in the Dail today.

Will the opposition attack? Are Kilkenny the best hurling team in the country? Is Brian O’Driscoll the best centre in the world?

Of course, of course, of course.

And they will be right. A Commission of Investigation is a classic bit of rope-a-dope strategy, string it along as long as possible, with nothing emerging this side of the next General Election.

There will be a kerfuffle when the Dáil returns tomorrow over the form that the banking inquiry will take. Most of the Sunday broadsheets yesterday reported that the Government is veering towards a Commission of Inquiry model.

That’s the concept brought to us by Michael McDowell. And, yes, it works. Very well too. But it’s not a utility player as such. It’s specialist. Worked well with Judge Murphy’s investigation of how the Dublin Archdioices responded to allegations of clerical sex abuse. It was also effective when inquiring into the death of a young boy whilst in custody.

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Both leaders have issued a statement in the past 45 minutes. It’s exactly as you would expect. It goes along the lines of many previous statements, with minor variations.

The gist. The following are the important issues: devolution of policing and justice powers.

Despite all the tragifarce of the past month, despite the serious fever that the Iris Virus has caused to the DUP, we believe it’s still achievable. What’s more we believe it’s desirable. The date on the Good Friday Agreement ticket has not yet expired.  Like parents, we have finally emptied the nest, but you always know we are there at the end of a telephone.

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There was a lovely sentence in John Waters column last week (read the whole article here) that really caught my eye. He was extolling the virtues of Radio 4 by means of moaning about the consant moaning we hear on RTE (and in most of the newspapers).

Here’s the snatch of column that I liked:

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Peter Robinson has issued a statement today saying he is stepping back for six weeks to allow him deal with the personal and family matters arising from his wife Iris’s admission of infidelity with a teenager.

Arlene Foster is the (mildly surprising) choice as stand-in as First Minister for that period. But is Peter Robinson’s career at the head of the DUP and and at the head of the North’s government effectively over? Is his decision today merely a prelude for a statement in six week’s time that will result, politically, in permanent decommissioning?

Here, for the record, is the full text of the statement he issued today:

“This has been a difficult time however; I want to thank all those who have sent messages of encouragement and support.  I have literally received thousands of messages from all sections of the community and beyond.

I will want to respond to everyone who has taken the time to send their best wishes to me and the family at this time.  I hope they will forgive me because of the volume if it takes me some time.

Iris is receiving acute psychiatric treatment through the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.  As a father and a husband, I need to devote time to deal with family matters.

To take account of this I have, following a meeting with party colleagues and one with the Deputy First Minister, asked the Minister for Enterprise, Arlene Foster MLA to carry out the functions of the Office of First Minister for a short period.

I appreciate the unanimous support from my Assembly and Parliamentary colleagues this morning.  I want to publicly thank them for all their support and kindness to me.

I count it a great honour and privilege to lead the Democratic Unionist Party and I will continue to do so with the full support of my colleagues.

I continue to contend I have acted ethically and it is particularly painful at this time of great personal trauma that I have to defend myself from an unfounded and mischievous allegation.  As you know I have requested that an opinion be obtained from Senior Counsel in relation to the Ministerial Code and related aspects. In addition the deputy First Minister has received advices from the Departmental Solicitors’ Office which do not present any complications of difficulties whatsoever.

I have asked for a Parliamentary and Assembly inquiry to be undertaken into these matters.

Throughout this period I will continue to work on the outstanding issues relating to policing and justice and some other matters.

This allows a particularly concentrated focus on these discussions and we will work to try to build on the agreements we have already reached so that a successful resolution can be reached.

This is the year to deliver at Stormont for all the people of Northern Ireland.”

The investigation by BBC’s Spotlight and its reporter Darragh McIntrye into the Iris Robinson affair (political and personal) was extraordinary. (more…)

This weather is making us all miserable and there is no end in sight. So by way of distraction I am putting forward a nomination for Best Political Song Ever. It is Marvin Gaye’s “Abraham, Martin and John”. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lONiQDyKhbo&rel=0

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I saw scenes in Dublin last night that I have never witnessed before and am unlikely to witness for another generation. A combination of snow fall and then a hard freeze in the run-up to rush hour made the whole of the city (and most of the country) into an ice rink.  Journeys of one hour or less turned into six or seven hours as people from the suburbs got caught in mass gridlock as cars failed to negotiate even the tiniest of inclines.

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We have had two startling insights into the private lives of senior politicians this week. First there were Brian Lenihan’s remarkably candid revelations about his impending battle with cancer of the pancreas. Now this evening we have had a searing statement from the North’s First Minister Peter Robinson about his marriage to Iris. (more…)

Here’s a trick for a journalist like me who’s stuck for an intro. You can always find a simple and obvious comparison. For example, if you’re talking about Irish politics the easiest thing to do is have a look across the water and say, God, what’s happening over there is happening here too, or is just about to happen (expenses scandals; three wins on the trot for Bertie’s bestest friend in the world Tonee Blair).

And to make it look like your really clever, you can use that most-frayed of quotes from Don Scottus: All comparisons are odious. To excuse the odious comparison that you have made.

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Anyone who listened to Brian Lenihan’s interview will be struck by his optimism and lack of self-pity in the face of such a grave and life-threatening condition. You can listen to Sean O’Rourke’s (adroitly handled) interview with him on RTE’s News at One here.

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The narrative of Joe Lee’s amazing social history of Ireland brought us from 1912 to 1985. The last chapter, Perspectives, lambasted the policy, moral and economic failures that had beset us. Lee compared Ireland unfavourably to Denmark, a country with a similar population, that had prospered during the decades that Ireland had stagnated.

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Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
    The flying cloud, the frosty light:
    The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. (more…)

Brian’s Lenihan’s diagnosis of cancer - and the the manner in which his terrible news was broken - is going to dominate public discourse well into the New Year. He is going to release a statement about his condition early in the New Year. There will also be a continuing debate about TV3’s decision to run with the story on St Stephen’s Day.

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Political wonks, nerds and anoraks have an embarrassment of riches to choose from this Christmas in terms of books on the economic crisis and other related matters. (more…)

KERRY TD Jackie Healy-Rae has said it is time for the government to spend some money rather than seeking more ways to save it. The veteran South Kerry politician, whose unwavering loyalty to Fianna Fail has helped prop up the embattled …... Continue reading »

Deputy Timmy Dooley hit the nail on the head when we asked how we would feel if we woke up in the morning to find all of our banking system owned by (say) Libya. The Report was agreed. It will be sent to the Oireachtas Finance Committee …... Continue reading »

The financial regulator today said it did too little too late to cushion the blow of the global recession on Ireland. In other breaking news the Catholic Church admits it might have been a bit too rapey while Mary Harney admits she is …... Continue reading »

Beware the Jabberwock! an exhibition of books on the animal kingdom in Marsh's Library was opened by Dr. Martin Mansergh, T.D., Minister of State, on Tuesday June 30 2009. The title comes from the nonsense poem about odd creatures in …... Continue reading »