Greens back down on demand for answers on Cowen learner licence
:: U-turn set to reignite fears party leadership will not stand up to FF and FG in Government
THE Green Party has backtracked on its demand that under-fire Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen explain why he was on a provisional driver’s licence when he was stopped for drink driving.
Green leader Eamon Ryan and his deputy, Catherine Martin, both publicly insisted Mr Cowen should address how he reached age 49 without a full licence.
However, they now both rowed back on their demands and accepted the Fianna Fáil TD’s Dáil statement, even though he made no attempt to explain why he did not acquire a licence until after he was banned for drink driving.
Even after the families of road victims called on Mr Cowen to give details about his licence history, Transport Minister Mr Ryan would say campaigners were “right to expect that from now on politicians will lead by example”.
The U-turn is sure to raise concerns among Green Party members who feared Mr Ryan would not stand up to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in Government.
However, there was a similarly muted response from his leadership rival Ms Martin yesterday after she initially said the minister should address the driving licence issue.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said he had been given “assurances” by Taoiseach Micheál Martin there would be no more “revelations of any offences” related to Mr Cowen.
“He took his punishment for the offence that he committed,” Mr Varadkar said.
Ahead of Mr Cowen’s Dáil statement on Tuesday, Mr Ryan said: “The question everyone will have I imagine later on in the Dáil today is why was he driving on a provisional licence for so long.
“I think it wasn’t just the drink-driving, it was also that. It was the reason he was banned from driving for three months. So I presume he will answer that question in the Dáil later on.”
In his personal statement, Mr Cowen said it was “not uncommon” for people of all ages to drive with either a provisional licence or learner permit. “However, this was bad practice and I clearly should have regularised my position much sooner,” he added.
The minister gave no further information about when he took a test or how he avoided the need for a licence until he was nearly 50 years old.
On Tuesday evening, while speaking on Virgin Media’s ‘The Tonight Show’, Ms Martin said she had not seen the statement in the Dáil but insisted he should reveal why he was not on a full licence at the time of the incident.
“If the issue of why he wasn’t on a licence wasn’t addressed in the statement, then that needs to be addressed, the sooner the better,” the Dublin Rathdown TD said.
Yesterday morning on RTÉ’s ‘Morning Ireland’, she toned down her comments further when asked about the outstanding questions raised about by road safety campaigners after Mr Cowen’s speech.
“I think that was the one issue that wasn’t addressed last night and, yes, I think he may have to reach out to them and explain that himself,” he said.
Ms Martin did not respond to requests for comment on whether she still believed Mr Cowen should address the questions or whether she wanted more information from him.
In a statement released to the Irish Independent , Mr Ryan said: “Minister Barry Cowen has acknowledged that what he did was wrong, in terms of driving while on a learner permit.
“I welcome the fact that the Clancy amendment last year has improved enforcement of the provision that learner drivers must be accompanied by a fully licensed driver.
“This episode highlights the importance of this legislation in improving road safety. Road safety campaigners and victims are right to expect that from now on politicians will lead by example.”
During government formation talks, there were concerns among senior Green Party figures that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would railroad them into decisions once they were in power.
Ms Martin said after the deal was done she would like the agreement reviewed regularly and renegotiated before Mr Varadkar is appointed as Taoiseach. However, the Tánaiste insisted this was not part of the deal that the parties had agreed.
Green Party members who were against the deal with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were holding their counsel yesterday after their party leaders decided to back Mr Cowen despite having their demands ignored by their Government partners. Fine Gael also accepted Mr Cowen’s explanation for failing to acquire a driver’s licence until after he was banned from driving for three months.
Fianna Fáil TDs were yesterday still seeking to identify the source of Cowen revelations.