Ragtag Giggagon

Recent news has led to a landmark decision by Justice Minister Alan Shatter to "return to a level of fairness". He has declared that the application of two penalty points will now be imposed on every driver's licence in the state. Fianna Fail leader Meeehaawwwwl Martin claims that the decision is unfair on people living in urban centres - where the likelihood of being caught speeding, for instance, is higher - and would mean further penalties. The Fianna Fail leader also claims that those who already have had penalty points imposed - which are distributed arbitrarily on the whims of members of An Garda Siochána - are being unfairly targeted in the new legislation. There are others who feel that they cannot afford to have penalty points added to their licence at all, as it will drive up other costs, such as insurance. Critics have voiced objections over the blanket imposition, with many claiming that there have been numerous new taxes already introduced in the last two ye...

LATE LAST NIGHT, an innocuous convoy truck full of "peat briquettes" hissed and rasped its way along a secondary, unlit County Roscommon route. The truck is believed to have contained a shipment of cannabis resin with a street value of €50,000. It was delivered to the constituency offices of TD Luke Ming Flanagan - and the truck was being driven by the Irish politician himself. Ming showed little concern about the possibility of being stopped, smoking a number of joints and chatting amicably on his phone throughout the journey with Justice Minister Alan Shatter. Last Thursday, the delivery of a similarly sized shipment of fodder from France arrived at parliament buildings on Kildare Street. Flanagan could be seen behind the wheel in the driver's cabin as he rammed the truck into the gates of the Dail while a phone was at his ear. Gardai ran towards the lorry, insisting that the independent TD park the vehicle on the footpath rather than try to gain access to the car park ...