Halligan’s brother wades into sexism storm with attack on ‘claims culture’
Having unequivocally apologised for his wrongdoing and undertaken to pay the woman, he shouldn’t resign and he shouldn’t be sacked
FINE Gael has moved to defuse the sexism row involving Junior Minister John Halligan amid serious concerns that the controversy is threatening the stability of the Government.
In a pointed intervention last night, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan criticised Mr Halligan after it emerged he asked a senior civil servant during an interview whether she was married or had children. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) awarded the woman €7,500 in compensation.
But Mr Flanagan told the Irish Independent that Mr Halligan’s actions were not a “hanging offence”.
“He was wrong. He has apologised. He will pay the €7,500 plus costs. The lesson has been learned,” Mr Flanagan said.
“Having unequivocally apologised for his wrongdoing and undertaken to pay the woman, he shouldn’t resign and he shouldn’t be sacked.”
Mr Halligan tried to draw a line under the controversy yesterday, insisting that he was sorry and would pay the compensation bill if necessary.
But he caused further confusion after he claimed that he asked male applicants for the post the same questions – before admitting he could not recall whether this was the case.
He said he was disappointed in himself for asking the woman the question, but said he never intended to cause offence.
“That was all I was trying to do, it was a mistake, a genuine mistake,” he said.
He told RTÉ’s ‘Today With Seán O’Rourke’ that he runs a family friendly operation and has a number of women with children on his books.
But the controversy escalated yesterday after Mr Halligan’s brother gave an interview to Eamon Keane on WLR radio.
Brendan Halligan lashed out at the decision by the WRC. He described the ruling as “fundamentally wrong” and said he did not believe his brother should foot the bill.
His comments appear to put him at odds with his brother, who said he would contact the WRC to discuss the issue of how he could cover the costs associated with the decision.
In the interview, Brendan Halligan cited a number of areas of trauma, such as rape and abortion, saying that his brother has always stood up for victims.
And he suggested that the WRC ruling was fuelled by what he described as a “claims culture” in Ireland.
While insisting that his brother’s comments were “wrong” and “careless”, Brendan Halligan said it was the incorrect decision to issue a €7,500 fine.
“I’m saying he shouldn’t pay it. It is my view he shouldn’t pay it. I’ll tell you why. I think the diktat that came down from Workplace Relations Commission... I think it was fundamentally wrong in making that sort of payment for that sort of discrimination,” he told the ‘Déise AM’ programme.
While insisting that he did not want to “minimalise” or “diminish” the woman’s experience, he then cited a number of other areas of trauma.
“What I call distress and trauma is a woman or a girl who has been raped. And she makes a decision that she wants to go and have an abortion and she can’t do it because the supports aren’t in this country to do it,” he said.
“What I consider distress and trauma is somebody that’s after being violated or abused and doesn’t have the supports there.”
Brendan Halligan attacked Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger, saying that there was a concerted effort to force his brother out of the job.
And he attacked what he described as a “claims culture” in Ireland.
“I think it becomes easy for someone to say they’ve been discriminated against or hard done by,” he said, stressing that he is “not talking about this case particularly”.
Senior Fine Gael ministers last night said they were keen to draw a line under the controversy. Education Minister Richard Bruton said it was clear Mr Halligan was sorry.
“John made a mistake and I think he has come out and owned up to the mistake. He is obviously going to pay the money involved. But I have absolute confidence in John as a colleague and as a committed member of Government. He has admitted his mistake. I suppose everyone makes mistakes from time to time. But [in] his wider commitment to social reform... progress is unquestioned.”