TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has rejected the assertions made by former cabinet and party colleague Alan Shatter, who today said that Kenny put him under pressure to resign and that the Fine Gael leader has a “casual relationship with the truth”.
In a government statement rebuking Shatter, the former Minister for Justice’s resignation later where he said Kenny was “an extraordinary Taoiseach doing an extraordinary job” was referenced.
Furthermore, it was indicated that the Guerin report had been removed from all government websites.
Yesterday, Shatter issued a statement to say he welcomed the judgement from the Court of Appeal, which ruled that the “seriously damaging” conclusions of the Guerin report were reached “in breach of fair procedures”.
He called on the Taoiseach to arrange for the “immediate withdrawal of the report in its present form” from circulation and from the Houses of the Oireachtas, and said he was entitled to an immediate apology from Kenny on behalf of the State.
On RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke, Shatter reiterated these calls for redress for the manner in which he was treated, that led to his eventual resignation.
Shatter said he had got a “clear message” from Kenny that he had to go, when the Taoiseach said he wouldn’t be able to express confidence in him before the Dáil.
“The Taoiseach was wrong to have dealt with the matter they way he did,” Shatter claimed.
When asked if he was sacked by Enda Kenny, he said “yes, of course I was”.
Shatter said that the details of the Fennelly Report showed that Kenny, “in some areas, has a casual relationship with the truth”.
The Fennelly report concerned the circumstances of Martin Callinan stepping down as Garda commissioner.
He said there was a deafening silence from members of the Oireachtas on his ongoing legal challenge. He said, without the Court of Appeal judgement, any of them could be “wrongly denounced” in a report without stating their case or defending their name.
The former Minister also said he was mocked and accused of being arrogant for claiming no wrongdoing in the wake of the Guerin report.
Shatter added that there was never anything inappropriate said to him by former garda commissioner Martin Callinan or current commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan about Maurice McCabe.
Government response
In response to Shatter’s latest comment, a government report stated:
In a contribution to the Dáil on 25 May 2016 the Taoiseach said “I am very pleased to acknowledge that the O’Higgins report has found clearly that the former Minister acted properly at all times in relation to the handling of allegations made by Maurice McCabe.”
The Guerin report has been removed from all Government websites.
Can I refer you to Alan’s resignation letter when he said the following: “I believe you are an extraordinary Taoiseach doing an extraordinary job during what has been a very difficult time for our country and I want to thank you for all the assistance and support you have given to me.”
The Taoiseach rejects the charge made by Alan today.
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