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FIANNA FÁIL LEADER Micheal Martin has said the appointment of former Attorney General Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal “stinks”.
The appointment of Whelan to the court has been criticised this week, being dubbed “nakedly political”. It was also confirmed that the new Social Protection Minister was not aware that Whelan was to be appointed a judge before Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
It was announced on Tuesday she would leave her post after six years, a day before Leo Varadkar took office. It has been confirmed to Gavan Reilly of Today FM that she had not made an application for the role on the Court of Appeal.
Speaking as new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced his cabinet last night, Martin said that the appointment was indicative of “broken promises of reform”. He said the job on the Court of Appeal had been held open for three months after the retirement of Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan in March.
Martin took specific aim at Shane Ross, long a vocal opponent of political judicial appointments.
“This is not something that can just be gotten over with a casual ‘ah sure, we’ll do better next time’.
“Why was 23 years of precedent abandoned for no real reason? Why was no specific open advertisement issued in recent months? Why was the job held open for three months, then filled in this manner?
“Most of all, why did a minister (Shane Ross) once staunchly opposed to all political involvement in judicial appointments quietly wave through this appointment? Was it anything to do with an interim report to facilitate the opening of Stepaside Garda Station?”
In response, Ross accused Fianna Fáil of “offering pork barrel deals by the bejaysus” when negotiating a government deal.
Unaware
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, newly-minted Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty defended the move.
However, she said that she was not aware it would happen before Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
“Máire Whelan is an eminently qualified judge. She has done an absolutely super job for this government and the previous government.
“More importantly, she was available and I know she is going to make an absolutely excellent judge.
“She is a bounty of wisdom, she is calm, she’s measured, she’s mature.
“I can’t speak for every member, I can only speak for myself, but no I didn’t know she was going to be appointed, it wasn’t on the documentation that was circulated in the days before the meeting.
“The appointment was put to cabinet and approved by cabinet.”
Doherty said that the government’s prerogative was to make judicial appointments and referred to a statement by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board which stated that there hadn’t been any sufficiently qualified candidates for the job.
Social Democrats co-leader Roisín Shortall called the appointment “nakedly political”.
“It makes a mockery of talk of reform and shows that the government does not believe in its own hype when it comes to ridding cronyism from the judicial system. I want to know whether this appointment was agreed by Minister Shane Ross who has been pushing for the Judicial Appointments Bill.”
TheJournal.ie has asked the Government press office for comment on the appointment.
Makes Ross look very silly considering all the mouthing he did about the process.
@Meekus: Ross has proved his worth to the people with his complete ineptitude since getting his cushy ministerial position. A great man for shouting from the sidelines but a completely ineffective and useless member of government. He’s been found out for what he really is.
@Meekus: agreed & considering she is compromised and incompetent, she was found out badly in the fennelly report when she gave inconsistent evidence with what she had previous said & the manner in which she set up the investigation into siteserv compromised the commissions ability to investigate from the start.
This should be the death nail in the coffin for fine gael, they have conducted their politics along this vain of corruption, nepotism which undermines the institutions of democracy they were elected to. When the judiciary are so nakedly linked to tbe gov or a political party in this case & appointed in such manner it is a grievous stain on our the political sphere.
We should stand up & demand her to be withdrawn from her new role but unfortunately we as a nation will always accept such bebasement of our democratic values
Only in Ireland with the cronyism. Would you get a job you didn’t apply for. What doesn’t stink these days under this governments tenure?
@Bingobango: Don’t worry, Stepaside Garda Station will be reopening so everything is grand.
Genuinely disgusting contribution by Doherty but wouldn’t expect anything else. I think that FF will sharpen their knives now and Martin’s rhetoric yesterday was aggressive. Without question there will be a general election this year – most likely in October or November.
@John Ryan: like FF wouldn’t try something worse
@John Ryan: Damn right, can’t have the boys doing work on there summer break! Imagine that, having to canvas while on holidays. Not a chance, get the peace till there back in work, is the order of the day.
Martin spot on. Whelan should have lost her job after Fennelly Report. Jobs for the boys and girls…twas ever thus. Proves that Labour and Fine Gael are as up to their necks in cronyism as FF
@Dolly White: How can it prove Labour are up to their necks in cronyism? They have not been in government to appoint her a judge. It was Enda Kenny’s decision to make her AG last year.
@Ciaran O’Mara: they wanted her as ag in the first place,that’s where her incompetence has come to light!!
@Ciaran O’Mara: I think you need a history lesson and no not the middle ages just the dark ages between 2008 and when the electorate roasted them in the last election – over cronyism among a lot of other things.
Everything stinks when it comes to irish politics. Leinster house should have a 10 metre high stone turd erected outside the gates. A fitting tribute to the shite bags who inhabit it.
@Dj: What about the wee shite’s, that vote for them and the one’s who don’t vote at all?
@Dj:
The Independent are now reporting that THREE judges applied for the job. They applied to the AG Maire Whelan.
You couldn’t make this up.
‘It stinks’ what doesn’t stink in leinster house.
How do you get a job you didn’t apply for ? it’s easy once the system is corrupt.
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: Exactly. You just can’t take Martin’s feigned indignation on this in anyway seriously when we know that FF would quiet happily do the same. Same old circus being played out in the hope we’ve forgotten all that’s happened.
@Martin Ryan: It’s not uncommon in the private sector for someone to be head hunted by a company for a particular job because they are known to be good at it.
But someone I don’t think this was the case here, I do hope so but….
@B9xiRspG: But this isnt the private sector. Given they operate the seats of power they need to be above any perceived conflicts.
