Latest news with #taxpayermoney
BreakingNews.ie
23-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Michael O'Leary criticised for ‘drive-by commentary' on Dublin metro
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has been criticised for his 'insulting' comments on a metro for Dublin, which he called a 'waste' of taxpayer money. The 18.8km rail line, most of which will be underground, is to run from north of Swords to Charlemont in the south of Dublin city centre. Advertisement Various metro projects for the capital have been proposed in recent decades, but none have proceeded to the building stage. On Tuesday, the Government announced that the MetroLink project would get a €2 billion boost in funding as part of the national development plan, in what Taoiseach Micheál Martin said was 'a very definitive commitment to the metro'. While Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe indicated the latest estimated cost for the MetroLink was €11 billion, Mr O'Leary claimed it would cost €20 billion, 'so about a billion a kilometre'. 'Dublin Airport doesn't need it, Dublin Airport passengers won't use it – they're already well-served by buses,' he told RTÉ Radio on Wednesday, while claiming that less than a third of the airport's passengers use buses. Advertisement He said that while the tube in London runs from Heathrow and through 'all of London', the Metro will only serve a section of Dublin city's residents – around 100,000 people, he claimed. 'Here's the madness of this. This thing is going to start at Stephen's Green in the morning. If you want to get to our first wave of departures, which leave at about 6.30 in the morning, you need to be at the airport at 5.30am. 'Are you seriously going to drive into the centre of Stephen's Green, where there's no car parking, to get this metro to get to Dublin Airport for 5.30 in the morning? No, you're not. 'Let me give you the alternative scenario: for €100 million, this year we could buy 400 buses, and 400 buses would provide exactly the same capacity as this metro from Dublin Airport, in through Ballymun, in through Drumcondra, on bus lanes that already exist.' Advertisement He claimed the plan had not been properly costed and hit out at the Government's handling of public finances. 'This Government wasted €330,000 on a bike shed, imagine what they do with an 18-kilometre underground train from an airport?' Micheál Martin announced two billion euro funding for the metro project (Phil Noble/PA) He also criticised comments by Mr Martin, who said the Irish capital will not be sustainable without a metro. 'Does he not understand that the buses actually will all be electrified by the end of this decade, which will actually be greener than light rail?' Advertisement Labour TD Duncan Smith said Mr O'Leary's criticisms of public infrastructure were as sure 'as night follows day'. 'Dubliners are stuck in daily gridlock. MetroLink is their best chance at affordable, reliable transport that serves communities, not corporate profits. 'As a consistent advocate for MetroLink in Swords, I find it insulting to hear this kind of drive-by commentary from someone who clearly doesn't rely on public transport to get to work. 'Dublin deserves better than a transport plan from a billionaire whose only experience with buses is when he is pretending to be one.' Advertisement When asked about his endorsement of Enterprise Minister Peter Burke and junior minister Robert Troy during the general election campaign, Mr O'Leary claimed 'they're not in government' and criticised Mr Martin again. 'I endorsed Peter Burke, who actually topped the poll despite the criticism. I also endorsed Robert Troy – and they're not the government.'
