Irish Ferries -The low fares ferry company... there's not much margin for error with that marketing punchline. There's a fine line line between being a 'low fares' company and just a 'cheap' company. Unfortunately the quality of service for the Rosslare-Cherbourg ferry is just cheap... complete with grimey toilets and soggy chips.
Hopefully the new ferry due at the end of 2007 (complete with 'luxury' cabins) will transfer the experience from simply 'cheap' to 'low fares'.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
'Powell tried to talk Bush out of war'... a good man in hiding?
During the nineties Colin Powell always stood tall as the voice of reason and reality in the Middle East.
This week Colin Powell told the Aspen Ideas Festival that he had 'tried to avoid this war' and had spent 2.5 hrs trying to persuade George Bush not to invade Iraq. I'm sure he is selling himself short.... I think we can assume with absolute certainty that Powell invested a lot more than 2.5hrs trying to avert the Iraq fiasco.
I can't help feeling that Powell is man of great wisdom and insight with a deep understanding of Middle East politics... I also can't help feeling that he caved in at a critcal period in order to secure his political future. The man with a firm grasp of war realities seems to have been a Bush poodle for the last four years. Only now are we seeing the voice of reason emerge again.
His observation that the 'Sunnis are struggling for power and survival and it's going to be resolved by a test of arms. It's going to be very ugly' is delivered from practical experience; however when the history books are written, will it be OK that a man with so much potential to positively influence events simply became an observer???
This week Colin Powell told the Aspen Ideas Festival that he had 'tried to avoid this war' and had spent 2.5 hrs trying to persuade George Bush not to invade Iraq. I'm sure he is selling himself short.... I think we can assume with absolute certainty that Powell invested a lot more than 2.5hrs trying to avert the Iraq fiasco.
I can't help feeling that Powell is man of great wisdom and insight with a deep understanding of Middle East politics... I also can't help feeling that he caved in at a critcal period in order to secure his political future. The man with a firm grasp of war realities seems to have been a Bush poodle for the last four years. Only now are we seeing the voice of reason emerge again.
His observation that the 'Sunnis are struggling for power and survival and it's going to be resolved by a test of arms. It's going to be very ugly' is delivered from practical experience; however when the history books are written, will it be OK that a man with so much potential to positively influence events simply became an observer???
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
House price inflation in Ireland, what's the cause?
On RTE1 last night the political affairs program Q&A addressed house price inflation and the possible resulting negative equity that a significant number of Irish householders now face.
The Labour Opposition Leader firmly placed the blame at the governments feet for failing to reign in the 'excessive profit taking' in the Building Industry. What a load of nonsense!
The government are to blame but not because it allowed the building industry to take excessive profits, it is to blame because it stood back and watched the Irish Banking system flood the residential market with cheap mortgage money.
House prices are just like any other market, it is a law of supply and demand. What is different is that buyers don't use cash (by and large) and need to borrow the money from Banks. So if Mr Average is prepared to pay 10 times his/her salary for the average house then it's because a Bank has been prepared to finance this purchase.
Even if Mr Average has reservations about the cost, he is in a catch 22 situation. He/she needs a house and if he doesn't buy then the banks will lend the money to somebody else who will.
The fact is, if the funds had not been available to fuel the house buying frenzy then house price inflation would not have gone crazy...
So why should the Government care what the banks do? Because it directly influences our economy. The US Stock Market crash was driven to a large extent by the availablity of easy credit and look how that ended, a 10 year depression.
Bank lending should not be driven purely by the Banking Corporation's desire to make money. There are very real social and economic consequences to deal with if this happens. Our Government knows this and should have done something about it. Yes, there are lending criteria guidelines etc. but these have been flouted for over 10 years. If the Government had at least ensured that strict lending critera were being adhered to then this would have helped to control the flow of money into property and the resulting flow of profits out the other end would have controlled themselves.
The Labour Opposition Leader firmly placed the blame at the governments feet for failing to reign in the 'excessive profit taking' in the Building Industry. What a load of nonsense!
The government are to blame but not because it allowed the building industry to take excessive profits, it is to blame because it stood back and watched the Irish Banking system flood the residential market with cheap mortgage money.
