Shane Ross and top judge clash on reform
Varadkar was never going to please everyone with his reshuffle, but the signs are this Government won’t set a record for longevity, writes Philip Ryan
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar is facing a major headache as a serious confrontation threatens to break out between his Government and the judiciary.
Transport Minister Shane Ross last night said one of the country’s most senior judges had “entered into the political arena” by criticising his Judicial Appointments Bill.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly had described the minister’s reform of judicial appointments as “ill-advised” and “ill-conceived” at a Bar Association event on Friday.
The High Court President said the Government was pushing through legislation with “undue haste” compared to other laws which he believed should be prioritised.
Mr Justice Kelly’s attack comes as the Dail this week prepares to debate the Bill aimed at bringing an end to political patronage in the appointment of judges.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Mr Ross said he was “sorry” Mr Justice Kelly had “entered the political arena” with his comments on the Bill. “I have huge respect for Peter Kelly as a judge but he is mistaken in his belief that the Bill is being rushed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar told the Pride parade in Dublin he would campaign for gay rights in Northern Ireland where the Democratic Unionist Party has resisted bids to hold a marriage equality referendum. He also said he would pressure world leaders to recognise gay rights.
“Our rights are under attack and I will use my office for as long as I have it to make that point to countries in international forums,” he said.
It has also emerged Mr Varadkar does not intend to reprimand sacked Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor for her attack on a lack of diversity in his Government.
SACKED Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor will not be reprimanded by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar over her attack on the lack of diversity in his Government, the Sunday Independent has learned.
Sources close to Varadkar said he does not intend speaking to Mitchell O’Connor about her claim the Government was “not leading by example” on diversity. The source said the Taoiseach “will let it pass” rather than rebuke the only minister he demoted in his Cabinet reshuffle.
However, it has emerged Mitchell O’Connor is unlikely to receive an additional allowance paid to super junior ministers as it would have to be passed by a Dail vote. Fianna Fail is not prepared to support or abstain from a vote on an allowance for the minister and a Taoiseach’s Office source said this means it is doubtful her pay will rise.
Meanwhile, Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty yesterday said there is a “special place in hell” for women who do not support women.
“We all recognise how more difficult it is for women to get on in this country and if we don’t support each other then we are completely at a loss,” she said.
However, she added: “I think we have a very diverse group of people around the Cabinet table and it is nothing to do with men or women. You have a number of people who are gay, you have a number of people who are different religions and you have an atheist.”
Former Minister of State for Health Promotion Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy, who was the only other woman sacked by Varadkar last week said she was disappointed to see women in Government demoted.
She said a lot of progress had been made in getting women into politics through gender quotas but the next step was to see them take up ministerial portfolios.
THE Taoiseach was never going to keep everyone happy. There were a couple of TDs with their noses out of joint after Leo Varadkar announced his conservative Cabinet reshuffle — but most kept their powder dry in anticipation of last week’s appointment of ministers of State. On Tuesday afternoon, as Varadkar announced his junior minister reshuffle, he was surrounded by a smattering of scowling, disappointed faces. TDs try to temper their expectations ahead of the announcement but deep down each one them believes they have the ability to run a government department or at least take charge of a portfolio within one.
A junior ministry is a runner-up prize but it is still a title a TD can put on a monthly newsletter or campaign literature. They can also come home to a hero’s welcome in their constituencies after being bequeathed the honour of overseeing a portfolio. It’s not exactly the pinnacle of Irish politics but it is a good stepping stone for career advancement.
It also comes with a few extra quid — not something most right-thinking politicians would turn their nose up at. Although, some do complain that the expenses system is better for TDs despite backbenchers doing less work than their ministerial colleagues. But then some people love to complain. For the most part, however, TDs are not in it for the money. They are in it for the title and the prestige that comes with it. The ministerial pension at the end of a Dail career also helps matters but for the most part it’s about having control over something other than the representations that come into their constituency offices from local voters.
Two weeks ago, the big loser from Varadkar’s Cabinet reshuffle was Mary Mitchell O’Connor who was dropped from a senior role to a super junior ministerial position. The former jobs minister was naturally upset about the demotion and is understood to have vented this frustration last week to other Fine Gael ministers. To make matters worse, sources in the Taoiseach’s office this weekend say she is unlikely to be getting a salary top-up usually due to super junior ministers. This is because legislation needs to be passed by the Dail to provide for the salary increase and Fianna Fail has no interest in backing legislation to see State funding spent on a consolation prize ministry.
Either way, she remains one of Varadkar’s 19 ministers of State — just one off former Fianna Fail Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s record-breaking 20 junior ministers. By the end of last week, Varadkar probably wished he’d broken Bertie’s record and then some. He promoted five backbench TDs as ministers of State and dropped two who had been Coveney supporters.
Two of the sorest Fine Gael TDs must have been Carlow-Kilkenny’s Pat Deering and Dublin Fingal’s Alan Farrell. Deering, you might remember, went on Morning Ireland in February at the height of the Maurice McCabe and Tusla scandal to threaten a motion of no confidence in Taoiseach Enda Kenny over his handling of the controversy. Deering, who is a two-term TD, said he would put down a motion if Kenny did not outline when he intended stepping down as Fine Gael leader. Varadkar would deny he was behind Deering’s intervention but he was aware it was going to take place and could have stopped it should he have so wished.
