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The Taoiseach has maintained that he has confidence in the Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald, but says he is not happy that on at least two occasions in the last week the Department of Justice gave him misinformation.
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald is fighting for her political life today after her hour long grilling last night over an email relating to the former Garda Commissioner’s legal strategy in the O’Higgins Commission.
It centres around an email, which mentions specifically a criminal complaint being used to question Maurice McCabe’s motivation.
Catch up here:
Micheál Martin says the email in “damning” and states that it should have raised alarm bells for the minister.
It is simply not credible that the minister would not remember the email, he says, given the enormity of the McCabe scandal.
He says what is far worse is the did nothing when she got this email.
She became a bystander to a legal strategy that sought to undermine McCabe. Martin says it was kept quiet for four days, with the Taoiseach “inadvertently” misleading the Dáil.
“She may have not thrown him to the wolves but she allowed them free rein,” says Martin.
Here’s the email in questions:
Leo Varadkar repeats the line that the Minister had “no hand, act or part” in the legal strategy – which in fairness, is not the question being asked.
The Taoiseach says he spoke to McCabe for 20 mins last night and he McCabe disputes that the allegation of sexual abuse was raised at the O’Higgins Commission – which the Taoiseach says has everyone confused.
He stands by the minister and says she did what she should have done. Varadkar says he does have confidence in the Tánaiste.
Martin says he doesn’t accept his reply. He says no one is saying she had a part in the legal strategy.
He also wants to know why the individuals who sent and received this email was omitted from what TDs were given. He wants to know who the correspondence was sent.
Varadkar says “there is no one here that I or the government is trying to protect”.
He says the email was sent to the Assistant Secretary from Dept of Justice and it was sent to a number of people in the department, including to the minister’s private secretary who then sent it on to her.
“At the heart of this is a terrible vista. An appalling set of actions were afoot… simply not good enough to say a minister in charge of a portfolio on the most explosive issue in this Dail in the last three years, merely stands by,” says Martin.
Varadkar has asked the department to trawl through all emails to make sure that all relevant documents have been sent to the Commission of Investigation.
He says he is also revisiting a report into the functionality of the Department of Justice.
Mary Lou McDonald is up now and she says there are now questions over the Tanaiste’s “competence and judgement” given the email sets out the former Garda Commissioner’s strategy “to undermine and attack the credibility”.
She points out what Alan Kelly has observed that the email was sent to Fitzgerald three days before the cross-examination actually took place at the O’Higgins Commission.
She said she did not give the answers that were needed last night and said her role in the second most powerful job in government be tenable.
I have been given incomplete information from the Department, says Varadkar.
He says he is not happy which is why he is asking for an update on the Toland report on the functionality, operation and modernisation of the Justice Department.
The Taoiseach again reiterates that she had not hand, act or part in the legal strategy – which no one is disputing.
Varadkar says trying to distinguish between May 15 and May 18 is “moving the goalposts”. Fitzgerald says she only found out about it after the opening statements had been made.
She is now reading out the record of the Dáil and says the Taoiseach is misleading the Dáil again. He says he is happy to correct the Dáil if he checks back on what he said.
Mick Barry is up now and attacking the Taoiseach over the homelessness crisis.
He is highlighting a case in which an apartment complex is being refurbished so that it will appeal to “young professionals”.
He says tenants of this block have been told to vacate – some on Dec 20th. Another had their notice to vacate sellotaped to their door.
He says the action of this vulture fund are utterly unacceptable.
Varadkar says homelessness is something the government “feels very deeply about”.
Varadkar says he has read about the case in the newspapers but says the minister has committed to changing the rules around substantial refurbishment and what it means.
He thinks it is particularly cruel to evict people before Christmas.
“I absolutely condemn that … it could certainly be left into the new year,” says Varadkar.
Varadkar says the notices should be withdrawn and those that live in that development should be given adequate time to find a new home.
“Not good enough Taoiseach,” says Barry, who points out that this is not a minor refurbishment, it is going to cost €3m. But his point is that it is vulture funds that have got their claws in to the property market.
“Sometime apartments need refurbishment, there are fire safety issues there are cases where they need substantial refurbishment,” says Varadkar.
He says he does not know the specifics of this apartment block but says no one should be evicted before Christmas and should be given “many months” to find a new house.
Michael Healy Rae says something is wrong with our health system, referring to last night’s RTE Investigates programme which found a failure by the HSE and hospital managements to properly implement the 2008 Hospital Consultants’ Contract across acute public hospitals.