House prices are just like any other market, it is a law of supply and demand. What is different is that buyers don't use cash (by and large) and need to borrow the money from Banks. So if Mr Average is prepared to pay 10 times his/her salary for the average house then it's because a Bank has been prepared to finance this purchase.
Even if Mr Average has reservations about the cost, he is in a catch 22 situation. He/she needs a house and if he doesn't buy then the banks will lend the money to somebody else who will.
The fact is, if the funds had not been available to fuel the house buying frenzy then house price inflation would not have gone crazy...
So why should the Government care what the banks do? Because it directly influences our economy. The US Stock Market crash was driven to a large extent by the availablity of easy credit and look how that ended, a 10 year depression.
Bank lending should not be driven purely by the Banking Corporation's desire to make money. There are very real social and economic consequences to deal with if this happens. Our Government knows this and should have done something about it. Yes, there are lending criteria guidelines etc. but these have been flouted for over 10 years. If the Government had at least ensured that strict lending critera were being adhered to then this would have helped to control the flow of money into property and the resulting flow of profits out the other end would have controlled themselves.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Sailing cruisers in Ireland...
Sailing cruisers in Ireland... the truth is that it's a damp miserable experience.
All trussed up in heavy waterproof gear waiting for the next pounding wave to flood over the decks. It's for this reason that many years ago I adopted the approach that 'if you're not racing then why go sailing'.
However, every year you're guaranteed one cruisy trip that makes it all worthwhile and will become the trip to remember when senility arrives.
This weekend we had that trip.... we hoisted sails out of Kinsale and left them up with out a single tack or gybe all the way to the safe water mark off Malahide some 25hrs and 170nm later. This involved heading East, North and eventually West. Sunshine, no rain and no waves on deck.
It was a great trip that makes it all worthwhile.
All trussed up in heavy waterproof gear waiting for the next pounding wave to flood over the decks. It's for this reason that many years ago I adopted the approach that 'if you're not racing then why go sailing'.
However, every year you're guaranteed one cruisy trip that makes it all worthwhile and will become the trip to remember when senility arrives.
This weekend we had that trip.... we hoisted sails out of Kinsale and left them up with out a single tack or gybe all the way to the safe water mark off Malahide some 25hrs and 170nm later. This involved heading East, North and eventually West. Sunshine, no rain and no waves on deck.
It was a great trip that makes it all worthwhile.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Michael McDowell taught the PD's a valuable lesson
Michael McDowell persuaded the Progressive Democrats (an Irish Political party) that he should be their leader. He did this by being intelligent, hardworking and ambitious….. Unfortunately, along the way the political party seemed to loose site of the fact that your leader needs to be a good politician also!
And Michael McDowell was not a good politician. He failed to get himself re-elected in last week’s election and oversaw the biggest meltdown of a political party in Ireland’s history. In the end he left the PD’s the way that he had run them, as a one man band. Many of his senior colleagues were left to claim that they learned of his retirement from television programmes!
Brendan O’Connor (a Sunday Independent journalist) claims that the electorate let themselves down by not re-electing McDowell, how condescending is that. The fact of the matter is that even the ‘man on the street’ could see that Michael McDowell was not a team player at any level, not as a local representative, not as a party leader and certainly not as part of functioning government.
National Government must be one of the most intricate team sports around, it’s certainly no place for show boating.
All political parties would do well to learn and re-learn the lesson…. To succeed in politics, you need to be a good politician. Intelligence and genuine patriotism is not enough……
….. the Greens might want to reflect on why their Party Leader wasn’t returned to office until the eighth count, before it’s too late.
As for the PD's, I hope Mary Harney does pick the party by the scruff of the neck and rebuilds it. It could become a party worth voting for.
And Michael McDowell was not a good politician. He failed to get himself re-elected in last week’s election and oversaw the biggest meltdown of a political party in Ireland’s history. In the end he left the PD’s the way that he had run them, as a one man band. Many of his senior colleagues were left to claim that they learned of his retirement from television programmes!
Brendan O’Connor (a Sunday Independent journalist) claims that the electorate let themselves down by not re-electing McDowell, how condescending is that. The fact of the matter is that even the ‘man on the street’ could see that Michael McDowell was not a team player at any level, not as a local representative, not as a party leader and certainly not as part of functioning government.