Farrell, on the other hand, went as far as issuing a public statement saying he had lost confidence in Kenny as leader of Fine Gael. It was the boldest move of the failed coup in February and caused the most consternation among party members. Again, Varadkar is understood to have been aware the statement was to be released and did not stop Farrell issuing it.
The actions of Farrell and Deering should not be underestimated when the historians write about Varadkar’s accession to power. Both incidents directly accelerated Kenny’s retirement as leader of Fine Gael. Yes, the motion of no confidence didn’t happen, and those who spoke out against Kenny at the time did come across as limp-fisted when they eventually backed down. But it certainly forced Kenny to consider his position very carefully. If it had not been for Farrell and Deering’s intervention Kenny may still now be Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach. So both men will rightly feel aggrieved returning to their constituencies this weekend and will wonder what it is they have to do to be rewarded by Varadkar.
One of the biggest shocks of the reshuffle was the Taoiseach’s decision not to promote John Deasy. Since he was first elected to the Dail in 2002, Deasy has lived under Kenny’s shadow. At first he was appointed as Fine Gael’s justice spokesman in opposition but was dropped from the frontbench following a row over smoking in the Dail bar. He has always been a straight-talker who likes to call it like he sees it but this never curried him any favour with Kenny. But, with Kenny gone, Deasy was likely hoping his time would come under Varadkar.
On the morning of the reshuffle, Deasy and Varadkar’s mutual friend Lucinda Creighton tweeted: “Good luck to all hopeful junior ministers today — especially John Deasy, one of the smartest, most talented, wrongly overlooked for past 15 years.” Varadkar clearly did not have time to check Twitter before he made his decision, or chose not to take his friend’s advice — Deasy was overlooked again.
It was reported that the Waterford TD was furious over the snub but sources close to Deasy insist this was not the case. Disappointed maybe, but far from incensed over the trivialities of a ministry reshuffle. Besides, the popular TD is rightly focusing on his family at the moment following the passing of his father, Austin. A source close to the Taoiseach said he would have liked to promote Deasy but felt he was “not around much in the last year”. “He’s refused to sit on committees which has other backbenchers stretched and annoyed and he didn’t bring in councillors and members in the South East like other TDs,” the source added. Deasy will fight on in the Dail as he always has and is understood to have his eye on an EU parliament run in two years’ time.
The other key decision faced by Varadkar last Tuesday was how to strike a gender and geographical balance. His ‘no new TDs’ rule meant the majority of women available for selection were ruled out. However, he surprised many by dropping one of the three sitting female junior ministers — Marcella Corcoran Kennedy. The former minister of State for health promotion was naturally disappointed and even more so after Varadkar told her she was being dropped to make room for his supporters. Only one other junior minister, Dara Murphy, was dropped. So two out of the three ministers demoted (including Mitchell O’Connor) by Varadkar were women. Female Fine Gael TDs were naturally unimpressed by the snub.
“He loves to try and place himself in the same bracket as (Canadian prime minister) Justin Trudeau and (French president) Emmanuel Macron but none of his actions to date bear any correlation or resemblance to them,” one female Fine Gael TD said. There was a backlash against Varadkar over his male-dominated ministerial team but it was not as vocal or public as it had been when Kenny reshuffled his ministers in 2014.
However, Mitchell O’Connor’s public attack on the lack of “diversity” among Varadkar’s ministers will not do her any favours with the new Taoiseach. Especially after the diversity-concerned minister turned down an opportunity to take over an equality portfolio in the Department of Justice.
On geography, Kildare TDs, specifically Martin Heydon, were disappointed not to have a minister of some description in the county — the last Fine Gael minister in the commuter belt county was Alan Dukes in the 1990s. Fianna Fail practically took over Kildare in the last general election and now has four of the seven seats across the two Kildare constituencies. In Louth, where Sinn Fein has stolen a march on the other parties, TDs are also concerned about lack of ministries, especially when they look at neighbouring Co Meath where there are three ministers.
Realistically, a TD with little more than 12 months’ experience working in Leinster House would not expect to be made a minister. In advance of his appointment, Varadkar made sure the message got out that no new TDs would be elevated to the ranks of junior ministries. Ruling out any picks from the ‘Class of 2016’ did pose problems for the new Taoiseach. He is understood to highly rate some of the new crop of TDs. Dublin Rathdown TD Josepha Madigan would be at the top of the list, followed closely by Longford-Westmeath’s Peter Burke and Dublin South West’s Colm Brophy. Limerick’s Tom Neville and Dun Laoghaire TD Maria Bailey would have had an outside chance of landing a ministry if it was not for the no new TDs rule.
This was not to be their time but they can rest assured after the events in the Dail last weekend that this will not be a long-lasting Government and their elevation to the junior, or senior, ranks may not be that far away.
‘Ruling out any of the “Class of 2016” did pose problems’