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RICHARD BRUTON HAS been appointed to temporarily hold the role of Minister for Communications after Denis Naughten resigned this afternoon.
The Taoiseach made the announcement in the Dáil this afternoon.
Naughten had come under pressure due to his meetings with the head of the only group bidding for the National Broadband Plan contract.
Naughten had earlier admitted to attending a dinner with David McCourt – head of the Granahan McCourt consortium – in New York in July, while yesterday it emerged that the minister facilitated a lunch in the Dáil for McCourt’s daughter in April.
Varadkar told the Dáil today that he had a private meeting with Naughten last night, and was told after midnight by Naughten that he remembered he had had a private dinner with David McCourt. He said that Minister of State Pat Breen had also met McCourt at this dinner.
Varadkar said that this morning he met with Naughten again, who told him that he had at least three other private dinners with McCourt, with no officials present. There were no minutes of these meetings.
“I have no doubt that his intentions were honourable at all points but I do believe he left himself open to allegations” of an inappropriate relationship with McCourt, and could have brought the National Broadband Plan tendering project into question, jeopardising it, said Varadkar.
Varadkar said that Naughten had given his resignation to him in writing, and that he is now to assign Richard Bruton to the role temporarily.
The Taoiseach said that sometimes in his role he has to make decisions that “may cause deep personal distress”, adding that he has known Naughten for 20 years.
Speaking this evening to RTÉ Six One News, Naughten said that the Taoiseach asked him to consider his position today, and he made the decision to resign this afternoon “because I felt I didn’t have the support of the Taoiseach in relation to this”.
Optics
Naughten said that his job as Minister for Communications was to bring broadband to 1.1 million people and improve phone networks, and that:
All of these networks are privatised and I can only progress this agenda by meeting with the private sector and engaging with them. That’s my job as minister, that is my role as minister and that is what I did as minister. Because of the optics now I am in a position where I can’t…
He said that any times he has had meetings in relation to the National Broadband Plan, they have been minuted.
Asked would he support the government in the Dáil, Naughten said he will make that decision on a case-by-case basis.
Speaking to Ivan Yates on Newstalk this evening, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said:
“The Taoiseach has asked Peter Smith to report to him directly as to whether he regards the process as undermined or not and that will happen quickly.”
When asked if Pat Breen’s position is it tenable, Coveney said that depends on the conversation.
The Taoiseach will be talking to him this evening, to understand the detail of his involvement and we’ll move on from there. There’s no question of hiding anything here, if there’s one thing Leo Varadkar is, it’s transparent.
Naughten had earlier told the Dáil today that he had offered to pass over the NBP process to his junior minister, or to another line Cabinet minister, but this offer was refused by the Taoiseach.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met with Denis Naughten last night.
“The Taoiseach does not have confidence in me,” Naughten said this afternoon.
Naughten said he was left in a difficult position, where the opposition had not called for him to step aside, nor had the Taoiseach, but added that he had to reflect himself.
Do I wait for that decision myself, to resign, or do I wait for someone else to make that decision for me?
What’s the difference between him and the other ministers? He got Caught…
@Dáithí O Raghailaigh:
Another nepotistic unqualified and corrupt Fine Gael back slapper. Grabbed his fathers vacant seat and boarded the gravy train.
But Leo said everything was fine…..
What was it about the multi millionaire Mr McCourt’s that made you want to meet him.Dennis
@Genius 80s+: big brown envelopes I’m guessing
Leo on the telly this morning stating he had full confidence in Naughten. Naughten in the Dail this afternoon stating on record that aleo told him last night to consider his position.
Whos telling the truth??
@The Risen: not leo
@Barry Harrington: Typo
The people should owned these essential services. but no. FG/FF have to sell everything to their buddies or vulture funds.
@Sean Conway: you do realise there is no infrastructure to sell, that’s the problem, if it existed we’d have rural broadband?
The tender is to build the infrastructure and then allow the builder to offset the cost by running it. Mustn’t be that lucrative a contract though if companies keep pulling out of the process
It makes a mockery of the tender process if ministers are having secret meetings with service providers .
@John Judd: The guardians of the state caught with their hands in the till again.