National Government must be one of the most intricate team sports around, it’s certainly no place for show boating.
All political parties would do well to learn and re-learn the lesson…. To succeed in politics, you need to be a good politician. Intelligence and genuine patriotism is not enough……
….. the Greens might want to reflect on why their Party Leader wasn’t returned to office until the eighth count, before it’s too late.
As for the PD's, I hope Mary Harney does pick the party by the scruff of the neck and rebuilds it. It could become a party worth voting for.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Finally Aer Lingus competes with RyanAir
A strange thing just happened... I went onto RyanAirs website to book a flight to Manchester and came up with a price if €70.52...... unusually I checked out the AerLingus site (something I had stopped doing) and discovered that they offerred the same flight with identical departure times for €70.90 which is actually cheaper than RyanAir if you factor in their 'priority booking' nonsense.
Needless to say, I went for Aer Lingus.
Needless to say, I went for Aer Lingus.
Airport charges.... someone is telling lies
Yesterday I booked a flight from Dublin to London Stanstead. The break down of booking fees indicated that my Dublin Airport charges would be €9.99
Today I booked a flight from Dublin to Manchester. The break down of booking fees indicated that my Dublin Airport charges would be €22.79!
Could the charges really have gone up by 1200% in one day??? What a nonsense and what a money spinner for someone.
Today I booked a flight from Dublin to Manchester. The break down of booking fees indicated that my Dublin Airport charges would be €22.79!
Could the charges really have gone up by 1200% in one day??? What a nonsense and what a money spinner for someone.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Irish Election on May 24th
This morning, the date for the next Irish General election was anounced as 24th May. After 10 years in Government, the people once again get their chance to decide their fate....
And in a strange way the choice is similar to booking a RyanAir flight,
1) Pay peanuts and know that YOU'LL be treated like the monkey... i.e stick with the current Fianna Fail Party
2) Take a chance with a new provider but discover at the end of the journey that you're just a lot poorer than choosing option 1 and in reality you've ended up in the same place anyway... more or less.
I'm not a FF die hard but on reflection today, I'd guess that their return to power would be the best solution for the country.
Yes, I do care about corruption and believe that crooked people should go to jail. However I have to be honest and express my doubts that Bertie will every get caught.
So how about a vote for the other parties...
Michael McDowell of the PD's has demonstrated he's not a team player, in the context of his own party as well as the present government. We'd be better off without his disruptive influence.
The SF'ers are a classic anomaly... a single party that pledges allegiance to which country exactly?? I don't think it's a country that currently exists and certainly isn't a country that I'd want to live in.
And then there's the FG, Labour alliance... I'm afraid I just don't believe that they'd be any better than FF and are just a whole lot less experienced at the country management game. I don't fancy risking our futures while they come up to speed.
As for the Greens, in a strange way their time is running out... as the world becomes more environmentally aware, the mainstream parties will have to adopt the environmental issue... and then where would the Greens be. When you take away the tree hugging ideas, what else does the Green Party stand for?
..... sadly that leaves me in the space of booking a RyanAir flight, I know I'm likely to get there but also know that I'll be left feeling that Michael OLeary doesn't give a damn about me so long as he can find enough punters willing to take the cheap option.
And in a strange way the choice is similar to booking a RyanAir flight,
1) Pay peanuts and know that YOU'LL be treated like the monkey... i.e stick with the current Fianna Fail Party
2) Take a chance with a new provider but discover at the end of the journey that you're just a lot poorer than choosing option 1 and in reality you've ended up in the same place anyway... more or less.
I'm not a FF die hard but on reflection today, I'd guess that their return to power would be the best solution for the country.
Yes, I do care about corruption and believe that crooked people should go to jail. However I have to be honest and express my doubts that Bertie will every get caught.
So how about a vote for the other parties...
Michael McDowell of the PD's has demonstrated he's not a team player, in the context of his own party as well as the present government. We'd be better off without his disruptive influence.
The SF'ers are a classic anomaly... a single party that pledges allegiance to which country exactly?? I don't think it's a country that currently exists and certainly isn't a country that I'd want to live in.
And then there's the FG, Labour alliance... I'm afraid I just don't believe that they'd be any better than FF and are just a whole lot less experienced at the country management game. I don't fancy risking our futures while they come up to speed.
