SMOKES & DAGGERS
A mischievous mix of (mostly) news
THERE was an awkward slip of the tongue from Enda Kenny on Friday when speaking about Apple and its tax arrangements. All taxes, he assured us, were applied ‘in a partial manner… in an impartial manner’.
SURFING the Department of Public Expenditure website, we were concerned by a terrible omission in the lengthy section of ministerial photographs, where we noted that the first four photos were of former minister Brendan Howlin, pictured. It would probably be advisable for the civil servants to catch up with the times before new Minister Paschal Donohoe has to tell his press office there’s been a change.
JOURNALIST Ruadhán Mac Cormaic’s new book on the Supreme Court describes a wonderful moment in 2011 when a judge emerged semi-naked from his hotel room to ‘yell abuse and swear’ at tourists from Britain who he thought were making too much noise. He informed them that his relatives had fought in the War of Independence. A senior judge had a quiet word over tea, suggesting he might benefit from a rest. I mean seriously, emerging semi-naked from your hotel room, who does he think he is? President of the OCI?
A DESPAIRING aside from a Fine Gael grandee to Smokes this week had a strong ring of truth to it. ‘God we miss Labour, they were so much more sensible.’
HOTEL Keadeen in Kildare, where Fine Gael will be holding its annual think-in later this month, has just concluded a €150,000 revamp of its seven acres of gardens. But a source there assures us that it has nothing whatsoever to do with impressing Enda Kenny. ‘It’s more for the wedding than the political trade,’ we were assured.
A LITTLE birdie told us that Seán Fleming, the head of the Public Accounts Committee, sent out a request on the internal Oireachtas email system, for anyone who had a ticket to the All Ireland football final for sale to let him know, as he had ‘relations in Mayo looking for tickets’. His party colleague Timmy Dooley, left, hit back within 15 minutes with an impertinent suggestion: ‘Did you try the OCI?’