Michael Lowry's Speech from the Dock

In the custom tradition of great Irish heroes, Micheal Lowry has been allowed to make one last defiant speech from the dock. As he addresses the nation and looks at all opposition with contempt, the question for us is guilty?....or Guilty?

My Lords;

What have I to say as to why sentence of censor should not be pronounced on me in accordance with the law? Well, its not the law. You see theres one law for the ordinary Joe soaps and one law for people like me. People who matter.

I have served this nation. Was it not patriotism that drove me to avoid paying tax? Was it not patriotism that drove me to lie when I finally took advantage of a tax amnesty? Was it not patriotism that made me protect my assets in four offshore accounts? Was it not patriotism that made me take bribes from corrupt businessmen? Was it not patriotism that made me put the interests of my own pocket and my own power ahead of the interests of the Irish people?

Let no man condemn me or my actions? How dare those people elected democratically by the Irish people disagree with and try to censor my good self. What is democracy if it can be used for something other than lining ones own pocket? Haven't I bought enough votes in my own constituency so as not to have to worry about politicians from other constituencies attacking me? Have I not corrupted my own neighbours and family enough with promises of the rewards to be gained from parish pump politics?

What, my lord, shall you tell me on my way out of here and into a nice cushy retirement paid for by my corruption in public life, and by my tax fugitive friends? What is corruption? Is it corrupt to use ones office of power to enlarge ones own bank account? Is it corrupt to lie, cheat and accept multiple bribes? Is it corrupt to put my needs before the needs of the most vulnerable citizens in this country?

Let no man dare, when I am retired, to charge me with anything. Ill be living the high life in a tropical tax haven somewhere over the rainbow.

Let no man write my epitaph as Denis O Brien has promised to pay someone important to write one for me.

Are Fine Gael corrupt?

In the Dail this afternoon, Deputy Joe Higgins said the revelations about the sponsorship of a Fine Gael golf event by Denis O'Brien amounted to a corruption of Government.

"Two months before awarding the most valuable contract in the history of this state by Fine Gael in government; the private individual that was desperately looking for it was lubricating the throats of Fine Gael grandees," Mr Higgins said. "Isn't it obvious to everybody that it was to lubricate the license process, that this was all about."

Around the time that Michael Lowry was fixing the licensing process for Denis O' Brien, Mr O' Briens Esat Digifone prevented public display of its sponsorship of a Fine Gael golf fundraiser by hurriedly requesting the return of promotional material.

Before March 1995, Mr O’Brien had never donated to Fine Gael. However, in the 16 months from March 1995 to June 1996, he made contributions totalling £22,140 to the party. Well over half this was paid before the result of the mobile phone competition was announced in October 1995.

The last donation was for £3,000 for the Fine Gael National Golf Classic in June 1996.

If these allegations prove true, then it becomes clear that the last Fine Gael led coalition government was to quote Fintan O' Toole, "As bent as a Brazilian free kick." Five members of the current government, including taoiseach Enda Kenny, sat at the cabinet table with Michael Lowry during the corruption which led to Mr O Briens winning of the now infamous mobile license.

Confessions of a corrupt politician

Michael Lowry has today demanded more Dáil time to make his case in the debate on the Moriarty Tribunal report. He is demanding 45-50 minutes to make a statement. At present, the Government is only willing to give him 30 minutes, after an initial offer of 20 minutes.

The interesting thing about the above piece is not that the Irish media is treating Michael Lowry, one of the most corrupt politicians to ever serve in our national parliament, as a person with a legitimate right to defend oneself at the expense of the more important debate, but that Lowry is still an elected rep after the startling career which he has led.

In 1993 Michael Lowry became Chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party. He used this occasion to tell his party leader John Bruton that he planned to avail of a new government tax amnesty. This did not deter Bruton from appointing the tax cheat to cabinet. Lowry went ahead with the amnesty but lied to the Revenue, deciding not to reveal the true extent of his hidden income. The following year, he was made Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications in the Rainbow Coalition government. Proof indeed that there is no room for honest people in politics.

In 1996, Lowry misled the Dail by failing to mention a series of large payments which he had received from Dunnes. He stated that if he had been trying to hide money he would have placed it in an offshore account, clearly indicating that he hadn't. In reality, Lowry had four offshore accounts, and Ben Dunne had paid IR£395,000 for an extension to Lowry's home in Tipperary. Lowry was forced to resign. A year later, he was re-elected with an extra 4,000 votes.

In March 2011 the Moriarty Tribunal found that the former Communications Minister Michael Lowry assisted businessman Denis O'Brien's consortium Esat Digiphone in acquiring a mobile phone licence in the mid-90s. For this he was heavily rewarded.

In the last four general elections, Michael Lowry has topped the poll in his native North Tipperary constituency. He has been the most popular candidate there each time despite it been widely accepted that he is a corrupted immoral man.

The interesting thing is that the electorate don't seem to care.

Fine Gael corruption! Shock horror!

The Moriarty tribunal has found that former minister for communications Michael Lowry secured the 1995 mobile phone licence competition for Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone. Mr Justice Michael Moriarty also found that Lowry  interfered in a rent arbitration process in an attempt to secure a benefit for the businessman Ben Dunne. Both Mr O Brien and Mr Dunne gave the former Fine Gael Minister "political donations" at the time.

Lets put this into context.

While holding the Ministry portfolio of Transport, Energy and Communications, Michael Lowry appears to carried some pretty big political favours for some pretty powerful and wealthy friends. The Moriarty tribunal certainly paints a picture that would indicate that the former Fine Gael Minister was bribed. Michael Lowry was sitting at the cabinet table of the last Fine Gael/Labour party coalition government. Sitting very close to him were Richard Bruton, Brendan Howlin, Ruairi Quinn, Michael Noonan and our new Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

Enda Kenny.

The man who promised us a new type of politics during the last election campaign.

A man who led Fine Gael to an impressive victory on the promise of political reform and an end to all political corruption.

Today Mr Kenny's minions sneered at representatives of Sinn Féin, Fianna Fail and the United Left Alliance when they asked the simple questions; questions that had been poised only weeks ago by the Fine Gael party at our last government.

Was Deputy Lowry acting alone?

Did his cabinet colleagues have no idea of what was taking place?

And if they didn't, arnt they still guilty of the crime of total incompetence and being completely unfit to serve in a government cabinet?

Six members of our new government sat at that cabinet table with Michael Lowry.

I don't see any reason for Fine Gael to sneer now.