As for the Greens, in a strange way their time is running out... as the world becomes more environmentally aware, the mainstream parties will have to adopt the environmental issue... and then where would the Greens be. When you take away the tree hugging ideas, what else does the Green Party stand for?
..... sadly that leaves me in the space of booking a RyanAir flight, I know I'm likely to get there but also know that I'll be left feeling that Michael OLeary doesn't give a damn about me so long as he can find enough punters willing to take the cheap option.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
BMW iDrive - How infuratingly dangerous is that
We have just come back from a 2 week holiday with BMW 3-Series hire car. It was a nice car that did what it was supposed to do except for IDRIVE... what a horrible piece of kit. I was always impressed with the Nokia telephones because I never once had to look at the manual to figure out what I wanted to do, intuitive would be the word... not so the iDrive, after 2 weeks we still hadn't figured out how the passenger could adjust the radio volume!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
the trouble with kids is... part 2
In part 1 I mentioned how we entered our daughter in a poetry contest despite her protestations that she didn't want to submit the poem..... and then she won first prize and was really upset.
Well now a couple of weeks later we discovered the next chapter in the unfortunate events scenario..... she hadn't written the poem, she had just copied it down from somewhere (she can't remember where). Officially we didn't give her a chance to tell us that she hadn't written it, however I think she learnt a bit of a lesson about straightening out any misunderstandings as soon as possible.
And our lesson has well and truly been learnt.... 1) give your kids a chance to speak and 2) listen to them when they have spoken!
Everything worked out well, the first prize went to the runner up etc. and the mistake was caught before it went into the print brochures!
Well now a couple of weeks later we discovered the next chapter in the unfortunate events scenario..... she hadn't written the poem, she had just copied it down from somewhere (she can't remember where). Officially we didn't give her a chance to tell us that she hadn't written it, however I think she learnt a bit of a lesson about straightening out any misunderstandings as soon as possible.
And our lesson has well and truly been learnt.... 1) give your kids a chance to speak and 2) listen to them when they have spoken!
Everything worked out well, the first prize went to the runner up etc. and the mistake was caught before it went into the print brochures!
Friday, March 16, 2007
God Bless the Microsoft boys....
I wonder how many production servers broke down yesterday?
We use Windows 2003 servers in our production environment. Previously we have disabled the 'auto-update-install' feature on these servers as it hasn't proved the most reliable mechanism, often requiring a technician to sort out the ensuing mess.
It seems that yesterdays update was SO important that Microsoft went ahead and installed the update despite our setting the option to prevent this. It took us two hours to recover the situation.... a big thank you to Microsoft.
If they ignore your configuration settings I can only guess what else they ignore.... big brother and privacy invasion?
We use Windows 2003 servers in our production environment. Previously we have disabled the 'auto-update-install' feature on these servers as it hasn't proved the most reliable mechanism, often requiring a technician to sort out the ensuing mess.
It seems that yesterdays update was SO important that Microsoft went ahead and installed the update despite our setting the option to prevent this. It took us two hours to recover the situation.... a big thank you to Microsoft.
If they ignore your configuration settings I can only guess what else they ignore.... big brother and privacy invasion?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The great global climate change swindle
Originally published: 10 Mar 07. A lot of noise on the web about CO2 emmissions and vested interested
http://community.channel4.com/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/9250037634
http://errortheory.blogspot.com/
Seems that politicians have created and hi-jacked the 'glolbal warming' agenda to create a UK mandate for Nuclear Power Stations and restricting the developing world to Wind and Solar Power....
Vested interestes abound in this debate. Call me 'mr conspiracy theory' but I don't trust either side.
Common sense tells me to avoid un-necessary waste (i.e. buy a car that delivers more than 30mpg) and avoid destroying the environment BUT would I really trust the hysterical CO2 lobby to have no wider agenda.... I think not.
I published this to stop me forgetting to look into it further
http://community.channel4.com/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/9250037634
http://errortheory.blogspot.com/
Seems that politicians have created and hi-jacked the 'glolbal warming' agenda to create a UK mandate for Nuclear Power Stations and restricting the developing world to Wind and Solar Power....
Vested interestes abound in this debate. Call me 'mr conspiracy theory' but I don't trust either side.
