Zappone appointment a step too far...

A classic example of politicians not having the guts to stand up and stick to their guns

Coveney should have stood his ground. Stated that this was a position with small payment and requiring a particular circumstance which Zappone filled and she was eminently qualified.

Maybe apologize for how it was brought to cabinet, but no apologies for the appointment.

Now sf want a "process" for a two bit part-time role that has a payment of about €20,000 a year.

The cost of that "process" will probably be multiples of the fee for the position.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when/if sf get into government and how much cronyism surfaces.
 
I think you mean free rein not "free reign".. an important distinction. You're making it sound like they'll do a Taliban on the place... if they get elected then they'll have to stand for re-election - fair and square.
 
odyssey06 said:
But it was a necessary part of the peace process in the North as part of power sharing.
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It was a necessary part of the peace process in the South too. Most people had moved on but constitutionally this State still recognised Britain as an occupying force.
Britain also considered this States territorial claim over the North as a hostile act. Its why there was no official head of State visit between the two countries since partition.

It is hypocrisy to laud the power-sharing government in the North but to pour scorn at the mere prospect of SF holding power in the South.
The only way SF will get power in the South is if enough people vote for them. The only scorn that should pour is on those that try to deny the democratic will of the people.
 
peemac said:
Maybe apologize for how it was brought to cabinet, but no apologies for the appointment.
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I don't think anyone is doubting the credentials of Zappone to perform the function.
But an apology now would be very late in the day. It would only spark an inquiry into why the apology was not forthcoming in the first place.
I pretty much hate this end of politics. Its pure media theatre, point scoring, mud slinging. But unfortunately it is the name of the game. They set themselves up to hold the highest standards of public office. There is little room to step out of that.
 
The big surprise in all this is why did Coveny and Varadker feel so compelled to assuage zappone, she was an ex minister not even of the fine Gael party. I doubt if the shoe was on the other foot zappone would be helping them out. Why did they not just say NO
 
WolfeTone said:
They set themselves up to hold the highest standards of public office.
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Unfortunately those people don't get elected. Our politicians are a reflection of the people who elected them, for good and bad.
 
WolfeTone said:
It is hypocrisy to laud the power-sharing government in the North but to pour scorn at the mere prospect of SF holding power in the South.
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With all due respect WT I don't think there are many in the Republic lauding the parties involved in power-sharing in the North. What has been lauded is the fact that power-sharing exists up there. However the parties involved in power-sharing in the North have behaved in a way that is absolutely not laudable. They have at times been an embarrassment and are very much a part of why people in the South would not want SF in power down here. I think you are mixing up praise for the institution with praise for the parties involved.
 
Ceist Beag said:
With all due respect WT I don't think there are many in the Republic lauding the parties involved in power-sharing in the North.
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I know, I wasn't suggesting it was the parties themselves being lauded. An oxymoron in the political sphere.
It is the existence of power sharing between two sworn enemies that is lauded.
It's same in the South. We have a power sharing arrangement in place and I would be inclined to heap praise on the leadership of FF/FG if it weren't for my thinking that they are 20/30yrs behind mood of the people.

It's nothing to do with any respective party. It's to do with political enemies/opponents taking pragmatic decisions to ensure political stability in the country - that is what is to be lauded.
 
Apology now is definitely too late. It should have been done and dusted the evening of the original cabinet meeting.

But I suspect that the cabinet minister who leaked the original story is not going to be on any FG/FF Christmas card lists. The next reshuffle will tell all
 
Could I ask everyone who has participated in this thread by posting or liking 2 questions please?

In relation to Zap being offered a job in March......

1. Do you believe it matters if Cov is telling the truth?

2. Do you believe Cov is telling the truth?

We don't have a survey system here - so I am just looking for Yes/No/Unsure answers here. I think the results will be informative. Please just yes/no/unsure....

For me, it's

1. Yes
2. No
 
Could I ask a third question?

Did no one get my joke in the first post?

This was not intended to be a serious thread.

Brendan
 
And a 4th and 5th question.

4. Is Coveney human and subject to human error?
5. If he is subject to human error, should that disqualify him from being a government Minister?
 
And a 6th and 7th question

6. Do you believe this story warrants the amount of time and attention it has consumed (in political circles and in the media)?
7 (somewhat along the lines of what Peemac referred to above) Do you believe the resulting actions from all of this time and attention will leave us in a better place?
 
Well the early tallies scream what I suspected about yee lot!

And, of course, I always suspected that straight answers to straight questions would be a bit of an ask.

Just my opinion! No more of it.

All this just helps the inexotable rise of SF. After all, we get the politicians we deserve....
 
My answers are;
  1. Not really
  2. Kind of, sort of, mostly, I don’t care
  3. Eventually
  4. Yes
  5. No
  6. No
  7. No
 
When all is said and done . . . . . . the Catherine Zappone/Simon Coveney story got the same billing this week as soft plastic being now acceptable in Plastic Waste bins so let's hope that's the end of it.

But No! - When all is said and done, there's always a lot more said, than done.
 
I just read that the "salary" for this part-time appointment was in the region of €13,000. No wonder Zappone withdrew when it became a political football.

€13K! - Before tax!

sf's Aongus O'Snodaigh spent 4 times that on Ink cartridges (paid for by the Tax payer) in 2007/8 and sf justified it saying that he "printed a lot".


Pity FG / FF don't kick back at sf. "We were getting a year of representation at the UN for less than the price of 6 months ink cartridge use by Aongus O'Snodaigh"
 
She may have been interested in the Diplomatic Passport for getting over and back.
She may also have been interested in the role and the good that she thought she could do.
 
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