NAUGHTEN: I TOLD LEO OF ALL DINNERS ON WEDNESDAY
THE Government’s future was brought into question last night by the loss of a second Cabinet Minister – who then used his resignation speech to attack the Taoiseach in the Dáil chamber.
A day of extraordinary upheaval in Dáil Éireann saw Communications Minister Denis Naughten announced his resignation to the Dáil after stating that ‘it is clear’ that the Taoiseach did not have confidence in him.
The announcement came after Mr Naughten told the Taoiseach of a further four private dinners with a businessman involved in the sole remaining bid for the rural broadband plan. The meetings were in addition to a meeting in New York, details of which emerged a week ago, and an encounter in Leinster House, which emerged on Wednesday.
The meetings between the Minister and businessman David McCourt, have led to accusations by the Opposition that the bidding process for the contract is ‘compromised’.
A dispute erupted between Mr Naughten and the Taoiseach yesterday as to when Mr Varadkar was told about the additional four dinners with Mr McCourt.
Speaking shortly after Mr Naughten had announced his resignation, the Taoiseach told the Dáil that he had met Mr Naughten on Wednesday evening and asked him to outline his meetings with Mr McCourt.
‘I was satisfied with the explanations he gave. He subsequently contacted me before midnight to inform me that he had just remembered that he had a private dinner in Mr McCourt’s home in 2017. This was organised by Minister of State Breen who was also present,’ Mr Varadkar told the Dail.
‘Deputy Naughten suggested that in order to protect the National Broadband Plan project that he be reshuffled to another Ministry, or that responsibility for broadband be assigned to another Minister. I said that I would reflect on it overnight and meet him in the morning.’
However, the Taoiseach said he met Mr Naughten yesterday morning when the Minister told him that he had ‘at least three other private dinners with Mr McCourt.’
No officials were present at these dinners and no minutes were taken, the Taoiseach said. ‘He had not informed me of these additional meetings either when we met yesterday or when we spoke last night.’
Mr Varadkar said that he had ‘no doubt’ that Mr Naughten’s intentions were honourable but that he had left himself open to allegations of a conflict of interest’. The Taoiseach said he had asked Richard Bruton to take responsibility for the Department of Communications on a temporary basis.
Mr Naughten went on the SixOne News to dispute the Taoiseach’s version of events, saying he had told Mr Varadkar about all four additional dinners in the phone call shortly before midnight. He said he had also offered that responsibility for the broadband plan be offloaded to another Minister while he stayed in position.
The other ‘options’ he offered were that there be an independent review of his actions, or that the Opposition be given the opportunity to engage with the board commissioning the tender. ‘Seemingly that didn’t suit the Taoiseach’s plan,’ Mr Naughten said.
Mr Naughten added that despite the Taoiseach saying in an interview on Virgin Media One’s Ireland-AM that he had been reassured by his Minister’s explanations ‘so far’ – Mr Varadkar had asked him to consider his position. He said the ‘frustrating thing’ was that he would only progress the broadband agenda by meeting people from the private sector. ‘Because of the optics now I’m in a position where I can’t continue as minister,’ he added. But Mary Lou McDonald described the events in Leinster House as a ‘fiasco’.
She said there was little doubt the entire tendering process had been compromised. ‘The real casualty here in is the 542,000 households that still await this fabled broadband.’
Last night, Minister of State Pat Breen said he had hosted the meal with Mr Naughten and Mr McCourt as he had got to know Mr McCourt ‘on a personal basis’ as Mr McCourt lives ten miles from him in Co. Clare. ‘To my knowledge, the National Broadband Plan was not discussed at the dinner.’
‘That didn’t suit the Taoiseach’