Common sense tells me to avoid un-necessary waste (i.e. buy a car that delivers more than 30mpg) and avoid destroying the environment BUT would I really trust the hysterical CO2 lobby to have no wider agenda.... I think not.
I published this to stop me forgetting to look into it further
DOS 8.3 filenames... a shadow of the past and weird unsolved nonsense
Originally published: 6 Mar 07. I ran into a rather unusual problem yesterday.
A client who has been FTP'ing files to one of our servers for over a year now changed their FTP client program. For some reason on our 2003 servers the arriving files could no longer be manipulated using Windows, instead we had to use an old DOS prompt and the hidden 8.3 filenames to access these files (I thought DOS was dead and buried a long time ago!).
After a few hours looking for insight from Google, I failed to come up with any insight on how to address the issue. Instead we asked the client to ensure that the files arriving adhered to a 8.3 filename convention and we walked away from the problem..... muttering and pretending that it doesn't exist.
A client who has been FTP'ing files to one of our servers for over a year now changed their FTP client program. For some reason on our 2003 servers the arriving files could no longer be manipulated using Windows, instead we had to use an old DOS prompt and the hidden 8.3 filenames to access these files (I thought DOS was dead and buried a long time ago!).
After a few hours looking for insight from Google, I failed to come up with any insight on how to address the issue. Instead we asked the client to ensure that the files arriving adhered to a 8.3 filename convention and we walked away from the problem..... muttering and pretending that it doesn't exist.
Only 10 miles away but a different universe.... and a bit of a Titanic moment
Originally published: 2 Mar 07. There's a glorious 5 star hotel in Dublin City Centre. It's called The Shelbourne and it is steeped in Dublin history.
Last night I arranged to meet 4 friends in it's famous Horseshoe Bar before going on to dinner. Well I arrived on time to discover that it is closed and has been for a year undergoing extensive renovations!
So one by one I rang my friends to organise a different venue... and can you guess what each of them said to me? That's right, it went along the lines of "I assumed you knew it had been closed but I guessed that it had just opened again".
It made me think of the Titanic hitting the iceberg... I wonder how many people had private misgivings about charging through an icefield but assumed somebody else knew better? My advice to all my friends is 'please save me from myself!'.
I only live 10 miles from the city centre but it's obvious that I don't get out much anymore.
PS. The Shelbourne Hotel did actually open it's doors to the public again on the 13th March
Last night I arranged to meet 4 friends in it's famous Horseshoe Bar before going on to dinner. Well I arrived on time to discover that it is closed and has been for a year undergoing extensive renovations!
So one by one I rang my friends to organise a different venue... and can you guess what each of them said to me? That's right, it went along the lines of "I assumed you knew it had been closed but I guessed that it had just opened again".
It made me think of the Titanic hitting the iceberg... I wonder how many people had private misgivings about charging through an icefield but assumed somebody else knew better? My advice to all my friends is 'please save me from myself!'.
I only live 10 miles from the city centre but it's obvious that I don't get out much anymore.
PS. The Shelbourne Hotel did actually open it's doors to the public again on the 13th March
Michael O'Leary and Ryanair have changed the world... in more ways than one
Originally published: 27 Feb 07. We flew Ryanair last week to Birmingham for a day trip.... in the last year these 'day trips' have become routine for me.
For me it's staggering how much the world has changed in the last twenty years. I live about 10 minutes from Dublin Airport and have made some 50-60 day trips to the UK in the last year, at the same time I have made less than 50 trips to my company office in Tallaght. It's weird but unless I'm flying out of the country, I prefer to stay locked in my house and working from home in order to avoid traffic... it definitely feels like a weird reality to me.
It took us at least fifty years to realise that easy mobility (in cars) does have environmental consequences. I guess it will take us a few more years to acknowledge that easy mobility with Ryanair planes will have even bigger environmental consequences... by which time I will always work from home and refuse to leave the house unless going somewhere on my bicycle!
For me it's staggering how much the world has changed in the last twenty years. I live about 10 minutes from Dublin Airport and have made some 50-60 day trips to the UK in the last year, at the same time I have made less than 50 trips to my company office in Tallaght. It's weird but unless I'm flying out of the country, I prefer to stay locked in my house and working from home in order to avoid traffic... it definitely feels like a weird reality to me.
