It has been a week since the mighty McDowell took the reins of the party formerly known as Mary Harney and co. It would appear that in that week, the unshakable man who has behaved like a bull in a china shop in recent times, has been shaken. Out of nowhere, he is now chanting for changes in stamp duty on house sales saying that the revenue generated from such is not necessary for the government. Point of order there but the money should never be necessary for the government but only for the country being governed but that’s another argument. Sounds to me like he’s hopping onto a tax issue that effects everyone in a vain attempt to gain public favour.
Sorry minister, I personally will take a long time to forget that you have said things in the past such as: only just considering to sack the Gardai at the centre of the Morris tribunal when they were clearly guilty of horrid corruption, the handling of Olunkunle Eluhanla (deported 19-year-old Nigerian student) that took ages to get an apology for, flat denials of land prices for prisons (referring to the Thornthon Hall incident where a neighbouring site was valued at EUR 6M rather than EUR 30M) and then trying to introduce ridiculous prison land purchase legislation, the public character assassination of Frank Connolly (journalist whom broke stories leading to the planning and Morris tribunals, was director of the centre for public enquiry and whom the minister alleged, to the Irish Independent, applied for a false passport). It is my opinion that none of these actions point toward a true leader who will lead for the benefit of the people – although in this country I’m sure that the majority will like to see how it goes anyway.