The tedious process of restoring the northern institutions makes Waiting for Godot look like a thriller. Earlier in the year, there was a lot of talk of restoring the institutions for the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement.
As those hopes receded, there was some vague speculation that there might be movement by the local elections in early summer. But that too now looks distant. Leo Varadkar last week spoke about the risks of imposing “fake deadlines”.
Meanwhile, every A-list politician associated with the peace process has been in Belfast over the past two weeks, including US president Joe Biden, former US president Bill Clinton, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, former British prime minister Tony Blair, British prime minister Rishi Sunak, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Tánaiste Micheál Martin. And of course, the chair of the all-party talks, George Mitchell, who made what was his last journey back to Belfast at the age of 92.
All have made speeches and addresses during the series of events to mark the anniversary and all have followed a broad theme, that the Executive and Assembly must be restored. The institutions have been suspended for 40 per cent of the time since first set up in 1999. The latest suspension has been ongoing since February 2022.
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As Northern Editor Freya McClements reports, at the final day of the Queen’s conference in Belfast yesterday, Rishi Sunak and Bill Clinton joined in that chorus.
The prime minister said the best way to honour the legacy of the Agreement was to have the institutions operating “every single year” of the next 25 and appealed to unionists to “work with us”.
Leo Varadkar told the conference that people in Northern Ireland “deserve” a functioning Executive, Assembly and North-South Ministerial Council.
Former US president Bill Clinton, reflecting the growing impatience, said it was now time to “get this show on the road”.
All of this, of course, is directed at the DUP. But if these politicians think such exhortations will coerce the party into returning to the fold, they are mistaken.
As Freya reported, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson tweeted this week that “the great and the good can lecture us all they want for a cheap round of applause, but it won’t change the political reality ... berating unionists won’t solve the problem”.
Not an Inch.
Watt a Scorcher!
With Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin in Belfast for the 25th anniversary, who was left back in Leinster House to provide all the political wattage?
Never fear, the secretary general of the Department of Health was here.
There were mutterings that it was no coincidence that the publication of the very long-awaited report on the handling of former chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan’s abandoned secondment happened on the day the Special Criminal Court delivered its verdict in the Regency case.
Even if that were true, the intended aim would not have been achieved. If the report was a sideshow, it was a highly charged, and dramatic, one.
In summary, the report’s author Maura Quinn was critical of the proposed funding mechanism where €2 million a year in ring-fenced research funding was promised by Watt and Holohan in a letter of comfort to TCD, where the former CMO was to take up a professorship. The funding was guaranteed but somehow it would be subject to some form of competitive process afterwards.
Dr Quinn said this arrangement did not meet “accepted norms of scrutiny, transparency and accountability”. She also said Dr Holohan’s personal involvement in the discussions raised a potential conflict of interest.
There was also the very rare spectacle of two of the most powerful public servants in the State, then secretary general to Government Martin Fraser, and then taoiseach Micheál Martin’s chief of staff Deirdre Gillane, directly contradicting assertions made by Mr Watt about their knowledge.
So Mr Watt’s attendance at a meeting of the Oireachtas committee on finance yesterday was much-anticipated . And it produced fireworks.
The best way to get a full and unexpurgated sense of what happened is to combine the reporting of Jack Horgan-Jones with Miriam Lord’s column on the committee meeting.
As Jack reports: “Mr Watt has strongly rejected ‘most’ of the findings of a report on the abandoned secondment of former chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan.
“He also told an Oireachtas committee that an attempt to brief Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly on the details of the proposal had failed because the Minister’s laptop had been ‘hacked’.
“Speaking at the Oireachtas finance committee hearing on Wednesday, Mr Watt said he rejected ‘most of the findings of the report’.”
Miriam Lord’s report gets to the heart of the atmosphere, tone and context of the meeting. “The performance of Robert Watt at the Oireachtas finance committee on Wednesday afternoon was hard to credit in all its jaw-dropping swagger.
“Doubtless, the exalted secretary general of the Department of Health never intended to come across as dismissive, cocky, combative and arrogant during his two hours of testimony. But unfortunately for Mr Watt, he did.
“Doubtless, the controversial career civil servant never meant to sound so glib during some of his replies and never meant to smirk and shrug so much when answering questions put to him by mere TDs and Senators. But unfortunately, he did.”
Jack also has a useful summary on what was learned during the 2½-hour hearing into the botched secondment, including on the proposed funding; the conflict with Deirdre Gillane; and the bad-tempered exchanges that took place.
Paul Cullen also reports on Stephen Donnelly’s reaction to the report.
Best Reads
It was a busy day for Oireachtas committees yesterday. The arts, culture and media committee heard from chairwoman of the RTÉ board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, about the divisions that arose before the appointment of Kevin Bakhurst as the broadcaster’s new director general.
As Laura Slattery reports, she said the leaks to the media about a fraught meeting of the board over the appointment process was “very unfortunate”.
“I would say that the process that we went with was a rigorous process. It was competitive and it was a unanimous decision by the board. It was very unfortunate what happened, nobody wanted to see that,” Ms Ní Raghallaigh said.
Excellent column by Michael McDowell on the political fallout of the Regency trial. He makes a strong argument for the retention of the Special Criminal Court for such cases, as well as arguing there are real questions for the DPP.
As John Paul Phelan joins a growing list of mid-career Fine Gael politicians announcing their departure from politics, Jennifer Bray explores why this is happening and the impact it will have on Fine Gael.
Hugh Linehan is back this week to anchor the Inside Politics podcast, which looks at the political implications for Sinn Féin of the Regency murder trial; the imminent departure of yet another Fine Gael TD; and Robert Watt’s appearance before the Oireachtas committee.
Playbook
DÁIL
09:00: Parliamentary Questions: Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly
10:30: Parliamentary Questions: Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue
12.00: Leaders’ Questions
12.50: Bills for Introduction: Rent Reduction Bill, 2023 – First Stage
13:49: Statements on Organised Crime
17:19: Topical Issues
18:07: Private Members’ Bill or Committee Report (alternating weekly): Safe Deposit Boxes and Related Deposits Bill, 2022 – Second Stage
19:22: Dáil adjourns
SEANAD ÉIREANN
9.30: Commencement Matters
10.30: Order of Business
10.30: GAA president Larry McCarthy will address the Seanad on Wednesday, April 26th, 2023. This slot will allow the Upper House decide on what arrangements will be put in place.
11.45: Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill, 2022 – Second Stage.
13.45: Private Members’ Business: Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill, 2023 – Second Stage
COMMITTEES
09.30: Committee of Public Accounts CR3, LH 2000
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2020 – Chapter 14: Assessment and collection of Insurance Compensation Fund levies (resumed)
Representatives from Central Bank of Ireland
Representatives from Office of the Revenue Commissioners
13.30: Comhchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge
Leithdháileadh airgid na Roinne Turasóireachta agus Gaeltachta ar an nGaeilge agus ar an nGaeltacht.
Chomh maith le sin, beidh plé ar bhuiséid TG.
Aoí: An tAire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta Catherine Martin
