Free to Air Appendix Two Frank Byrne
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Free to Air Appendix Two Programme and Interview Transcriptions Frank Byrne Appendix 2 Liveline 060509 THREAD A Dur: 57’48” (Sting 1850 715815 music) JD 1 Hello, good afternoon and you’re very welcome to Liveline . I’ll say it at the start, thanks to everybody over the last three weeks since the accident, especially to Damien O’Reilly who stood in (if you pardon the pun) at very short notice on Holy Thursday into this seat and to the team that battled on bravely and brilliantly. I’ve had a chance to listen to the programme. Above all to all the well-wishers and the people who sent me cards. Now, another person from RTE, a colleague here – well a colleague just to about an hour ago – George Lee, has been dominating our phone lines. 51551, text and [email protected] . Tommy, good afternoon. Tommy 2 Joe, good afternoon. JD 3 Your politics first? Well, your party politics, sorry, if you have any? Tommy 4 I was an active member and a candidate for FG for 12 to 13 years, programme manager with Jim Mitchell, a special advisor to Gay Mitchell in the John Bruton government; not a member now and I’ll be going out canvassing tonight for Vincent Jackson in Ballyfermot. JD 5 Would you canvass for George Lee in Dublin South? Tommy 6 I absolutely would and Joe, before we go any further, welcome back. JD 7 Yeh, its great to be back. Tommy 8 It really is…it’s a fierce shock…. It was a fierce shock when we heard the news, ok? You’re in our prayers and we were thinking about you. I’m delighted to hear you back on the airwaves. JD 9 I really appreciate that. You know that, don’t you? Gladly canvass for him? You would. Why, if you’re not a member of FG? Tommy 10 I rang in to Liveline the minute I heard the one o’clock news. I was hoping you were going to cover it and I was asking the production team to cover it. I thought it was necessary that Sean put it to George about his reporting and his job in RTE and the national profile that he had, particularly in the last six months when this country was going down the tubes and I’m not talking party politics here when I say that. I work with the health service at the moment and, Joe, you have no idea the impact it’s having. It’s having an incredible impact on services and, not only that, we’re told, the only 2 thing I believe from people in Fianna Fail (FF), and I don’t want to be smart, I don’t want to be political to the point of being insulting, but we are told by them and by the economic people that this six months is only a flavour of what is to come in the next two years and we have the EU Report yesterday which confirmed. Coming back to the point, Sean O’Rourke put it to George that was he not thinking about this. Was he not approached five years ago, six years ago blah, blah… I think that George Lee has been one of the saving graces in this country from the point of view of keeping us informed accurately about the economy and that. I am delighted he has decided to stand. I’m delighted he’s standing for Fine Gael (FG) although I wouldn’t have been too upset if he had stood for, say, the Labour Party but it would have given him a position in opposition in the country if he is elected. He’s standing in one of the most difficult constituencies in the country that has elected.. topped the poll with Garland of the Greens; threw him out; then George Colley’s daughter stood; topped the poll; was kicked out. JD 11 Is it fair to say that it’s slightly disingenuous of George Lee now to say (He’s obviously become a member of FG in the last hour or so)…. It was about six weeks ago on this programme, we got calls about a contribution George had made – once again extremely articulately, extremely passionate and he made this point on the Late Debate , presented by Fergal Keane that night. Do you think when George Lee was saying what he said on the Late Debate that he had any intention of joining FG? Let people make their own minds up. Lets listen to it. Lee (tape) 12 It gets more and more serious by the day and this is the same rubbish we’ve been getting from the beginning. We don’t know a thing. We still don’t know a shaggin’ thing and we now know that the bankers are quite capable of cooking the books and pulling the wool over everybody’s eyes and we’re sitting here bailing them out left, right and centre and its so annoying to hear the type of language that they’re at.. We want to bloomin’ know. We’re the ones footing the bloomin’ bill. JD 13 This was the day when Brian Lenihan admitted that he hadn’t read some sections of the Price Waterhouse Report. Now, do you not think that FF can say that they were duped all along? That someone who was Economics Editor of the national broadcaster has declared for FG? Tommy 14 He’s declared for public politics. JD 15 No, he has declared for FG. Tommy 16 Exactly, the opportunity has come up there, I mean, Joe, and listen to these words I’m going to say to you. The reality is the opportunity has come up there. If someone from FF said ‘good morning’ to me, I’d check my watch ‘cos it’s probably the afternoon and they don’t know where they 3 are anyhow. The reality is…. No, listen…., the reality is we have a situation. Everyone is talking about Brian Cowan inherited the situation from Bertie. He was the Minister for Finance for four years. JD 17 (Attempts interruptions) Tommy 18 That in reply to the question you put to me in relation to what George said on the Late Debate , this is what we’re talking about. We’re dealing with a situation. I heard George Lee saying that the banks bailed out the builders and developers and the government bailed out the banks and now the people are being taxed to bail out the government and Richard Bruton repeated that phrase in the chamber. The reality is… JD 19 Did you participate in asking George Lee in 2002 if he’d stand for FG? Tommy 20 I did. I met George at that time. It was before 2002 when Jim was involved with the DIRT Inquiry for the previous five years – for three years, sorry. George was keeping a close eye on that and remember, himself and Charlie Bird had been involved in looking at the banks. JD 21 And what did George say when you asked him? Tommy 22 You don’t ask people. I didn’t go to George Lee and ask him if he was standing for FG. On a number of occasions I was in George’s company…..on two occasions. One occasion I asked him about the offer that Charlie McCreevy…. About the savings project and I said, “George, is that good?” and he said, “It’s money for nothing” and I heard what he said. The second time I spoke to George in Jim’s company and Jim looked at George… they were talking about the DIRT inquiry and I indicated to him afterwards when I was walking out. I said, “George, would you ever consider taking this up and standing in public life and he looked at me and I said, “I’m serious – we’re looking for candidates?” Now, he may not have taken that as a direct offer. JD 23 David Bolger then Izzy O’Rourke. David 24 Hello, Joe. I’m totally in cahoots with the gentleman who’s just been on. I’m down in Wexford but I believe that George Lee is a fantastic candidate to be stepping forward and somebody of the ilk that we need in this country to be stepping forward for these instead of the usual FF nepotism and sons, daughters, cousins, aunts uncles etc. that come forward – “Oh well, he did it, my uncle so I’ll go forward”! Somebody with a degree in economics, severely lacking in the government at present – barristers, teachers etc. but nobody with the skill we require at the moment and economics is one of the big skills we require in this country. JD 25 Ok, Jim Connolly is on the line. Text 51551. Jim is in Clare 4 Jim 26 Good afternoon. JD 27 Go ahead, Jim. Jim 28 Well, I have no gripe with George Lee whatsoever but I certainly can’t agree with the last speaker. My point is that any presenter on RTE, or national radio, gets a higher profile for the job. That goes with the territory. Neither George nor anybody else can be labelled in any way as abusing his position or whatever. So my proposal, quite simply is this; every RTE presenter’s contract should contain a line that would prevent them going into public politics in particular in a democracy within 12 months of their leaving their job. JD 29 Why? Jim 30 And I think that would probably sort the whole issue.