Ah, here. Not another presidential election.
Sure we’re only just over the last one.
What’s this one about?
A new president of Europe?
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And who’s going for it this time? It’s happening in July, so we’ll have to move fast and find a good candidate.
Mary Lou McDonald, leader of noted Europhile party Sinn Féin, would fit the bill.
It’s all making sense now. There was huge speculation last year that she was going to run for the Áras. The general view at the time was that she would probably win if she threw her hat in the ring.
In the end, she decided not to run. Could it be that she already had her eye on a much larger stage?
Cathy Bennett, the Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan, let the cat out of the bag during a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade on Wednesday.
Minister of State Neale Richmond, who would like to think he is almost as knowledgeable on EU matters as the ardent supporters of the European project in Sinn Féin, was there for the Government.
Deputy Bennett, with a sheaf of briefing notes in front of her, questioned him closely on aspects of the department’s budget.
“And then, just in relation to the EU presidency,” she said to Neale, who was listening intently as there isn’t much Sinn Féin doesn’t know about Europe, “how much have you set aside for that, and how much is that going to cost us to look for a candidate for the EU presidency?”
“Eh, well, it doesn’t, doesn’t ...”
Neale seemed to be searching for the right words to say.
Cathy leapt in.
“Will that come out of your department?”
He tried to explain.
“We’re entitled to the EU presidency. There’s no candidate as such ...”
Oh.
“There’s no candidate so,” murmured Cathy.
“So, it’s just a rotation,” replied Neale.
Oh.
Anyway, back to budgetary matters. The Sinn Féin TD noted the Minister “did mention a few events” to do with this presidency. “Is that going to cost a lot of money here?”
Loads and loads.
In fact, the spending started last year, said Neale. Foreign Affairs has an allocation of €65 million, but that’s only part of the story because every single Government department will be involved in the 270 meetings already scheduled, not to mention the informal council meetings and all the security stuff and everything.
He reckons the presidency gig is going to cost “in the region of €300 million” between the jigs and the reels.
[ Ireland’s EU presidency set to cost State more than €293mOpens in new window ]
“Okay,” smiled Cathy. “And who’s going for it?”
There was a little bit of a nonplussed pause before Neale got going again.
“So the presidency isn’t, it’s not a competitive process.”
Has anybody told Mary Lou this? Sinn Féin is all geared up.
Cathy was all over the shop now.
“We don’t know who it is? Like, who the – it’s going to be an Irish pres – ”
Both the Minister and the committee chair, John Lahart, jumped in.
“No ... it’s ... so ... it’s ... so ... no ...”
Cathy still wasn’t getting it.
“So how does it work?” she asked.
“The country takes on the presidency,” replied John patiently, as Neale babbled distractedly beside him.
“Yeah, but who? The country takes on the presidency but ...”
John tried again.
“The Taoiseach is the president.”
Aah, right.
“So he will be going for the …?” ventured Cathy.
Mercifully, the Minister intervened “just for clarity” with a quick rundown of what the European presidency is and how it works. Like, for example, how the president of the European Council is the former prime minister of Portugal: “That’s an individual and that’s different to the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe; that’s just based on the member state.”
And how the presidency rotates every six months and is currently held by Cyprus and then we will have it later this year and then it passes to Lithuania “and we know that we’ll host it again in 13 years”.
Which gives Sinn Féin oodles of time to prepare for the 2039 ballot for the President of Europe.
Last we heard of Neale Richmond, he was hunched in the foetal position in a corner of committee room two, rocking back and forth and gently weeping.
High flyer
The mandarins in the Department of Finance have the pip big-time over an early Sinn Féin byelection flyer dropped through letter boxes in Dublin Central this week.
We hear former minister for finance Paschal Donohoe is not too happy about it either.
The leaflet features a bright colour photo of a smiling and waving Donohoe on one side and a drab, blue-washed image of a couple clearly in despair with a pile of bills on their kitchen table.
“10 million to his new employer” is printed over the Paschal pic and “You got higher costs you can’t afford” is printed over the shot of the shaken couple.
And the big headline underneath says: “LAUGHING all the way to the bank.”
The reverse side outlines in some detail why, according to Sinn Féin, “Paschal Donohoe is laughing all the way to the bank – with your money”.
It tells readers that while they “were being screwed” with rip-off rents, house prices and groceries, the former minister for finance “gifted” €10 million of taxpayers’ money to the World Bank.
“Guess what? Months later, Paschal took up a €600,000 job with the very same bank.”
The flyer continues to insinuate he acted improperly while minister, adding: “What’s worse is that at the same time Paschal was lining the pockets of his soon-to-be employers, he was also putting the finishing touches on a budget that left you worse off.”
Officials in his former department are fuming over this “highly inaccurate” version of how the size of the contribution came about.
When the Dáil resumed in January, the Taoiseach, in response to Opposition questions, said claims that the then minister had ignored the advice of officials and “overpaid” the contribution to the World Bank were not correct.
He said the Department of Finance, after year-long negotiations conducted by a senior civil servant, gave the then minister a “high” option of €159.9 million and a “low” option of €141 million and he chose the low option.
Donohoe resigned from Government in November to take up a position as managing director and chief knowledge officer at the World Bank in Washington.
The leaflet concludes: “But this is how Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil do business. They won’t find the money to help you, but have no problem finding it to look after the big boys.”
The word in Merrion Street is that Paschal has seen the leaflet and is considering taking legal action against Sinn Féin.
