Minister hung out to dry; peace in FG; byelection blues for media; more revels; Pats reunited; super Quinn; nice words
Ahern short changed on IMF talks
A FURIOUS Dermot Ahern rounded on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance at this week’s Cabinet meeting, telling them he was hung out to dry two weeks ago when told to deny the Government was negotiating a bailout with the International Monetary Fund. The Minister for Justice was sent out to bat on Sunday, November 14th and Monday, November 15th, staunchly sticking to the briefing note supplied to him by the Department of Finance. Suggestions that the country was on the brink of accepting outside assistance were “fiction”, he memorably declared, repeating the word used by interviewer, Seán O’Rourke. In doing so, he never deviated from the official line.
The following Thursday, the Governor of the Central Bank went on Morning Irelandto say a bailout would happen, and last Sunday, the Taoiseach confirmed it.
Since then, Ahern has been fighting accusations that he told lies to the Irish people about the real situation and he is fuming with Cowen and Lenihan for putting him in this position.
The normally high-profile Minister has refused all but one request for an interview since then, citing pressure of work and prior engagements.
Others say he is reluctant to go out and defend the Government if he can’t be sure what he is saying is true.
“There was a dust-up on Tuesday morning,” a source close to the Minister for Justice tells us. “Dermot was pretty well pissed off with the situation and feels he was short changed. There was no attempt, even after Sunday, to tell him to soften his line on the bailout. The briefing note hadn’t changed since Friday, even though it was clear things were changing in Europe.
“He was told to stick to the denial and wasn’t given an out clause. Had he been told not to be so definite, he would have been more nuanced and not left out to dry.”
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey backed up his colleague, while Minister for Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin and Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe were two other senior Ministers who also found themselves having to spin the no bailout mantra.
Ahern followed up his angry contribution at Cabinet with a lengthy address to the parliamentary party.
“He might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he doesn’t go around telling porkies,” one supporter told us.
Although it’s been nearly a fortnight since Dermot Ahern came out with his infamous “fiction” denial, his anger at his treatment has not subsided. He left Wednesday’s launch of the National Recovery Plan before it finished.
“What hurt him most were the accusations that he told lies. Even some of the backbenchers were privately attacking him, while he was pilloried by the media.” “So how are things now?” “I think things would be frosty enough,” says our man in Camp Ahern. “He’s pretty put out.” And then he mused: “I don’t know if it will have implications down the line . . .”
Enda enjoys peace at last
Wonders will never cease. Fine Gael had two parliamentary party meetings this week. Peace and harmony broke out in both of them. At the first meeting, held at lunchtime on Tuesday, Enda Kenny gathered the troops together to hear their views on the economic situation and discuss the forthcoming budget. Michael Noonan addressed the meeting, and he went down a storm.
“He was as cool as a cucumber. He told us we won’t be signing any blank cheque and we’ll keep our powder dry ’til we see the colour of their money. That man has a great turn of phrase,” a Senator told us. “You’d know he wasn’t an economist.
“I still haven’t a clue what way we’re going to jump on this, you wouldn’t know with Noonan. But he had us all united.”
“It was the best meeting we ever had,” said a rural deputy. “People had mixed feelings on the budget, whether we should reject it or whether we should make sure it goes through. It was very productive.” This TD is a strong Kenny supporter.
However, praise for Enda also came from an unexpected source. Dublin South East deputy Lucinda Creighton (inset left) said he had listened to what people said at the first meeting and followed through on everything. It appears that their relationship may be entering a warmer phase.
Just in time too, for the deputy from Dublin South East, who has many of the qualities needed to make the top flight in modern politics. A passable rapport with the party leader would greatly enhance her prospects.
Headaches for hacks in Donegal
And so, to Donegal. The Dublin 4 meeja travelled together (safety in numbers) into the depths of the county for yesterday’s byelection. Some of them had never been further than Lucan and were a little apprehensive.
When they arrived in Ballybofey, many of the hacks had difficulty spelling the name of their destination. They kept writing “Ballybuffet”. And then there was the national newspaper journalist who arrived with his own stash of lapsang souchong tea (leaf, naturally, not bag). “They don’t even have Earl Grey” wailed our distressed correspondent.
Not to mention the reporter who changed hotel rooms twice because he said the jazzy wallpaper would give him a headache.
But the prize goes to the correspondent who ordered the seafood chowder in Kees Hotel, then asked for the prawns to be removed.
You’d be mortified, sometimes.
Discretion prevails in night out for the lads
Shhh! More late night revels involving our politicians.
In fairness, it wasn’t of Ardilaun proportions, though we think a bar or two of Happy Birthday was sung to Kerry senator, Ned O’Sullivan, who turned 60 at midnight last Wednesday and had a little celebration in Buswell’s Hotel to mark the event.
A cross party selection of politicians called in to wish the popular Listowel draper many happy returns – although as he is a member of the Fianna Fáil party, we assume they speaking in terms of years, as opposed to elections.
Ned, who was a primary school teacher, was joined on the night by his family, including his son Stephen O’Sullivan, a rock singer who goes by the name Evil Uncle.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny also turned up. It transpires that Ned and Enda were classmates in St Pat’s teacher training college many, many moons ago.
