Cowen damaged goods as his ‘mea culpa’ road trip leads to a cul-de-sac

THE result was determined before the match. Barry Cowen had the pitch to himself as the new government had ensured he wouldn’t face any questions about his drink-driving ban. The Fianna Fáil TD has changed from his past vow of silence on the matter.

The Agriculture Minister’s statement to the Dáil was more of a repeated and abject apology. Beyond the apology, he didn’t really add anything to the equation. He hasn’t really explained how he reached 49 years of age without ever holding a full driving licence.

Mr Cowen says he made a “stupid, stupid mistake” and you should never drink a drop of alcohol when driving.

Except he did. And it doesn’t seem to be that unusual.

Fianna Fáil’s longest-serving councillor in Offaly, Eamon Dooley, defended his minister to the hilt, saying “it wasn’t as if he was falling around the place or anything”.

“Most people that would have two pints before a match and spend three or four hours at a match, you’d expect you’d be OK, you wouldn’t expecting that you’d be [over the limit]. I wouldn’t say it ever dawned on him that he was over the limit,” he told the ‘Offaly Express’ in a fascinating interview.

“If every fellow who was appointed held up his hand and said ‘I had two pints and I drove home’, I’d say we’d have very few ministers,” he added.

The official government policy is supposed to be: ‘Never ever drink and drive.’

Clearly the mantra hasn’t reached all parts of the largest government party.

Listeners to ‘Liveline’ will have heard the families of those who lost loved ones were in no doubt in their verdict.

The focus on Mr Cowen wasn’t just on the drink-driving ban. Rather, there are questions about several other aspects of his account – he was 49 and was driving on a learner permit when the incident occurred.

The minister said there’s been speculation about how someone of his age could have been driving on either a learner permit or a provisional licence.

“The fact is that before the recent and proper reforms of the system it was not uncommon for people of all ages and levels of experience to drive with either a provisional or a learner permit. However, this was bad practice and I clearly should have regularised my position much sooner,” he said. Clear as mud.

Many people are scratching their heads about how a man working in business and public life for decades didn’t have a driving licence until he was over the age of 50.

The Green Party was also waiting to see what emerged about Mr Cowen’s reason for not being on a full licence.

Road safety campaigners were clear Mr Cowen hasn’t explained the issue adequately. The Parc road safety group says he has not answered any of the outstanding questions. Its chairperson

Susan Grey said she wanted answers about his record. In particular, his failure to address his speeding conviction three months before the drink-driving incident.

Mr Cowen now wants to move on to focus on his job as Agriculture Minister. His problem is his authority is enormously damaged as a result of this affair and his handling of it.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has made it clear he should have known about Mr Cowen’s ban. The Taoiseach says he is “disappointed” he wasn’t told about the incident.

His Cabinet colleague, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, admitted his view of the minister was “damaged”.

“I think any time someone makes a mistake like that, of course, it damages your opinion of that person,” he said on RTÉ’s ‘Today with Sarah McInerney’ yesterday.

Labour Party leader Alan Kelly yesterday described the carry on in government, especially around Fianna Fáil, as “cute hoor politics”.

Micheál Martin just wants the issue to go away. After upsetting the party faithful with his ministerial promotions, he can’t afford not to back one of their own. The Government want us to believe it is all action and urgency after taking five months to put a coalition together.

Fine Gael and the Greens are happy to stay schtum and not ask him any questions about his behaviour at the risk of destabilising this government.

Barry Cowen: banned for drink-driving on a learner licence, on which he also drove unaccompanied and was fined for speeding. And a Cabinet minister here to stay.

It’s a great little nation.

Fine Gael and the Greens are happy to keep schtum