Buck stops with O'Donoghue - SF

Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin today defended his move in calling for the resignation of John O'Donoghue and accused him of "hiding behind the cloak of Ceann Comhairle".

Mr O'Donoghue formally resigned as Ceann Comhairle yesterday, contending that he became the scapegoat for an expenses regime that had fallen into disrepute, and also attacking Labour leader Eamon Gilmore for his "pre-emptive assertion of no confidence".

In his half-hour speech to the Dáil, he made a prolonged and emotional defence of his record in the controversy surrounding his foreign travel expenses, both in role as Ceann Cormhairle and as minister for arts, sport and tourism between 2002 and 2007.

However, speaking this morning, Mr Ó Caoláin said: "I do not have any regrets, nor do my colleagues in Sinn Féin. We have acknowledged that John O'Donoghue was fair in his role as Ceann Comhairle . . . but this was an issue of an extravagant use of public money, which continued not just over the course of his tenure as Minister but throughout the past two years and some months since he became Ceann Comhairle, and that is the kernel of the issue, and that had to be addressed."

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland,Mr Ó Caoláin said Mr O'Donoghue had had "ample opportunity" to make his case in the expenses controversy. "Everything he said in his speech yesterday could have been said at any time from the start of the controversy, and he could have said it inside or outside the Dáil.

The Sinn Féin TD conceded there were inaccuracies in the reporting of the expenses incurred "in some instances" but added: "He should have pointed those out at the time."

"I don't think its adequate on his part to hide behind the cloak of the Ceann Comhairle, that he was in some way protecting the office. I don't believe that this was the case. This is a much more important issue, and I believe it is incredible that a minister or a ceann comhairle . . . that they would seek to level the blame on non-elected people, people in the departments, staff of the various embassies throughout the country," the Sinn Féin TD said.

"At the end of the day . . . the buck must stop at the minister or the Ceann Comhairle. He is, after all, chairperson of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, and he therefore has a very special responsibility, and I believe he failed to face up to that over the course of several weeks.

"There is nothing to prevent John O'Donoghue making his case to the Oireachtas committee . . . he is the convener of the body itself, it's just a little rich." Mr Ó Caoláin said Mr O'Donoghue "was not prepared to actually address the detail of the issue".

"We had no other option given the exposure of the full facts as he himself released at the end of the week of the Lisbon referendum . . . we [Sinn Féin] made the determination it was simply no longer tenable for John O'Donoghue to continue."

The Sinn Fein TD said he had no doubt the people of south Kerry had "due regard and appreciation" for their representative but said he thought the use of Mr O'Donoghue's speaking slot yesterday in the Dáil "to as good as launch his reelection campaign" was an "inappropriate use of that opportunity".

On the subject of general expenses, Mr Ó Caoláin said his party was in favour of a vouched system across TDs, senators, and all ministers, in addition to a "new culture" across State agencies, with expenses published "as a matter of course".

Questioned over his own expenses last year, Mr Ó Caoláin said he published figures up to September 15th in his local media, and that the claimed expenses in terms of travel and accommodation up to that date was around €19,000 from January to that date.

During his speech yesterday, Mr O'Donoghue maintained his overseas travel spending was not markedly different from other Ministers; that his constitutional role as Ceann Comhairle restrained him from public comment during the controversy; and repeatedly alleged that Mr Gilmore¿s call for his resignation in the Dáil last week had denied him the right to defend his position.