Green Party leader sees red after Labour 'lecture' on cronyism

DÁIL SKETCH:Hats off to the Greens, they are such quick learners. Just a year in office with Fianna Fáil and they have studied hard. And one of the major lessons they have taken on board is "never apologise", writes Marie O'Halloran

They have also adapted to a well-established precedent that no matter what, "don't be embarrassed" or its equivalent, "be brazen".

Another standard of politics is that attack is the best form of defence. But that is a lesson Green Party leader John Gormley probably learned as a child because he's pretty good at it.

Never more so than yesterday in the Dáil when he was in full hauteur mode and used a perennially favourite phrase of his Government colleagues "I'll take no lectures . . . "

In this instance he would "take no lectures from Labour on cronyism", who had "brought it to a fine art".

The issue at hand was a potentially reddening-of-the- Greens slip-up in the Minister's appointment of Green Party and Fianna Fáil councillors to the State body that decides landlord-tenant disputes.

All councillors and Oireachtas members are precluded from being members of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). The Minister was informed last month that the appointments were illegal and the cases the councillors in which the were involved were reviewed. None was set aside.

In the Dáil yesterday morning, however, the Opposition was gleeful. "Cronyism is not new in Fianna Fáil, but we now have incompetent cronyism," declared Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, demanding that the Green Party leader come into the House and explain.

When, to his credit, the Minister arrived in the chamber, Mr Gilmore challenged him to make a statement.

"He's too green," quipped Fine Gael's Paul Kehoe.

"He's afraid," said Enda Kenny.

Mr Gormley merely sat there and smiled. At one point when he thought all the slagging had finished he got up to leave to a chorus of boos from the Opposition. He sat down again on the Green Party benches.

Minister for Health Mary Harney said: "In fairness, the Minister was not advised at the time of the appointments and corrective action is being taken."

She reminded them that every party lobbied to have councillors included on boards. It would be an easy mistake to make in an Act that had 169 sections.

However, when Labour's environment spokesman Ciaraá Lynch raised it on the adjournment, he pointed to a bevy of staff - 13 in the Minister's private and constituency office costing €800,000. Someone should have read the legislation, he said.

"I'll take no lectures from Labour on cronyism. Your party has practised it and brought it to a fine art," retorted Mr Gormley.

He added: "We operate transparency decision-making in appointments. We've appointed three people in your party to boards. That's something your party would not have the generosity or foresight to do."

After all the bother for a technical error, though, it might have been easier just to say "sorry".