Driving in park matters more to this Coalition than drink-driving senior minister
WHATEVER about a turn on the road, Barry Cowen has certainly created a diversion around his drink-driving ban.
The Agriculture Minister has put a few traffic cones on the road warning those approaching. A Cabinet minister is now demanding An Garda Síochána change the official record of the incident in which he was caught drink-driving.
Having a minister challenge the gardaí on this matter is not a great look for the new Government.
After delivering a personal statement to the Dáil, Cowen left many questions unanswered. In his statement, the minister recalled how on September 18, 2016, he travelled to attend the All-Ireland football final with a friend. Before the match, he had two drinks and, after the game, he had a light meal before driving home to Offaly.
“On the way to drop my friend home, I was stopped by gardaí and asked to participate in a breathalyser test,” he says.
The rest is history, except the minister is disputing the historical record.
Cowen did not mention in the Dáil why he was stopped by gardaí. The minister disputes the claim he says is on the official Garda record.
“I did not evade, or attempt to evade, a garda,” he says.
The Agriculture Minister goes on to make his own allegation of a political conspiracy against him, seemingly involving a member or members of An Garda Síochána.
“It is obvious that the disclosure of this information at this time in flagrant breach of the criminal law and my rights under data protection law is a disgraceful attempt to cause me the maximum personal and political harm,” he says in a statement.
Cowen is facing calls to come back into the Dáil to clarify matters and take questions from the Opposition. He won’t have to for now as there are two processes ongoing: (a) Cowen wants a change made to the Garda record; and
(b) the Garda watchdog is investigating the leak.
In those circumstances, the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil is unlikely to accede to a request for statements.
Besides, some members of the Opposition wanted to put questions to Cowen last week. Their objections to not being afforded an opportunity to do so were voted down by the Government parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, along with the Labour Party and some Independents.
Not such a bright idea then and looking a lot worse now.
The minister was given a free run in the Dáil to clear up a murky picture. He didn’t do it and the controversy rages.
Now a Cabinet minister is not only revealed to be a drunk-driver but also taking on the gardaí.
Politics is all about public image and perception. The optics aren’t great here now for the new FFG alliance.
Politics is all about public image. The optics aren’t great here now for the new FFG alliance
Fortunately, there are safety nets within the Coalition and guardians of integrity within this Government to keep an eye on each other.
Yup, except the Greens and Fine Gael are too busy beating each other up over the opening of the gates of the Phoenix Park.
All weekend, it wasn’t ‘Cowengate’ but ‘Gategate’ that was dominating proceedings in the coalition.
The gates of the largest enclosed public park in any capital city in Europe were closed during the Covid-19 restrictions. The move turned the park into a Garden of Eden for walkers and cyclists.
But the traffic has built up as the economy and society has reopened. Therefore, the gates were reopened to cars.
The decision was made by the dastardly, car-loving Blueshirts. The clean-living Greens are unimpressed and want it reversed. The Greens raised objections with officials from the Fianna Fáil Taoiseach and the Fine Gael Tánaiste’s office. They complained it was a surprise.
Green TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh says the order to reopen was a “poor decision, made in haste”. Fine Gael junior minister Patrick O’Donovan says he informed the four Government ministers in the Dublin West and Dublin Central constituencies – including the Greens’ Roderic O’Gorman – about his decision. The Greens were told but didn’t realise they were being told. A Green spokesman had described the decision as a “neck-breaking U-turn”. He’s talking about the park, by the way.
Driving in a park matters more to this coalition than a drink-driving minister.
Priorities, priorities.