It took us at least fifty years to realise that easy mobility (in cars) does have environmental consequences. I guess it will take us a few more years to acknowledge that easy mobility with Ryanair planes will have even bigger environmental consequences... by which time I will always work from home and refuse to leave the house unless going somewhere on my bicycle!
Politicians and thieves in the night... Irish Government is an embarrasment to human decency
Originally published: 23 Feb 07. On Wednesday night of the 21st the Irish Government snuck through emergency legislation that completely changed the landscape of the Irish Health Insurance Industry..
Make no mistake, this was TOP SECRET, cloak and dagger stuff. At the close of business on the 21st a Mr Sean Quinn was in the process of buying the Irish section of Health Insurance company Bupa, at the start of business on the 22nd (with absolutely no advance information of the change), his new venture would now be liable to €160m of compensation payments to competitors.
Well I just hope that Sean Quinn didn't sign the legal purchase contract on that night.
I wouldn't expect this kind of behaviour from a despot dictatorship in a third world country! Irish Politics really needs a credible opposition party and I need to lighten up.
Make no mistake, this was TOP SECRET, cloak and dagger stuff. At the close of business on the 21st a Mr Sean Quinn was in the process of buying the Irish section of Health Insurance company Bupa, at the start of business on the 22nd (with absolutely no advance information of the change), his new venture would now be liable to €160m of compensation payments to competitors.
Well I just hope that Sean Quinn didn't sign the legal purchase contract on that night.
I wouldn't expect this kind of behaviour from a despot dictatorship in a third world country! Irish Politics really needs a credible opposition party and I need to lighten up.
And for something completely different...
Originally published: 22 Feb 07. An overland rally, covering thousands of miles in a tiny banjaxed Fiat. The two competitors in this case were 19. I think the guy who won it was also 19 and drove a 16 year old Daihatsu Charade that he bought on ebay for 600 quid. It seems the spirit of adventure is alive and well.
James Rickwood-Dodsworth and Andy Wallace did a great job competing and a great job reporting on the event, it's hilarious... read all about the dynamic duo here. I hope they produce a real video diary for next years event.
Mind you they didn't seem too PC, they eventually abandoned the dead machine in a desert.
James Rickwood-Dodsworth and Andy Wallace did a great job competing and a great job reporting on the event, it's hilarious... read all about the dynamic duo here. I hope they produce a real video diary for next years event.
Mind you they didn't seem too PC, they eventually abandoned the dead machine in a desert.
Is Mary Harney an Independent TD
Originally published: 21 Feb 07. In Ireland there is a political party called the Progressive Democrats and for the last 10 years they have been 'punching above their weight'.
This party which has just eight elected representatives and yet has managed to hold the position of deputy prime minister and been influential in all government policy since 1997.
In September 2006, the party leader Mary Harney (the country's deputy Prime Minister) stepped down and allowed the Justice Minister, Michael McDowell to become the party leader. In the intervening period it has become obvious that Mary Harney was the only 'professional' politician that the party possessed.
It would not surprise me if this party is decimated at the next election. McDowell is a loose canon who seems more intent on gaining publicity for himself than for actually contributing to government. His antics to-date, include,
1. He stalled the Irish housing market in the autumn of 2006 by issuing ungrounded utterances on the abolishment of punitive housing stamp duty
2. He piped up more nonsense last week castigating the cost of the ongoing mahon tribunal. What's laughable here is that he was the actual minister who rubber stamped the exorbitant ‘per diem' rates being charged by this tribunal a few years earlier.
3. And now it seems you can be taken to court for having slow instinctive reactions. I think he should concentrate on his day job as Justice Minister and sort this nonsense out before he goes showboating in other areas for publicity.
It seems he cannot open his mouth without considering the bigger picture implications of what he is about to say.
And where is Mary Harney in all this?? At a time when her party really needs statesman's advice and guidance, she is no where to be seen.
Perhaps she's stopped giving or the parties stopped listening, who knows but either way it looks like she doesn't really care about the future of the Progressive Democrats any more!
This party which has just eight elected representatives and yet has managed to hold the position of deputy prime minister and been influential in all government policy since 1997.
