Debate on confidence in Cowen next week

THE GOVERNMENT will bring a motion of “full confidence” in Taoiseach Brian Cowen in the Dáil next week, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has said.

During a row in the House, the Opposition criticised the failure to debate the motion yesterday in the wake of the reports into the banking crisis, which blamed domestic government policies for the meltdown.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that “if similar reports were produced for any major company in the land, the chief executive officer would be dismissed forthwith”. He said “everybody else in the country was talking about” the reports but the House was being prevented from doing so.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore claimed there was a constitutional obligation to deal with the debate immediately on the reports which “so damningly criticise the performance of the Government and in particular of the Taoiseach”.

Sinn Féin whip Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the banking reports showed the need for an emergency debate.

“Everybody else bar this House is having the debate on these reports which seem to indicate that there is no confidence in the Government,” he said.

Ceann Comhairle Séamus Kirk said the motion of confidence did not take precedence over any other business and it was in order to debate it next week.

Ms Coughlan rejected Opposition criticisms and claimed they were trying to score points and detract from a proper debate.

She added: “I want to put on record it is the intention of this Government to bring forward a motion of full confidence in the Taoiseach on Tuesday afternoon.”

Mr Kenny tabled a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach in the wake of the two reports into the banking crisis.

The reports concluded that domestic factors were responsible, not international financial volatility and the reports’ authors heavily criticised misguided government economic policies.

The Fine Gael leader said the financial meltdown was “directly as a consequence of the person who was driving fiscal and economic policy in this country for a number of years, namely deputy Brian Cowen when minister for finance, now Taoiseach”.

Mr Kenny said the socio political context in which the crisis occurred, was generated by “the Government within the spires of the Galway tent”.

“If you said anything about the way the country was moving, you were either guilty of national sabotage or told to go and commit suicide,” Mr Kenny said.

Mr Gilmore said the reports were given to the Government on May 31st but they “hatched those reports for 10 days, don’t allow any discussion here in the Dáil, then try to news-manage the release of the reports yesterday which backfired spectacularly on the Government”. He said there is a challenge today, not next Tuesday. The challenge is that the Government does not enjoy the support of a majority of deputies in the House today, Mr Gilmore said.

Under the Constitution there was an obligation to debate the issue immediately, the Labour leader claimed.

Ms Coughlan said the Government welcomed the reports that have been published and their assessment of the issues raised. “I also want to say that they have brought attention to significant areas that do require further consideration,” she said. The Tánaiste said the Government intended to debate the reports in the Dáil next week following today’s discussion by the Committee on Finance and Public Service.