In one case a consultant observed for eight weeks was working less than 13 hours per week on average in the public system.
The Taoiseach says it was a very interesting piece of investigative journalism.
“I would like to say I was surprised from the outcome,” says Varadkar, but adds that there are a “minority” that are not living up their contractual obligations.
“Deeply offensive” is how he describes such actions.
When he was Health Minister he asked for an audit on something similar in relation to consultants working in emergency hospitals – this was never done, he says.
The new Slainte care health plan will be a game changer. He says this would never be allowed in the school system, but it is allowed in the health service. That is wrong, he says.
There are “perverse” incentives at play he says.
The Taoiseach says the IMO (the group the represents consultants) has said this happens on rare occasions. “I don’t think they can deny it now,” he adds.
He says getting TDs to log in ensures that politicians are at Leinster House – though he says it doesn’t ensure they are working – it at least says they have come to work.
“I don’t think it would be huge imposition to ask them to clock in and tag in to ensure they are on the premises,” he says.
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‘Nation is a thorn in Company’s side’. That is a scary headline when you think of it.
When will Facebook get their own Private Military Force I wonder?
I’d imagine they’ve intelligence gathering capabilities to put most governments to shame.
And we happily give it that information out.
Imagine if “the government” told us it was now the law that we had to give all that personal data, and carry it around on a tracking device.
We would have all the lefties AND righties screaming blue murder.
Bill you can leave Facebook any time you’d like and that’s the end of their ability to track you, I’m not sure Government enforced tracking is even remotely similar.
Not true, you don’t have to use Facebook to be tracked by it.
All the bleaters who give out about the state and big brother watching you…all overlooking Facebook, Google Apple etcetc
Are you ok Huns?
Pm’d you there hun xoxoxo
Like if you cried
Wasn’t Merkel snuggling up to Facebook in an attempt to control what Germans were saying about her folly In inviting the Middle East , North Africa and Asia to come live in Europe , I wonder did they do what they were told ?
At the same time German exports are on a massive high, unlike us, the French and the rest of EU. Go figure.
It’s possible to be over reliant on exports though. Leaves you very exposed if the world economy takes a dump. It’s a very fine balance.
Facebook is a free service from the user perspective that allows you to do a great deal. If it didn’t exist you’d have to invent it. If you want to use a free service then you have to expect a quid pro quo. What is required is that companies such as Facebook are clear about the quid pro who.
There is a huge capacity to tweak your privacy settings on Facebook if you can be bothered to do so. The problem is that many users are not bothered.
The Germans have never been happy with companies like Facebook and Google who use their users’ data to provide what is essentially a commercial service. Apple do not use their user’s data to provide their services. They don’t need to. Their commercial model is different. Horses for courses.
The competition angle is highly contrived. What the Germans resent is that under EU law they are not in exclusive control of Facebook’s activities on their territory. They bitterly resent the notion that a little country like Ireland has such control because the EU HQ of Facebook is here. Strangely enough they have no problem with other aspects of EU law which have opened up internal EU markets to their industries. Like most large States the Germans are hypocrites.
It is easy to criticise Facebook but they have come a long way as has Google in terms of transparency of data use. Continued oversight is needed. But people have to take the time to protect their privacy on-line. Many do not.
Here’s the thing. Don’t like like how Facebook operates… Dont use it. Simple Don’t use a free service voluntarily and then complain about it
“…und das ist all you’ll ever be..”
Facebook’s problem is has to take a side in this freedom of speech debate, look at Twitter who have done the same thing. Twitters user based has dropped along with its share price since it started attacking freedom of speech of some of its users. Any social network platform that takes the wrong side will find to its cost it was an awful business decision.
Agree John.
Germans have bad experience of being spied on the East German Stassi for instance
http://www.mtv.com/news/2723688/germany-twitter-facebook-google-deal-hate-speech-refugees-migrants-muslims/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-faces-antitrust-investigation-in-germany-1456920796
there is huge pressure put on the likes of FB, Google etc by outside international political bodies like the UN Migration dept, EU commision etc. to censor all anti migrant speech and collect data on every one. From the stazi era i germany the average middle aged german is rightly concerned by the incremental erosion of their privacy and the censorship of things disliked by those at the top.
What is happening there now is a semi grassroots reaction to this led by worried german civil servants and concerned politicians. Merkel is all on board with the soviet era top down east german control.
have your say