Whilst the newspapers , radio and TV news bulletins are overflowing (and rightly so , in our opinion) with items concerning the connections between the findings of the Mahon Tribunal ('...endemic corruption in the body politic..') - in which the Fianna Fáil party , in particular, is linked to political corruption - there is , as far as we are concerned , a real danger that interested parties will miss 'the bigger picture' , by which we don't just mean that all this 'flak' , concentrated on Fianna Fáil as it is, takes the attention away from the similar levels of greed and corruption which exist in the other Leinster House political parties.
The 'bigger picture' in this case is that the political system itself , and not only those that operate within it , is corrupt as it lends itself too readily to the immoral actions of the financially rich but morally poor political sleezebags that populate it. The proper solution is not to replace 'Tweedledum' with 'Tweedledee' but to replace the system itself : we need 'A New Beginning' and,until such time as we get one, we can expect more 15-year 'State Tribunals' at a cost to the taxpayer of €300 Million , at the end of which we will again be 'informed' of that which we already knew - that there is '...endemic corruption in the body politic..' .
Incidentally , a book published in 2000 , entitled 'Understanding Corruption in Irish Politics' , by Neil Collins and Mary O' Shea , should have pointed the political 'elite' in this State in the right direction re notification that others were aware of their strokes , fiddles , lies and cheats , in that its findings were well-publicised : "....this book goes behind media denunciations and looks at the realities and underlying causes of corruption as a political practice in Irish politics....(which) has been in turmoil in recent years because of the scale and intricacy of political corruption being uncovered by parliamentary and quasi-judicial inquiries...." (here) and "...corruption is not confined to single transactions....in many circumstances , it is part of an ongoing routine in which those with public responsibilities extract personal benefit above their official pay...." (here) . And the present leader of the Fianna Fáil slugfeast , Micheál Martin , in particular, should be more aware of those findings than the other mafia bossess in the 'Bada-Bing' Club that Leinster House is - the author Mary O' Shea is married to him !
Finally : a few pics of the 'Star' of the 'Mahon Tribunal' , one Bertie Ahern -
"I'm a marked man, so I am..."
"Thanks , Boss - ya taught me good, so ya did..."
" Sure I don't see any of this corruption thing , so I don't...."
"I'd laugh all the way to the bank , but sure I haven't got an account in it...."Thanks for reading,
Sharon.