Fox News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Tim Walz blasted for costing Minnesota taxpayers $430K in legal prep ahead of Hill hearing
Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota have not held back with criticism after news Gov. Tim Walz spent $430,000 in taxpayer money to prepare for a House congressional hearing probing blue state governors on their "sanctuary city" policies. Invoices obtained by the Star Tribune of Minnesota uncovered that Walz's office contracted with high-powered global law firm K&L Gates to prepare for the governor's mid-June hearing in front of the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee, which included questions about his and other blue state governors' "sanctuary city" policies. In May alone, Walz incurred legal fees of around $232,000, according to invoices the Star Tribune obtained. This balanced out to a rate of about $516 per hour, the local outlet noted. In total, according to the Star Tribune, K&L Gates worked with Walz's office from April 10 until the June 12 hearing, costing taxpayers $430,000 for the legal preparation. Minnesota GOP Rep. Jim Nash, one of two Republicans on the state's Legislative Advisory Commission, questioned why Walz felt compelled to get outside counsel rather than work with the state's attorneys and public relations specialists. "A half a million dollars of taxpayer money to prepare the governor to go to his old stomping grounds seems exorbitant, particularly since the AG for the state of Minnesota was in Congress with Walz at the same time, and the two of them certainly could have figured out how to do what they were needing to do," he said. Nash added that he intends to dig deeper into scrutinizing the invoices obtained by the Star Tribune. Republican Minnesota state Rep. Harry Niska noted there "appears to be no legitimate legal interest in the state racking up nearly half-a-million dollars in what amounts to PR consulting." "Tim Walz spent 12 years in Congress — he knows those hearing rooms inside and out, and he certainly knows how to conduct himself in that type of setting. So, why did the governor feel the need to spend $430,000 of taxpayer money on a private firm to 'prepare' for this hearing?" Niska asked. "To be clear, there appears to be no legitimate legal interest of the state in racking up nearly half a million dollars in what amounts to PR consulting as he tries to lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign that's going absolutely nowhere. It is unconscionable to make hardworking Minnesota taxpayers pay for the governor's personal national political aspirations." In response to the criticism over Walz's decision to contract with K&L Gates, both the governor and his team sidestepped offering an explanation. Instead, they suggested the blame fell at the feet of Republicans for holding a hearing that served no other purpose than to "grandstand," according to the Star Tribune. Teddy Tschann, a Walz spokesperson, described the hearing as a "planned political stunt on the taxpayer dime," the Star Tribune reported. "They were too busy performing for the cameras to even feign interest in hearing from Gov. Walz about Minnesota's balanced approach to immigration," Tschann added. "What's most frustrating is that Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber planned this spectacle knowing what it would cost and went through with it anyway." When asked directly about the legal bill, Walz told reporters the GOP-led hearing was "not where I wanted to spend money. It's not where I wanted to spend my time, and it certainly proved that there was nothing there other than using it as grandstanding." While the hefty legal bill has garnered Walz backlash this week, it wouldn't be the first time a governor has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal advice. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said earlier this year after attending a hearing in the nation's capital she expected to pay around $650,000 to the law firm that helped her prepare. The City of Denver also forked over $250,000 for outside legal counsel earlier this year to prepare the city's mayor, Mike Johnston, for a congressional hearing. Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's office and K&L Gates for comment but did not receive a response from either.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Most Americans Think Trump's Parade Is a Huge Waste of Money
Six in 10 Americans don't think that a $45 million military parade on President Donald Trump's birthday is a good use of taxpayer money, according to an Associated Press poll. The extravaganza, which will feature as many as 25 tanks rolling through the streets of Washington, D.C., is slated for June 14—the day Trump turns 79. The parade is billed as a 250th-anniversary celebration of the U.S. Army's founding. Just 40 percent of Americans polled by the AP approved of the lavish celebration, while 29 percent disapproved and the rest were neutral. Along political lines, only 20 percent of Democrats approved, in contrast with 67 percent of Republicans. When it came to the price tag, 80 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Independents did not think it was worthwhile spending. Republicans were of a different mind—nearly two thirds signed off on the hefty bill. The parade will feature approximately 8,000 soldiers marching alongside the tanks. Its cost includes a new paint job for the tanks and repairing D.C. roads not equipped to bear their weight. On Tuesday, Trump offered a bizarre justification for the parade: without the military, Americans would have lost WWII and would now be speaking German or Japanese. 'If it weren't for us, you would be speaking German right now, ok?' he told reporters in the Oval Office. 'You might be speaking Japanese, too. You might be speaking a combination of both.' 'It's gonna be an amazing day,' Trump added. 'We'll have tanks, we'll have planes, we'll have all sorts of things. I think it's gonna be great.' Despite the president's enthusiasm, not many of his Republican colleagues are planning to attend. Out of 50 surveyed by Politico, just seven said they would go—including, of course, Trump diehard Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The army anticipates that 200,000 people will attend.