As the popular saying goes, we “reached out” to him on Thursday and asked if this is true, but unusually for him he didn’t – as Paschal is wont to say – respond back.
Sashes in the Seanad
The Rose of Tralee, Katelyn Cummins, was in the Seanad on Tuesday when the Upper House heard statements on apprenticeships.
Minister of State for Higher Education Marian Harkin was delighted to welcome Katelyn, a 20-year-old apprentice electrician and dairy farmer from Laois.
“I’ve met you before,” said the Minister. “And do you know something, I think you, I think you have done more for the promotion of apprenticeships than any Government programme or any Ministers speaking about it because when people see what you can be, then they understand it could be for them.”
Katelyn is currently competing in Dancing with the Stars on RTÉ television and she hotfooted it straight from rehearsals to the Seanad. She was accompanied by her apprentice supervisor and sponsor, John Dwan, his wife, Noreen, and Steve Cronly, director of operations for the Rose of Tralee Festival.
The reigning Rose was invited to sit in on the discussion by the two newest members of the Seanad Independent Group, Joe Conway and Aubrey McCarthy. Both Joe, a former school principal, and Aubrey, founder of the Tiglin charity, have a keen interest in adult and second-chance education.
Seanad Cathaoirleach and proud Kerryman Mark Daly was thrilled to have the Rose of Tralee in his midst. His fellow county man, Senator Mike Kennelly (FG), while delighted to see Katelyn, was also slightly disappointed that he wasn’t her escort in Leinster House.
[ Rose of Tralee winner Katelyn Cummins ‘delighted’ to represent women in tradesOpens in new window ]
“I had you on my list to invite up here,” he exclaimed when they met in the anteroom. There was the usual clamour for photographs from Senators. Luckily, Katelyn had her sash on standby.
Oireachtas protocol meant she could not wear it while in the corridors or in the chamber as the Rose of Tralee festival is a commercial event. However, such was the demand for photos when she went for dinner with Joe and Aubrey in the Members’ restaurant, she snuck on the sash, but not while eating.
And speaking of sashes and Independent senators, Michael McDowell unexpectedly found himself in the spotlight recently when he chaired a University College Dublin Literary and Historical Society debate on a united Ireland. One of the speakers was the DUP MP Gregory Campbell, who made some controversial comments to President Catherine Connolly when they met in Derry during her first trip to Northern Ireland.
“You’re in our country. I’ll be in your country tonight,” he told her, declaring it “a bit regrettable” that she constantly referred to Derry in her speech and never “Londonderry”.
As a matter of interest, Senator McDowell has since looked up the lyrics of that deeply cherished loyalist ditty The Sash My Father Wore. Gregory is, doubtless, familiar with its famous and lustily sung chorus:
“It is old but it is beautiful and its colours they are fine/ It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne.
“My father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore/ So on the 12th I proudly wear the sash my father wore.”
Booker man
The Taoiseach was answering questions on agriculture on Tuesday and he read out a statement on his Government policy and achievements in the sector to get the ball rolling.
Aontú’s Peadar Tóibín was deeply unimpressed by what he had to say.
“The script that you read out there has no relation at all to the reality for farmers. And if the backbenchers ever manage to overthrow you, I think there’s a Booker Prize for fiction in you when you retire.”
“Thank you,” smiled Micheál.
Peadar’s sidekick, Mayo deputy Paul Lawless, took up where his boss left off, lambasting the Taoiseach for his “hands-off” approach to the continuing Bord Bia controversy. “Your attitude can only be described as smug, with a lack of understanding and actually an unwillingness to engage with farmers.”
Micheál returned to Peadar’s literary reference.
“Deputy Tóibín suggested that I would be in line for the Booker Prize. I wish I would, could, be as good a writer to ever get the Booker Prize,” he sighed.
“You’re very good at fiction,” shot back Peadar.
The Taoiseach rounded on the two TDs for using language which “switched dramatically to credible, to terrible to the world’s going to collapse any moment”.
He looked across at them.
“Deputy Lawless and yourself, you’re the Doomsday Couple.”
In the same session, the Taoiseach admired Independent Barry Heneghan’s ability to slip in a question on the Clontarf flood alleviation measures into a debate on agriculture.
He said the local council was undertaking major works in the seafront area and there is “huge confusion” over lengthy road closures due to the laying of an arterial water pipe. Deputy Heneghan went along to an information open night held by the council but when he asked if he could take photos of the traffic plans, he wasn’t allowed.
As a person elected to represent the people of Dublin Bay North, “when a TD asks for photos of traffic management, they should be allowed get those drawings”.
Micheál agreed.
“Of course you should be allowed take photos,” he said, adding: “I presume you took them anyway.”
Barry said nothing. But the guilty smirk spreading across his face spoke volumes.
“So you did,” said the Taoiseach, “... given the form, like.”
Unsmart comment
Finally, the Euractiv news website reports on a minor online exchange between MEP Regina Doherty and Bill White, described as “a staunchly pro-Maga ambassador to Belgium”.
Apparently the FG MEP for Dublin had posted a video on Instagram about online safety. The ambassador left a one-word comment under it.
“Stupid.”
She instantly replied: “Ambassador, why so?”
He deleted his comment.
He told Euractiv: “President Trump and his administration call immediately for freedom of speech online in Europe ... Calling for more regulation is, in fact, unsmart.”
Regina replied: “Free speech is clearly intact. The ambassador was perfectly free to call me ‘stupid’ on Instagram before quietly deleting it.”
