Ivor Callely's resignation was marked by high drama inside and outside the Dáil, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent
Shortly after 10.30am yesterday, Ivor Callely left his ministerial office in Clare Street in Dublin, shaking hands with a few pedestrians on the pavement before he jumped into his ministerial car.
Just minutes before, he had appeared for nearly 25 minutes on RTÉ's Today with Pat Kenny, justifying his conduct, and insisting he had not resigned "as yet".
In fact, he had sent a resignation letter by fax to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern shortly before 9am, just minutes before Mr Ahern went into a Cabinet meeting that was ready to sack Mr Callely if he did not resign.
The two men had spoken earlier, shortly after 7.30am, for a few minutes during which Mr Callely is understood to have again refused to quit voluntarily.
Equipped with Mr Callely's letter, the Taoiseach, who was still seething that the Budget had been overshadowed by a minister of state's trials and tribulations, joined his Ministers in the Cabinet room at 9.30am. He read out the letter, in which Mr Callely repeatedly defended himself and said he was retiring only because his family had been dragged into the controversy.
Despite Mr Callely's protestations, Mr Ahern made clear, sources have told The Irish Times, that the disclosure that John Paul Construction had paid for a painting job on Mr Callely's home in Clontarf was not the only reason for his departure, but merely the last.
"This wasn't just about paint. It was the cumulative effect, coming on foot of stories about civil servants. He never seemed to understand that," one Minister commented to The Irish Times.
The little remaining sympathy for Mr Callely within Fianna Fáil, and there was little enough to start with, evaporated during his often emotional appearance on Pat Kenny's radio programme yesterday morning. By appearing at the start of the programme, he forced Minister for Finance Brian Cowen to kick his heels in the RTÉ studios before he got the chance to sell the virtues of his Budget to the public.
By then, the Taoiseach was in the Dáil chamber where he announced, curtly, that he had "accepted the resignation" of Mr Callely. The Opposition seized upon the resignation, demanding a statement from the ex-minister of state and an explanation from all involved in the drama.
By 10.50am, Mr Callely surprised many by turning up in the chamber - and surprised even more by taking up his old seat on the junior ministerial benches, behind and to the left of the Taoiseach.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Labour leader Pat Rabbitte repeatedly harried the Taoiseach in search of a statement and a debate, despite warnings by the Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, that such calls were not in order.
The atmosphere became increasingly fraught. Though the Ceann Comhairle was quick to interrupt the Opposition, he became silent when Minister of State for Finance Tom Parlon rose to speak, explaining later that Mr Parlon had given notice that he wanted to make a personal statement.
On Wednesday night, Mr Parlon had claimed that the disclosure of the Callely house-painting controversy had been timed to damage the Government's Budget. "I fully accept the explanation given by Mr Charlie Bird about the timing of his story about Deputy Callely," Mr Parlon told the House. Benefiting from some good research, the Fine Gael leader quoted back to the Taoiseach some of Mr Ahern's own words in 1996 after Michael Lowry had quit the Cabinet.
"A minister's obligations do not cease just because he has resigned. Resignation is not an excuse for going to ground and hoping that the public lose interest. That would be a travesty of accountability. The public are entitled to know the full reasons for his resignation," quoted Mr Kenny, enjoying each word as he uttered it.
By 11.15am, the Opposition had pushed their demand for a debate to a vote. Following the vote, which the Government won, Enda Kenny repeatedly pointed out to the Ceann Comhairle that Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt wanted to speak, but to no avail.
By now, the chairman of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, Seamus Kirk, had had a quick word with Mr Callely, after which he spoke to the Ceann Comhairle. Clearly anxious, Dr O'Hanlon struggled to maintain order, amidst some of the most extraordinary scenes in the chamber for years, as the former Labour leader, Ruairí Quinn, accused him of "helping to smother democracy".
Drawing on Dáil precedent, Labour's Tommy Broughan pointed out that Fianna Fáil's Ned O'Keeffe had made a personal statement and took questions when he resigned in February 2001 from the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Just before the clock struck midday, Mr Callely left his seat, pausing briefly to sit beside the Carlow/Kilkenny TD, John McGuinness, before leaving the chamber. Standing on the stairs leading from the chamber, he received a number of gestures of sympathy from colleagues as they walked past, including Liz O'Donnell.
Minutes later, Mr Ahern made an attempt to begin his speech on the Budget, ceasing only with irritation in the face of another interruption from Fine Gael's Bernard Durkan. He folded his arms tightly as Mr Kenny and Mr Rabbitte called for a suspension, and threw his speech on to his desk as the disorder continued. In the end, Mr Ahern just began his speech and kept going despite the Opposition's objections until they eventually got the message and fell silent, following which most of them left the chamber.
Yesterday was always going to be a horrible day for Mr Callely, a fact that most of his colleagues could understand. But he made it an even worse one for the Government than it needed to be. "Have we had the Budget yet?" said one backbencher drily as he left Leinster House last evening.