John Downing: FF Minister failed to put issue to bed

VASTLY less incoming fire yesterday. So, Fianna Fáil – and indeed its coalition colleagues – will hope the controversy about Barry Cowen’s driving misadventures is finally limping out of the gate. The spin doctors can expect a bit of afters in ‘that was the week that was’ resumés in newspapers and on radio and television into the weekend. But, with a bit of judicious spacefilling facing into this new Government’s third week, they should be able to turn a new page and heave a sigh of relief.

It calls to mind the old media adviser’s adage: “I’m never sure how to quench a fire – but I know how to start another one.”

Some will say it’s high time to “move on” from Mr Cowen’s drink-driving story since he has paid his penalty and twice publicly shrived himself in a most remarkable way. But the difficulty is that too many unanswered questions remain.

The new Agriculture Minister’s driving after drinking was reprehensible. But it was at the lower end of the offence bracket, he did take his penalties associated with this, and it did happen almost four years ago.

Right enough, it was questionable whether he should have told the Taoiseach before he was named the new Agriculture Minister. But in its way that is also quite understandable if not entirely excusable.

But, since this story broke in the Irish Independent last Saturday, the most puzzling part of things was why was a 49-year-old man from a small midlands town, with scant public transport services, driving for decades on a provisional licence?

Today, five full days later, we are not much wiser on that issue. Mr Cowen has offered us a generic answer to the effect that he was one of many people in Ireland who went through a large chunk of their lives driving without a full licence.

It was “bad practice” – but it was the reality. Loopholes in the licensing laws and regulations in practice facilitated this for a very long time.

And change on this issue has come slowly, much of it after angry lobbying by people who lived the heartbreak of losing loved ones in road smashes involving unqualified drivers who were not accompanied by fully licensed drivers. Figures published in this newspaper yesterday showed the extent of this issue which is abating only in recent years.

Barry Cowen tells us he “regularised his position” – but he has not specifically said when he passed his driving test. That is important because of penalty points arising from the drink-driving offence and a speeding conviction three months earlier.

It is also important when it comes to a question of whether he displayed ‘L’ plates before he got the test and ‘N’ plates for the requisite period afterwards. It also raises questions about whether he was accompanied by a qualified driver in certain circumstances.

If any, or all, of the above seems mean and nit-picking, just remember two things.

One is that Mr Cowen has helped make our laws since 2011.

Second is that the rest of us have to obey those laws.