Eamon Ryan criticised at Fine Gael meeting over decision to stand down Inland Fisheries board

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan was criticised at a “heated” meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party over his decision to stand down the remaining members of the board of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Mr Ryan took the decision to stand down the remaining three board members at the beleaguered State body this week.

The decision was sharply criticised at the Fine Gael meeting with Senator Seán Kyne leading the discussion. Several sources said Mr Kyne’s contribution was “angry”, “passionate”, or “shouty”.

Mr Kyne said the board should not have been stood down and instead alternate board members should have been appointed and that an independent investigation into the organisation should be undertaken.

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Mayo TD Michael Ring, a former cabinet minister, also criticised Mr Ryan for being out of touch, while former government chief whip Paul Kehoe said he had been contacted by an employee of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) at a senior level who said Mr Ryan had made the wrong decision in standing the board down.

A source said people had been “venting” about Mr Ryan’s decisions.

On Tuesday, Mr Ryan removed the three remaining members of the board of IFI on a no-fault basis and appointed two former county council managers to perform the functions of the agency, which protects fish stocks and habitats.

The IFI has been in disarray over the past year. Five members of its board resigned as the body experienced a series of internal disputes and allegations, some of which have been made by way of protected disclosure.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is said to have told the meeting that Fine Gael Cabinet Ministers had suggested to Mr Ryan that he could appoint emergency board members rather than standing down the existing board, but that the Dublin Bay South TD had the right to proceed as he saw fit.

Mayo TD Alan Dillon, Dublin Rathdown TD Josepha Madigan, Dublin Fingal TD Alan Farrell and Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd also made contributions on the issue.

The body has been hit by a series of complaints and controversies over the past two years. It was discovered that 16 of its vehicles were uninsured and one was involved in a crash in Donegal in 2021.

At the meeting sources said there was criticism from Sligo-Leitrim TD Frank Feighan and Senator Micheál Carrigy of the lack of investment in the motorway network in the midlands, with Mr Feighan saying there was no motorway from Dublin to Galway but there was to Belfast and Mr Carrigy saying it was not good for balanced regional development.

The Taoiseach told the meeting that expectations needed to be tempered ahead of next Tuesday’s Government meeting on cost of living supports and that the interventions would not be on the scale of a budget or mini-budget. He told the group that the Government had to stay within financial limits set out last September.

The package had to be affordable for the taxpayer and sufficient to help people and businesses to the next budget, he said, repeating that some measures would be universal and some would be targeted at those facing greatest difficulty.

Sources said Senator Tim Lombard, Kerry TD Brendan Griffin and Mr Kehoe made contributions on the 9 per cent VAT rate for hospitality, with Mr Kehoe saying it should be kept for restaurants.