SMOKES & DAGGERS
A mischievous mix of (mostly) news
JUST when you think this administration has appointed every adviser conceivable, another one arrives. In this case, the man doing the hiring is Charlie Flanagan, who has revealed that such is the pressure of work in Justice that he is hiring another adviser. In fairness, given the state of that department, Charlie may have a case. MICHEáL Martin may have been unimpressed with Leo Varadkar’s recent flit to Hungary, but the Fianna Fáil leader was certainly putting Leo in an awkward position with the query of what did the Taoiseach think the EU ‘should do when a member state tries to put the judiciary under the direct control of government, attacks journalists and tries to undermine funding for NGOs?’ Leo responded by observing that the party of Hungary’s illiberal prime minister Viktor Orban, pictured, ‘is part of the same political family as mine’. He quickly added: ‘It is fair to say we are at the opposite ends of the internal spectrum.’ ONE of the members of the Communications Committee grilling Minister Denis Naughten over the broadband debacle next week will be Michael Lowry. A Fine Gael member noted: ‘Say what you like, but at least Lowry has some experience in troubled bidding processes.’ THE raised profile for Catherine Noone is creating some dilemmas for Leo Varadkar, and more seriously for Paschal Donohoe. Noone, you see, has made it clear that she feels trapped in the more proletarian Dublin West. She can’t move south as she is blocked by the O’Connell sisters and Josepha Madigan. Hence, Catherine’s supporters have started to note there is a grand big space for a running mate in Paschal’s Dublin Central constituency. Pascal’s alternative is Noel Rock, thanks to a boundary change to Rock’s current Dublin North West constituency. One Fine Gael source says: ‘It’s a case of Paschal’s Choice but were Rock chosen Paschal would really be worried about his seat.’ So Catherine’s the safer bet. YESTERDAY’S Irish Times had a delightful anecdote from Davos. The Taoiseach, pictured, skipped out early from an IDA dinner to attend a nearby LGBT gathering. When he arrived, a rush of people lined up to shake his hand. One after the next, they told him they worked for Mastercard. Leo was surprised at the volume of gay employees at the one company. He only realised his mistake when an aide found him and told him he was at the wrong event. Flights to Davos: Lord only knows. Hotel Accomodation: On the taxpayer. Crashing the Mastercard reception? Priceless!