Enda bought a bottle of champagne to toast his old friend. But there was no vulgar, Celtic tiger popping of the cork. Instead, it was performed discreetly, in the correct fashion, like a maiden’s sigh.
“I can’t give you the names of the other politicians who were there – Ned is a very popular man. Their wives mightn’t know they were out,” says our considerate informant.
Elevating importance of Irish language
It’s good, being a TD. You can get things done. Take Fianna Fáil’s Michael Kennedy. (Oh please. Do.) He complained on the floor of the Dáil recently about the lack of bilingual lifts in Leinster House. As an upstanding member of the Republican Party, the deputy for Dublin North said “I have pointed out the lifts used in the Leinster House complex do not have announcements in Irish. I hope when we are told we are either going up or going down in the lift, it will be in the cúpla focal.”
Fine Gael’s Frankie Feighan was quick off the mark. “Fianna Fáil is going down!” It’s amazing what a few words in the Dáil can do.
Last Wednesday, six days after Kennedy made his request, all the lifts in Leinster House had announcements in both English and Irish.
So now deputies can get stuck between floors in two languages.
As for Feighan, he came in for a lot of stick when Enda Kenny appointed him FG spokesman on Gaeltacht affairs as his deputy for Roscommon-South Leitrim didn’t speak Irish.
But during that same debate on the Irish language, Frank made an impressive debut. At least he thought so.
“I spoke for seven minutes in Irish last Thursday week. And nobody paid any heed,” he told us, a bit hurt.
Spat of the Pats: now the sequel
Viewers tuning into Vincent Browne’s show on Wednesday night were delighted to see such a high-quality panel assembled to discuss the National Recovery Plan.
Actually, they weren't. It was the sight of Pat Rabbitte and Pat Carey sitting side by side in a television studio again, less than a week after Labour Pat savaged Fianna Fáil Pat on Prime Time, that cheered the nation.
If body language is anything to go by, there hasn’t been any thaw in relations between the deputy and the Minister.
As is often the case with sequels, The Spat of the Pats Part llwasn't half as entertaining as the original. Carey was in a sulphurous mood, while Rabbitte couldn't even bring himself to look at the other Pat.
Richard Bruton made up the numbers. It was decided not to place him between the two Pats on the panel because if things turned particularly nasty little Richard might have been hurt.
Vincent began hounding the overheating Carey about his State car. Why did the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs need a limo and two Garda drivers to get out to TV3? Carey couldn’t quite understand what Browne was getting at: how else was he to arrive? Taxi, perhaps? Carey was agog at the notion. Couldn’t possibly do without his “chariot” as Vincent put it.
But the interesting thing about the exchange is there was barely a squeak out of potential ministers in the next government, Bruton and Rabbitte. What made them go so quiet?
Feargal Quinn gives subcontractors a boost
It was a big day for Feargal Quinn on Thursday. At 10am, he cut a big cake outside the Gaiety Theatre to mark the 50th birthday of Superquinn.
Then he raced across to Leinster House for the Seanad sitting, there to break the good news his Construction Contracts Bill had been given the go ahead by the department and he is now hopeful it will be enacted before Christmas.
The aim of the Bill is to ensure a speedy and low cost method of cash flow for subcontractors in the construction industry. This will be achieved by introducing a system to ensure security of payment.
The Bill is good news for every subcontracting company.
“Up to 200 subcontractors met in a hotel at 10am and are hanging on to know whether we can get the legislation passed promptly. I believe we can and that doing so is in the House’s hands.”
Senator Quinn says situations such as the recent collapse of Pierse contractors, which left 1,620 subcontractors substantially out of pocket with many of them going to the wall, would not have happened had the Bill been in force.
It’s the way they tell them . . .
Michael Noonan to Aengus Ó Snodaigh after he led the protesters who forced their way through the gates of Government Buildings on Tuesday: “You’ve embarrassed your mother’s people in Newcastle West.” Aengus: “I did the opposite.” And he also appeared on the front of the Financial Times, tangling with a garda. Chuffed, he was.
And here’s Pat Rabbitte, also from Tuesday in the Dáil: “I see Deputy Gogarty resigned as Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills. That should rock the bond markets.”
Finally, a delicious word from RTÉ's Seán O'Rourke, who accused Eamon Gilmore of "hunker sliding" during his robust grilling of the Labour leader on Thursday's News at One. From one Galwayman to another, Eamon will have understood perfectly.
Hygiene awareness: Stormont toilet twinned with toilet in Burundi
Politicians can’t resist a camera. Monday’s Irish News carried a lovely photograph of Jim Wells of the DUP, and him posing for a photograph outside one of the cubicles in the ground floor toilets at Stormont.
The MLA was master of ceremonies at a very unusual event – the twinning of a toilet with a toilet in the east African country of Burundi.
Twinning is a favourite pastime of councils all over the country, but they usually prefer to pair up with a country offering a nice climate and plenty of goodwill trips.
The Stormont photoshoot was organised by the charity Tearfund and it was to raise awareness of the lack of safe and hygienic sanitation in the developing world.
Jim Wells of the DUP (left) and Tim Magowa of Tearfund, with the framed twinning certificate. Photograph: PA Wire