MICHEÁL ISSUES FIERY REBUKE TO FF REBEL JIM
TAOISEACH Micheál Martin is again feeling the heat from one of his most rebellious TDs, Jim O’Callaghan.
However, the Fianna Fáil leader described claims by the backbench TD that he mishandled the resignation of former EU commissioner Phil Hogan as ‘gross hyperbole’.
Mr Hogan resigned as EU trade commissioner following his attendance at the Oireachtas Golf Society gala dinner in Clifden, Co. Galway, last month.
Before that Mr Martin publicly put pressure on Mr Hogan to step down.
Mr O’Callaghan, who is widely expected to challenge for the leadership of the party when Mr Martin steps down as Taoiseach, told Newstalk radio yesterday that he believed Ireland’s national interest was ‘damaged’ over the resignation.
He said of the trade portfolio in the EU: ‘I think by losing it, we’ve damaged the country’s national interest.’
However, Mr Martin slapped down his remarks and accused his party colleague, who turned down a junior ministry in Justice when the Government was formed, of spreading ‘gross hyperbole’.
He said later: ‘First of all, it hasn’t damaged our national standing at all.
‘That is gross hyperbole, I just have to say that straight up. That is just not the case. I know it is not the case.
‘In terms of the allocation of the portfolio, that is a matter for the president of the Commission. I have had good discussions with the president of the Commission and I am not going to pre-empt the decision of the president of the Commission.’
One of Mr O’Callaghan’s party colleagues told the Irish Daily Mail last night that while ‘Jim will always be up to something’, it was ‘unhelpful’ given the current crisis the country is in. ‘He went out and defended [Phil] Hogan when he was public enemy number one. Everyone was thinking, “What are you doing Jim? you’ve made a mistake here”. It looks like he’s doubling down now,’ the source said.
Speaking at the launch of the Government’s Stay and Spend Scheme yesterday in Dublin, Mr Martin confirmed that he will put forward two ‘strong’ candidates to replace Mr Hogan as Ireland’s EU Commissioner later today.
The continuing divisions within Government were also laid bare yesterday when Tánaiste Leo Varadkar declared on national radio that he believed ‘wet pubs’ should be given the chance to reopen and prove that they can operate safely.
The position, which is clearly at odds with his own Government’s decision to keep pubs closed, has heightened tensions within the Coalition. Speaking to Live 95, Mr Varadkar said publicans should be ‘given that chance’ to reopen. He said: ‘Wet pubs are open in every country in Europe now, albeit with restrictions, and we’ve also seen how restaurateurs and gastro-pubs have done a really good job.
‘Pubs serving food and restaurants have been open for months now. There are very few examples of clusters of infections in restaurants or gastro-pubs,’ he said.
His comments prompted Mr Martin to issue a veiled reminder to the Tánaiste that he is part of government and not a political commentator. Responding, Mr Martin said: ‘Government acts collectively on all of these decisions and has acted collectively since the very beginning, based on public health advice.’