In September 2006, the party leader Mary Harney (the country's deputy Prime Minister) stepped down and allowed the Justice Minister, Michael McDowell to become the party leader. In the intervening period it has become obvious that Mary Harney was the only 'professional' politician that the party possessed.
It would not surprise me if this party is decimated at the next election. McDowell is a loose canon who seems more intent on gaining publicity for himself than for actually contributing to government. His antics to-date, include,
1. He stalled the Irish housing market in the autumn of 2006 by issuing ungrounded utterances on the abolishment of punitive housing stamp duty
2. He piped up more nonsense last week castigating the cost of the ongoing mahon tribunal. What's laughable here is that he was the actual minister who rubber stamped the exorbitant ‘per diem' rates being charged by this tribunal a few years earlier.
3. And now it seems you can be taken to court for having slow instinctive reactions. I think he should concentrate on his day job as Justice Minister and sort this nonsense out before he goes showboating in other areas for publicity.
It seems he cannot open his mouth without considering the bigger picture implications of what he is about to say.
And where is Mary Harney in all this?? At a time when her party really needs statesman's advice and guidance, she is no where to be seen.
Perhaps she's stopped giving or the parties stopped listening, who knows but either way it looks like she doesn't really care about the future of the Progressive Democrats any more!
Dangerous Driving Irish Style?
Originally published: 20 Feb 07. In Dublin today, a jury has begun deliberating at the trial of Kenneth Henvey. He is a bus driver who is on trial for dangerous driving. His bus went out of control at a place called Wellington Quay and killed 5 pedestrians.
The case of the Wellington Quay bus accident three years ago is a tragic one and only the deepest sympathy can be felt for all those affected; however in reading the news stories that abound I can't help getting an uneasy feeling that the driver is facing prosecution due to the consequences of the accident and not the circumstances of the accident. It seems the bus driver came on shift, sat in the seat and stood on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal while preparing to move off.
The bus careered forward out of control for about 8.5 seconds and killed 5 people at the bus stop, however a Garda Kelly, in giving evidence (to quote the story above) felt that the driver should have been able to get the bus under control within 2 seconds.
And that is the hub of the prosecution's case! Patrick McGrath BL, prosecuting told the jury that the length of time it took Mr Henvey to react was clearly above the length of time any reasonable driver would have taken. He said that this failure to react was ‘inexcusable' and coupled with Mr Henvey's foot hitting the accelerator constituted dangerous driving. ‘inexcusable'? Is he suggesting that the driver made a conscious effort not to get the bus under control? Well God help us all because it now seems you can be tried for not having Top Gun pilot reactions. The fact that this case has come to court must surely be a cause for reflection on the Irish Legal System and indirectly on the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell.
Apparently this man is on trial because his reactions were not quick enough DURING an ‘out of control' panic situation.
While I don't have a legal definition of ‘dangerous driving', surely the case the defendant must answer is ‘was I driving dangerously up to the point that control was lost'. And it seems according to the news stories that the ONLY driving act Mr Henvey actually did was to step on the accelerator peddle by mistake when we was trying to step on the brake.
UPDATE 21st Feb: It took the jury 4 hours of deliberation in order to acquit Mr Henvey. However in order to reach this verdict the jury was required to formally acknowledge that a ‘power surge' COULD have happened despite concrete evidence from the prosecution that no power surges took place. It sounds like the jury ignored the evidence and did the RIGHT thing; there was no case to answer here and the jury took the only common sense option left open. My only hope is that I never find myself in the dock facing serious charges because my instinctive reaction times are not quick enough..... and it is only HOPE that will save me because it seems our legal system will afford me no protection.
The case of the Wellington Quay bus accident three years ago is a tragic one and only the deepest sympathy can be felt for all those affected; however in reading the news stories that abound I can't help getting an uneasy feeling that the driver is facing prosecution due to the consequences of the accident and not the circumstances of the accident. It seems the bus driver came on shift, sat in the seat and stood on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal while preparing to move off.
The bus careered forward out of control for about 8.5 seconds and killed 5 people at the bus stop, however a Garda Kelly, in giving evidence (to quote the story above) felt that the driver should have been able to get the bus under control within 2 seconds.