Reward for all the cover-ups going on
@kenneth clohessy:
Ross has set back the Independent Alliance like Kelly did for Labour.
As for Regina Doherty, well she is just a creepy individual.
A typical Regina Monologue….. and expect more to come
I’m.also qualified and available for a lot of jobs – although I have applied for them I didn’t even get an rsvp. Perhaps if I hadn’t applied for them I would have been rewarded with them? Or do you need to have a TV behind you to get a government job.I guess this how the zero tolerance on cronyism goes. No surprises when at least one of the TDS sitting on the cronyism reform panel has given at least both his brother and his wife unadvertised jobs -not to mention the seat he tried to give his wife using her maiden name and forgetting to mention he was married to her. Oh yes -no corruption and a new era here all right.
@Helen Ryan: Who was this?? Please tell
@Helen Ryan: Pat Rabbitt or Gilmore tried that wasnt it?
Well if Michael Martin says it stinks, then it really must stink to high heaven. He is an expert on noxious odours after all.
Could somebody at the Journal please proof read articles before publication, just have a look at the second paragraph here !!!!
The appointment stinks to high heaven and Shane Ross who has been bleating on about judicial appointments for years should hang his head in shame for sitting back and allowing this to happen so that he could deliver one of his promises to his constituency and shore up his position for the election later this year.
Martin and his colleagues in FF need to grow a pair and start removing the splinters from their arses from all the fence-sitting they’ve been doing and refuse to continue to support this farce of a government.
@Kevin Lonergan: No need to proof read Kev. Most don’t read past the headline.
@Meekus: the first paragraph is like a sudoku puzzle. Fill in the gaps yourself.
Mehole won’t pull this farce of a government down though. All about his own FF and FG (SAME) holding power ..
She is not up to the task. She does not have the required calibre.
More contempt for the process, democratic system and the people
Micheal Martin is right but can we get him a copy of Reeling in the Years just a reminder to him when he was in government.
@Dante Marquinhos: Yes he is right and try like a good man to seperate the facts from the emotion..the facts say it stinks to high heaven..no process at all was used so thats the nub of the matter..what michael martin or anyone else did in the past is totally irrelevant and doesnt change the facts.
@Paul Gurney: I understand what you are saying but it rings hollow when you consider Fianna Fail’s past. Sure if they weren’t in coalition together right now that’s exactly what Fine Gael’s defense would be.
Sounds like a lot of itchy backs round those parts
gender quotas?
Ireland: always was and always will be a passive nation
Ross goes along with this cronyistic practice but comes the heavy on having a glass of wine or a pint with a meal and driving home. I think he’s lost the high moral ground
They needed to fill a position, she fit the bill so they gave her the job.. I don’t see what the problem is?
@Louise b: The problem is she did not apply for the job and no doubt their were other candidates who would have liked the opportunity to do the job.
@Louise b: it is an important job, and there are a number of qualified judges who would have applied and been ready for the role. Not advertising the role and appointing a friend who sits at the cabinet table on your retirement means there is no separation between the judiciary and the oireachtas. As you cannot link the two, it would mean that politicians are potentially above the law, as the judiciary are owed their position by the government. To go further, if a minister behaved illegally, such as interfering in justice, abusing individuals of child abuse or illegally invading their privacy, they will not be prosecuted.
@Louise b: She’s stupid??
@Mary Murphy: ah you know her?
@Gulliver Foyle: thanks!
@Louise b: The problem is. Wait for it!!! They GAVE her the job.
People are becoming more and more intolerant of this kind of cronyism being displayed by government. Also intolerant of Mehole sounding off on issues of importance to the Irish people, but refusing to do anything about them, and supporting his coalition partners when push comes to shove. Words are cheap. Governments have to held accountable for what they do.
Regina Doherty should get her facts straight before she goes on the airways. Máire Whelan was never a judge. She is the Attorney General and was a senior counsel (barrister) before that.
This would be tge new politics then !
Let me guess she’ll be on the bench by the time the water protestors make their appeal
Same old same old. Originally a labour appointment and now it’s FG cronyism Worse that that, she has proved herself incompetent.
Expecting The Journal to engage in proof reading stinks
Michael martin could solve this in one minute if he had a mind to , all he would have to do is tell varadkar That he will place a motion of no confidence in the government if this shoddy decision isn’t reversed but this won’t happen because martin is only playing to the gallery , this has happened before when Albert Reynolds tried to appoint Harry whelehan to the high court without getting agreement on it first only to have his government brought down by dick spring. All I can say is spring had a lot of faults but at least he had more backbone than Martin!!
I don’t think that she was a great AG, She was uncertain and her advise was often questioned. Is she up to being a Judge ? , well who knows? , I suppose there were severals before that were questionable too. Anyway, it was a nice payoff and a handy way of getting rid of her.
Everyone of them is a muppet . Crooked & corrupt to the core . An absolute disgrace to the country. Jobs for the lads , & the massive salaries & pensions which they don’t deserve is an outrage .
Disgraceful.fg,FF, labour,must be removed from power.
Malleable.and will know what is expected of her,without any prompting or traceable communication
odd purple glow in the specs, must be some sort of signal that you are a special person that deserves a big salary, never seen it before, must move in the wrong circles..
THE COUNTRY WE LIVE IN. Disgusting
Right Martin says the appointment stinks , right then pull the plug or shut up and keep FF in power
Who smells an election
SSDD
Why is FG looking after this lady…..She was Labour party appointment who Kenny kept on last year…..Should be Labour gets her a new job….
@Louise b:
have your say