@Sean Conway:and its about time the gardai started charging these corrupt gombeens
Dennis and ministers again. Yet Dennis will still get the contract. Just more naked corruption.
Naughten is probably looking at a seat on the board.
Leo has never put the public interest first – it has always been his party and himself before the people.
What’s the difference between him and the other ministers? He got Caught…
I wonder what Noonan got away with?
Getting involved with FG is the same as getting mixed up with the Donald, you will always lose out.
Election time.
So after Storm Callum comes Storm Denis am I right
Crying laughing emoji.
WTF was he thinking? Maybe that he wouldn’t get caught.
@Mark Waldron: emmm,, what’s in it for me???
@Gordon Larney: For sure! That’s the politicians mantra isn’t it?
Fine Gael – what a party that party is. Corruption is rife within its ranks & it doesn’t start & finish with Durrrrty Denis. They are the true entitlement Ireland. Nepotistic – cronyism- old politics – new socks !
@Setrakian: it’s all those people on the dole fault eh Brinster. I’m just waiting for the deflection.
He was caught,the lot of them are dirty deceitful corrupt people.
@@mdmak33: and yet we vote them back in each time
Our political system is in a shambles and full of incompetent members
@Martin Brennan: corruption is not incompetence
Worst Dail ever.
Political incompetence will destroy FF and FG. The irony is that if they sorted it out long ago, there would now be no issue.
Surely in any business if there’s only one bidder left you’ll try your best to keep them onboard. Is this really a big deal or what am I missing
@Shaun Gallagher: Transparency is what you’re missing. It’s required by law when public funds are being awarded to private contractors.
@Shaun Gallagher: is it the case that they saw that the business was heading in another direction and decided to pull out resources from a costly tender process? .. and perhaps had some info on Naughton’s ‘preferred’ choice on the service provision. Maybe it was even one of the other companies that blew the whistle so to speak to put all this in motion.
In any case the main point here is that political corruption is still alive and well in this country. Call an election so that we can fulfill our democratic duty and keep pretending like our governmental organizations are fit for purpose.
Oh dear oh dear looks very crooked, lets see him try and wriggle out of this one.
And the old refrain is “I Did Nothing Wrong”
Whoaaa……wasn’t FG tagline for the previous general election was that they wanted to end sleeveen type behaviour, jobs for the boys , they wanted transparency…….jeeze aren’t they doing a sterling job….. if you like that kinda thing….. roll on the next scandal …
If that fanny fitz is given that Ministerial role, you can kiss the next election goodbye FG
@emer caffrey: Leo still doesn’t understand why she had to go…. It isn’t just a few bad apples, it’s the entire orchard that’s tainted
For a intelligent and experienced politician what was he thinking meeting with people in private and to just remember when the game was up.
His needs to go back and resit his FETAC corruption certification. I thought all politicians had to have this to sit in the Dail?
There should be more consequences for incompetency. Tonight there are two different versions of when Varadkar found out about 4 extra private dinners. Leo said he found out this morning. Naughton said he told Leo about them in his midnight call. Both of them cannot be telling the truth. One of them must be lying. And then you have the Charleton Tribunal saying that Martin Callinan was not truthful to it in his testimony. Surely he was under oath? Why can he sail into the sunset with his big pension after all this? No wonder people’s faith in mainstream politics is shattered.
He probally taught he was a bigger cute wh… than the rest of them and would get away with it
just who stinks the most F/G or F/F,
I had full confidence, but i have to consider the lower class reaction. Naughten was a huge success, but overconfident, he does not have my talents to be getting personally involved.. Those in the Dail thank him for his commitment, we hope no more politicians resign due to pressures from left wing or plebs.
Clear case of Lowryngitis, indefensible, only one cure, the axe.
Someone please find out why an EU state cannot secure any interest in the project from any of the broadband infrastructure providers in the EU, why our own ESB, Eir, & others pulled out?
Why also did not project slip away to have only a US speculative outfit fronting up a consortium of possibly undesirable background investors?
Is it possible that the drop outs got a bad smell & that something rotten kept other competent providers off the pitch?
There is a report in the archives somewhere that might help to unravel the issues.
He’s just come down with a case a Gonnerhea
A good man, hope he bounces back soon.
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