The death of Dr Garrett Fitzgerald -RIP

[Sunny]

How dare you make such comments ? Don't you know that you are not allowed comment negatively about Gareth Fitzgerald. Just pretend he was the greatest and never did anything wrong with the economy, failed to stand up to Labour etc

There is a difference between negative comments and cheap shots. Making it sound like he was corrupt by comparing him to haughey and Lowry was cheap. Especially when the tribunal made no such findings.

 

[Bronte]

Especially when the Moriarty Tribunal actually noted that he went to great lengths to pay back the money including the selling of his family home.

Never knew that, I always felt he was tainted when he took the banks money. And that Ireland was a two tier society. Those in power get taken care of when they make mistakes but there is nothing for anybody else. Plus ca change....

Does anyone have an article about what the Moriarty Tribunal said about him?

 

[liaconn]

How dare you make such comments ? Don't you know that you are not allowed comment negatively about Gareth Fitzgerald. Just pretend he was the greatest and never did anything wrong with the economy, failed to stand up to Labour etc

Totally missing the point. A lot of people felt a genuine warmth and admiration for Gareth the person and it has been uplifting to see a former politician being held in such high regard given how cynical we have become in this country, with good cause.
No one is saying he never made a mistake. Just that he was an honest and decent man and he will be missed.
Can you not let us have one nice, feel good thread about a politician?

 

[cork]

He was a very decent guy. But a lot of the analysis in the media was ott.

 

[The_Banker]

Did he not finish his days living in the basement of his daughters house?

 

[liaconn]

He sold his house and moved in with his daughter. He was often seen in Dunnes in Rathmines doing his grocery shopping. Unlike Haughey he was not living in some nouveau riche palace til his dying day, hanging on for dear life to ill gotten gains.

 

[Staples]

The Irish Times saw fit to publish a letter the other day in which the 200K write-off was referred to so I don't see why it should be off-limits on AAM.

Apart from anything else, you might reasonably question the wisdom of borrowing so heavily to speculate in shares.

One thing I don't get is that his house on Palmerston Road would always have been worth a multiple of the 200k he owed AIB. So if he sold his house and repaid the loan, there should have been no need for a write-off.

But I'd agree that that doesn't make him a bad person and that to mention this in the context of Haughey's or Lowry's exploits is unfair.

 

[ivuernis]

Did he not finish his days living in the basement of his daughters house?

I think so, I thought he sold the family home to pay off the bank debt he owed after buying GPA stock, the remainder was then written off. Wasn't that the conclusion of the tribunal, that he attempted and did pay off as much as he could at the time.

 

[Sunny]

The Irish Times saw fit to publish a letter the other day in which the 200K write-off was referred to so I don't see why it should be off-limits on AAM.

Apart from anything else, you might reasonably question the wisdom of borrowing so heavily to speculate in shares.

One thing I don't get is that his house on Palmerston Road would always have been worth a multiple of the 200k he owed AIB. So if he sold his house and repaid the loan, there should have been no need for a write-off.

Nobody is saying it is off limits. Simply pointing out that comparing him to Haughey and Lowry is cheap.

The Tribunal conclusion

In summary it would appear that in compromising his indebtedness with the Bank, Dr. Fitzgerald disposed of his only substantial asset, namely, his family home at Palmerston Road, a property which would now be worth a considerable sum of money. As in Mr. Haughey’s case, there was a substantial discounting or forbearance shown in Dr. Fitzgerald’s case. However in contrast with Mr. Haughey’s case, Dr. Fitzgerald’s case involved the effective exhaustion of his assets in order to achieve a settlement whereas Mr. Haughey’s assets were retained virtually intact.

 

[cork]

The Irish Times saw fit to publish a letter the other day in which the 200K write-off was referred to so I don't see why it should be off-limits on AAM.

Apart from anything else, you might reasonably question the wisdom of borrowing so heavily to speculate in shares.

The shares were a gamble. The media went on about his head for figures but failed to mention his punt on the shares.

The loan w/off is something that many now in negative equity can only dream of.

The media also failed to mention the many tousands who left this country under the time he was Taoiseach.

It has to be noted that it was CJH with the help of Alan Dukes who got the public finances back under control.

That said Garret was a Good European who made a contribution to NI.

He was a very knowledgeable and decent man.

 

[Yorrick]

He also loved puppies

 

[Sunny]

He also loved puppies

Why don't you just start your own thread outlining why you think he was the devil incarnate instead of hijacking one where people simply wanted to pay their respects. I am sure you laughed at your own puppies joke but the man was buried two days ago so I don't find it particulary funny. I don't care what he did or didn't do. I am still willing to wager he did a lot more for this country than you ever did despite whatever mistakes he made. For you to imply that he was corrupt shows an ignorance of historical fact that says more about you than him.

 

[Yorrick]

Sunny please tell me how many people who were not leaders of political parties had their loans written off by those frriendly people in AIB.

Liaconn "Can you not let us have one nice, feel good thread about a politician? "

That naievity has us where we are .