Taoiseach only found out about his new minister’s drink-driving ban yesterday
:: Barry Cowen breathalysed after drinking at 2016 All-Ireland final
The incident occurred on September 18, 2016 at 8.18pm. The drawn All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Mayo was played that day.
Mr Cowen was stopped at a Garda checkpoint at Kilshanroe, Carbury, Co Kildare, at 8.18pm.
The location is near the M4
Dublin-to-Galway motorway at Enfield and close to the Offaly border.
He was driving an 09-D registered, light-coloured, Renault Megane.
Mr Cowen was 49 when the incident occurred.
Mr Cowen said he was “ashamed of it and embarrassed by it”.
“It was the day of the All-Ireland football final. I had two drinks before the game and something to eat after it and drove back to Offaly,” he said.
The Fianna Fáil TD was dropping a friend home on the way to his own home in Clara, Co Offaly.
Mr Cowen said he was driving towards Edenderry, near Carbery, when he was stopped by a garda and breathalysed.
“That test and the subsequent test at the station showed I was marginally over the limit,” he said.
Mr Cowen said he was penalised with a fixed notice and disqualification. “It was a stupid mistake and the fact it was marginal is no defence,” he said.
The ban arose as Mr Cowen was not driving on a full licence. He was categorised as a ‘specified driver’ as he was driving on a Learner Permit.
As a result, he was hit with the three-month ban. A driver on a full licence would have got penalty points and not a ban for the offence.
The case did not go to court as the level of alcohol was within the lower levels.
At the time, the law on drink-driving determined a concentration 10mg to 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath as being over the limit for learner drivers.
The Taoiseach only found out about Mr Cowen’s drink-driving disqualification when contacted by the Irish Independent for comment.
“I first became aware of this issue on Friday afternoon. I have spoken to Minister Cowen and I accept that his remorse about this incident is genuine.
“I am disappointed that I learned about it in this way
and have made that clear to him,” he told this newspaper last night.
Mr Martin is understood to be raging with Mr Cowen.
He spoke with the Agriculture Minister last night.
The Taoiseach had to tell his Coalition partners, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, about Mr Cowen’s disqualification.
Mr Cowen also admitted he had not informed the Taoiseach previously. When asked if he should have told Mr Martin, he said: “Should I have? That’s a matter of opinion. I accept my punishment in this civil matter,” he said.
“It hasn’t impinged on my ability to do my job.”
Mr Cowen repeated that he was sorry.
“I am profoundly sorry and acknowledge it was an appalling lapse and one which I have to accept and learn from, as have many others,” he said.
At the time of the incident, Mr Cowen was Fianna Fáil’s frontbench spokesman for Housing, Planning and Local Government.
In response to a query from the Irish Independent detailing the event, the Garda Press Office said: “A road traffic incident occurred on the 18/09/2016 at Kilshaneroe, Carbury, Co Kildare, which resulted in a Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (FCPN) being issued.
“It is An Garda Síochána policy not to identify or confirm the identity of any person involved in a Garda interaction.”
Mr Cowen was appointed as the Minister for Agriculture last Saturday by the Taoiseach. He was a member of the Fianna Fáil negotiating team in the coalition talks with Fine Gael and the Green Party and has served as the party’s public expenditure spokesman for the past two years.
Apology
Mr Cowen has been a TD since 2011, taking the seat held before him by his brother, former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, and their late father, Ber Cowen, almost continuously since 1969.
The Agriculture Minister was scheduled by Fianna Fáil to appear on RTÉ’s flagship political programme ‘The Week In
Politics’ tomorrow morning.
Mr Cowen’s apology for drink driving comes at the end of a fractious opening week for the new Government and Mr Martin in particular.
The Taoiseach has faced a rebellion in his own party over his ministerial selections.
Mr Cowen is one of the five full Cabinet ministers that Mr Martin selected ahead of Government Chief Whip Dara Calleary and others last Saturday.
Several Fianna Fáil TDs, including Mr Calleary, Michael Moynihan, Willie O’Dea and Jackie Cahill, have expressed their disappointment or anger at being left out of the ministerial line-up.
Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan turned down a junior ministerial position, committing himself to voicing the party’s identity in Government from the backbenches.
The failure to include a full Cabinet minister from the west of Ireland in his Cabinet has resulted in a regional and grassroots backlash against Mr Martin.
Mr Cowen’s offence will now raise questions about Mr Martin’s judgment.