And that is the hub of the prosecution's case! Patrick McGrath BL, prosecuting told the jury that the length of time it took Mr Henvey to react was clearly above the length of time any reasonable driver would have taken. He said that this failure to react was ‘inexcusable' and coupled with Mr Henvey's foot hitting the accelerator constituted dangerous driving. ‘inexcusable'? Is he suggesting that the driver made a conscious effort not to get the bus under control? Well God help us all because it now seems you can be tried for not having Top Gun pilot reactions. The fact that this case has come to court must surely be a cause for reflection on the Irish Legal System and indirectly on the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell.
Apparently this man is on trial because his reactions were not quick enough DURING an ‘out of control' panic situation.
While I don't have a legal definition of ‘dangerous driving', surely the case the defendant must answer is ‘was I driving dangerously up to the point that control was lost'. And it seems according to the news stories that the ONLY driving act Mr Henvey actually did was to step on the accelerator peddle by mistake when we was trying to step on the brake.
UPDATE 21st Feb: It took the jury 4 hours of deliberation in order to acquit Mr Henvey. However in order to reach this verdict the jury was required to formally acknowledge that a ‘power surge' COULD have happened despite concrete evidence from the prosecution that no power surges took place. It sounds like the jury ignored the evidence and did the RIGHT thing; there was no case to answer here and the jury took the only common sense option left open. My only hope is that I never find myself in the dock facing serious charges because my instinctive reaction times are not quick enough..... and it is only HOPE that will save me because it seems our legal system will afford me no protection.
The trouble with kids is...
they have rights and feelings. Originally published: 19 Feb 07.
Our 8 year old daughter recently won the under-12 category of a poetry competition. The morning she opened the notification letter was priceless. For about 3 seconds her face was a perfect picture of happiness and then everything changed! Unfortunately we had been bad parents and ridden rough shot over her wishes, in fact I feel worse than I'd feel if I were one of those pageant parents in 'Little Miss Sunshine'!
Our daughter originally filled in the competition application with her poem but at the last minute baulked and decided she didn't want anyone else seeing her poetry. When she wasn't looking and had forgotten about the application (it was sitting on the side counter) I slipped it into the post. I guess the worst thing that could have happened was that she'd win, now she know's I'm a bad adult who doesn't care her feelings! Things have calmed done in the last couple of days and I think she has forgiven me, she's even talking about bringing a few friends along to the prize giving.
As for 'Little Miss Sunshine'... what a great movie. I haven't cried with laughter at a film for thirty years. This movie is a must see.
Our 8 year old daughter recently won the under-12 category of a poetry competition. The morning she opened the notification letter was priceless. For about 3 seconds her face was a perfect picture of happiness and then everything changed! Unfortunately we had been bad parents and ridden rough shot over her wishes, in fact I feel worse than I'd feel if I were one of those pageant parents in 'Little Miss Sunshine'!
Our daughter originally filled in the competition application with her poem but at the last minute baulked and decided she didn't want anyone else seeing her poetry. When she wasn't looking and had forgotten about the application (it was sitting on the side counter) I slipped it into the post. I guess the worst thing that could have happened was that she'd win, now she know's I'm a bad adult who doesn't care her feelings! Things have calmed done in the last couple of days and I think she has forgiven me, she's even talking about bringing a few friends along to the prize giving.
As for 'Little Miss Sunshine'... what a great movie. I haven't cried with laughter at a film for thirty years. This movie is a must see.
Another wet Monday
Originally published: 19 Feb 07. Woke up this morning feeling all washed out... it was blowing a gale and raining.... I felt like I used to feel 30 years ago when getting up for school; I just didn't want to do it. I've had an ear infection (very mildly making it's presence felt) for two months and have done nothing about it. I live in the dream world of 'given a chance the body will do it's best to sort these things out', for me two actimels is my idea of medicine.
Well last night I took an antibiotic, my stomach started to play up and this morning... yep felt totally washed out. Don't know if I'll keep taking them... it always feels like antibiotics are the machine gun approach to medicine.
Well last night I took an antibiotic, my stomach started to play up and this morning... yep felt totally washed out. Don't know if I'll keep taking them... it always feels like antibiotics are the machine gun approach to medicine.
Blog-city charge money??
I'm setting up this blog because I didn't realise that Blog-City would start asking for money after a trial period. I have now copied all my entries across and will delete the account.
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