MINISTER FOR Tourism, Sport and Culture Mary Hanafin has said she knew immediately that Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s interview on RTÉ radio on Tuesday morning would cause him difficulties.
Ms Hanafin said yesterday: “When I was listening to it live, I said to myself ‘what are you doing this for?’ But it’s very easy in hindsight. It’s easy for any of us to say I shouldn’t have done that.
“I heard it and I thought . . . oooh . . . it sounded awful. I knew it sounded awful. Not what he was saying but how he was saying it and I knew it sounded awful,” she said.
“The last thing he would want to do is to hurt people, insult people or upset them.
“And certainly people around the country who are looking for hope, looking for a bit of light as to how things are going to improve, didn’t get that the other day and they are expecting that,” she said.
Speaking in Co Donegal where she was performing a number of official functions yesterday, Ms Hanafin said she thinks the Taoiseach has learned a valuable lesson. “I don’t believe it will happen again. I know communication and publicity is hugely important but leadership is about decision-making.
“It wasn’t a decision about the future of the country [doing the interview] and they’re the decisions we have to look at,” she said.
Following a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of Tabor Lodge addiction treatment centre, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin was asked about the fallout from Mr Cowen’s interview on Tuesday.
Mr Martin said the controversy “has been damaging, there’s no question about that. I think we have to really organise ourselves in a way that matches the mood of the people – these were events that all parties have held over the years but I think in the context of where we now are in the economy, I think we need to match that. We have had challenges before and I’ve no doubt we will overcome that”.