THE GOVERNMENT has defended the participation of Taoiseach Brian Cowen and three senior Government Ministers in a €2,000 a head business conference in October. It comes following criticism from the Labour Party which yesterday claimed it was easier for business people paying substantial fees to hear the views of Ministers on the economic situation than it was for Opposition parties in the Dáil.
Mr Cowen, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and Minister for Communications Éamon Ryan will all be headline speakers at the First Business Roundtable with the Government of Ireland conference taking place in Dublin on October 30th.
The conference is being organised by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the fee for attending for the day is €1,950.
A Government spokesman said no payment was ever made to members of Government for speaking at such conferences.
Yesterday, Labour leader Éamon Gilmore criticised the decision to allow Government Ministers to participate in what he called a commercially organised conference. “The promotional material for the event offers participants opportunities for discussion with the Taoiseach, and the three other Ministers, on various aspects of the Irish economy, as well as ‘farewell’ cocktails on departure.
“It appears that those who are willing to cough up €1,950 to participate in this conference will have far greater opportunities for discussions with Brian Cowen, Brian Lenihan and Mary Coughlan – the three Ministers responsible for economic policy – than are normally available to most members of the Dáil.”
The Government spokesman said that decisions regarding the Taoiseach’s attendance at conferences were based on an assessment of whether or not attendance would benefit the State.
“In this case, it was felt the event would afford an important opportunity for international and domestic investors to learn about business opportunities available in Ireland, and the policies being pursued by the Government that are building on the considerable success of the Irish economy over recent years.
“The acceptance of this particular invitation is pertinent in the current economic situation,” he said. Mr Gilmore also made a pointed criticism of Mr Ryan’s involvement in the conference.
“I am particularly surprised that a Green Party Minister should be participating in a commercial enterprise of this nature.”