O'Dea flips lid, accuses Greens of spraying house

national | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Wednesday November 17, 2004 19:27

by news hound

Willie sez GP members did graffiti, then withdraws

O'Dea loses the plot in argument about Shannon and neutrality , makes wild allegations about green party members, claims to have Garda evidence, later withdraws his remarks.

In a heated argument in the Dail this evening, Green Party TD john Gormley seemed to get under the skin of Minister for Defence Willie.
Deputy Gormley accused the Minister of "talking rubbish" and helping this government destroy Irish neutrality.

Reports from the Dail indicate that as voices got raised, Willie got angrier and made an accusation the members of the Green Party had sprayed graffiti on his Limerick constituency office, and that Gormley had encouraged GP members to damage property.

Willie reportedly claimed to have Garda evidence to this effect, and offered to show it to Gormley.

Deputy Gormley said that this was fiction and forced O'Dea to withdraw all the remarks.

It is interesting to note that Minister O'Dea has not so far repeated the remarks outside of the Dail Chamber (where he would not be immune from charges of slander)

So the question remains:

-Was this Willie's imagination run riot in the heat of argument?
-Was it simply a stunt to smear the Greens which he would not need to back up seeing as it was done inside the protection of the Dail chamber?
-Is Willie paranoid to actually beleive that the Green Party are going around with spray cans leaving spidery messages (complete with very basic spelling mistakes) on his offices?
- Will the Minister repeat the allegations OUTSIDE the Dail?

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Comments (8 of 8)

answers on a postcard please

by jeff

Wed Nov 17, 2004 21:11

yes,yes,yes, and no.

How mentally taxing was that?

some interesting questions in the dail today

by pc

Thu Nov 18, 2004 00:21

and a very nifty webpage

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20041117.xml&Page=1

in Ceisteanna — Questions (Resumed).

Overseas Missions.
Re Irelands possible peacekeeping role in Iraq

then Aengus Ó Snodaigh asks about less letal weapons being used by the army....

Mr. O’Dea: "The Defence Forces have recently conducted evaluation tests on 40 mm bean bag ammunition. I await receipt of the evaluation report when a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the purchase of a small amount of such ammunition with which the Defence Forces can provide a graduated response acting in aid to the civil power while adhering to the principle of absolute minimum force at all times."

Related Articule

by Cisib

Thu Nov 18, 2004 00:32

Anti-Bush slogans painted on Willie O'Dea's constituency office

http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=65663

O'Dea has his facts wrong

by O'Dea Watcher - ly

Thu Nov 18, 2004 13:04

I know two specific SP and LY members who have visited Mr. O'Dea's office to fill him in on Shannon!

Madman

by Eoin

Thu Nov 18, 2004 14:34

Maybe O'Dea is cracking up? Feeling the guilt? Maybe hes finally realised the blood on his hands for all the iraqi men women and children hes inadvertantly helped to torture, rape and butcher. Not to mention all the ruined families left behind.

more sinned against than sinning

by Lear

Thu Nov 18, 2004 18:03

Willie is part of the government that gave the US such great assistance in blowing up people and their houses in Iraq... but that pales in significance to the spray paint on his office.

And like Bush, he doesn't need any evidence to apportion blame for this crime... it must be those pesky greens...

No Bush ???

by Barry

Thu Nov 18, 2004 21:17

Theres an extremely large and frightening one growing under Mr O'Deas nose.

questions & no answers

Sun Nov 28, 2004 15:02

Bertie says use of Shannon by USAF poses no threat....

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20041123.xml&Page=1&Ex=46#N46

Mr. Sargent: Are the Taoiseach and the high-level committee aware of the opinion clearly expressed by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the United States civil rights campaigner, that the ongoing involvement by Ireland in the war in Iraq through its making available Shannon Airport for United States troops is putting Ireland “in the line of fire”?

Norris ask about Shannon in Seanad
http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=SEN20041124.xml&Dail=29&Page=1

Ms O’Rourke: Senator Norris inquired about a particular aircraft. I have in my possession approximately 30 pages of information that I spent yesterday procuring. I was assisted in this regard by an extremely helpful official in the Department of Foreign Affairs. The documentation provided covers many issues and lists a large number of salient facts. It indicates that the number of the aircraft concerned, which is owned by Premier Executive Transport Services, a small US airline, is N379P and that this aeroplane has used Shannon Airport on 13 occasions. I would be here until midnight if I were to read all the information contained in the documentation into the record. I will pass it on to the Senator and perhaps he, in turn, might leave it outside the Chamber on public display.

One of the replies said that the US authorities had confirmed that prisoners were not being transported through Irish airpots to Guantanamo or elsewhere. The US also confirmed that it would not seek to use Irish airspace for this purpose without seeking authorisation.... as if the CIA would detail such actions with the Irish govnerment???

The gov still makes it clear that it doens't check the planes so even if it can say it is so concerned by the matters it can comfotable in turning a blind eye to them.

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O'Dea flips lid, accuses Greens of spraying house

Comments (8 of 8)