December 08, 2003
The Lord giveth, the Lord sendeth
Tom Parlon got his spake in early. Within hours of the decentralisation announcement, his supporters in Offaly and Laois erected signs "Welcome to Parlon country" (for the benefit if the civil servants on their way down). Tom would want to watch himself - if he's felled by a rabbit punch from a meaty Offaly fist, he'll have learned the hard way not to steal any of Brian Cowan's thunder - Brian gets the credit for everything in Offaly, OK?
Tom was quick to declare that civil servants would not get any compensation for their move. And why should they ? Aren't they lucky to have a job. In fact , the civil servants will be compensating the government, since the sale of all those houses in Dublin will generate a few pound through capital gains tax, VAT and other mere trifles.
It's strange that Tom is taking such a strong stand, because there wasn't a peep out of him when the government decided to pay compensation to TDs who were also county councillors (the so-called scrappage scheme) and who will no longer be able to occupy both roles. Whatever happened to principles in the PDs ?
Of course, if Michael Ring (FG) of Mayo gets his way, TDs can continue to be county councillors as well (and do both jobs equally badly). Michael is taking quite a principled stand (and a High court action) - it's a matter of basic democracy. Says he
in the next election, or the one after that, half or three quarters of this House will be taken out by sitting councillors…
when subsequently, they too will be taken out… by a bunch of unemployed TDs who have been sulking since the previous election.
Speaking of compensation, the folks in Pollatomish were finally awarded some recompense by the Irish Red Cross, as a result of the landslide earlier this year. No peace of mind yet, since there is still no official reason for the landslide in the first place. And no sign of answers in Derrybrien either.
Posted by Monasette at December 8, 2003 11:39 PM