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Joe Horgan : Missing millions a cause for concern IT
is hard not to knock the FAI. Even when they get it right they get it
wrong. Giovanni Trapattoni may well be the most illustrious manager we
have had in a long time but only the FAI could turn his appointment into
a farce surrounding his wages.
Why can’t they pay him themselves?
What happened to all the money from those World Cup appearances that a
tax exile businessman was needed in order to fulfil the new man’s
contract? Where’s the money gone?
Denis O’Brien’s involvement actually brought about a strange
reaction here with some people holding forth as if his action was almost
saintly in its selfishness.
Only the Celtic Tiger mentality could see something saintly in a multi-millionaire
contributing towards the wages of a multi-millionaire for his job in managing
a group of millionaires. Strange times, indeed.
Strange too that as the health service, under Progressive Democrat tutelage,
continues to lurch along instead of delivering basic care that even the
aspects of it that are positive still bring about the same question as
that asked of the FAI.
Where’s the money gone?
I recently had cause to visit a local hospital and it immediately made
me think two things.
One — that as Ireland moves relentlessly towards expansion and the
urge for things to get bigger and better and bigger, as if the two were
interchangeable, that small really is sometimes better.
You cannot beat the peaceful corridors of a quiet country hospital for
care, peace and human contact.
Second — I was struck too by the fact that the hospital had a very
important and modern piece of X-ray equipment that was a fantastic facility
for a local hospital to have.
What was most astonishing though was that this life-saving facility was
paid for solely by local fundraising.
Why?
Year after year when we were told that the Exchequer had millions of euro
in surplus slopping around was it necessary for the local community that
already pays for its health service and is increasingly forced by Government
policy to pay again with private health insurance to pay for equipment
for its own hospital?
Or is this indeed simply a part of Government policy? The Government has
already shown that its ethos during the heady Celtic Tiger days was to
distribute wealth upwards to encourage inequality.
Part of this has been to build a health service on the lines of an American
one, just as Americans themselves are waking up to the fact that millions
of its citizens are excluded from basic health care on the basis of lack
of personal wealth.
So whilst the raising of money for this equipment is in itself admirable
the question is one of why it was necessary.
The country has become very, very wealthy and whilst it has always been
acknowledged that this has taken the form of private rather than public
wealth there was still all that Government money sloshing around so that
the same question remains. Where’s the money gone?
Which of course brings us nicely to the Taoiseach. How much more of this
can he credibly survive? How much more are ordinary, decent Fianna Fáilers
going to take?
Whilst Bertie and his advisors continue to deflect from the issue, whilst
his friends in Government continue to insist that it is not what the tribunal
is uncovering that is important but the fact that it shouldn’t be
asking these very questions, the stories just continue unravelling.
Whilst senior Government TDs have even gone to the ludicrous extent of
stating that a serving Taoiseach should not be treated in this way and
that those questioning his suitability to continue should have more respect
for their betters the money trail just gets stranger and stranger.
Now it has been revealed that there was yet another, previously undisclosed,
bank account and that IR£30,000 was taken out of this and used by
the Taoiseach’s then partner Celia Larkin to buy a house that is
now worth three-quarters-of-a-million.
Apparently Bertie was unaware that this had happened even though he
was one of the names on the account and the account itself was supposed
to be for the Fianna Fáil party.
Bertie says this is all fine because the money was repaid even though
that only happened when all these years later the tribunal started investigating
it.
Who in God’s name believes any of this? Why are Bertie Ahern’s
financial arrangements so bloody complicated?
Why did he need those dig-outs from friends when there was all this other
money around the place?
And how fitting that in the aftermath of the Celtic Tiger the questions
in Ireland regarding everything from sport to health to Bertie should
all amount to the same thing.
Where’s the money gone? |
