Last night, Mr McDonagh, who is currently CEO of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), informed the Government that he no longer wanted to be considered for the job, following controversy over his appointment, which Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called a “job share” with Housing Minister James Browne.
However, it’s believed that the Tánaiste was not kept in consultation about the appointment before the announcement of his expected position by the Housing Minister earlier this week.
“No, that’s not correct,” Micheál Martin said, speaking at the opening of a new development on Cork’s docklands with Minister Browne alongside.
“I met with Simon Harris yesterday and spoke to Seán Kenny and Brendan McDonagh himself, he doesn’t want to be a part of a controversy of this kind. We’re going to move on now and the Minister is going to report back to us.”
Fine Gael bosses were reportedly left fuming following the announcement on RTÉ News at One on Tuesday of McDonagh’s expected appointment by Minister Browne, with a spokesperson for the Tánaiste having already said that such appointments “should be discussed by the leaders before being made public”.
“I can’t comment on briefings; all I can say is what transpired. No salary was ever discussed… the name did surface publicly, and again, I’m not clear how that emerged at the time, I mean, earlier, so as to speak,” the Taoiseach said.
“The Minister would have spoken to the line Minister Pascal (Donohue, Minister for Finance), because of the role of the NTMA and NAMA and seeking permission around the secondment issue and so on. But look, we’re going to press ahead with this and get this established.”
The Taoiseach also wouldn’t accept criticism from opposition parties that the process in appointing the tsar has been a “shambles”.
“I do not accept that at all, because the opposition can’t have it both ways,” he said.
“I do think, though, there’s a need for reflection in politics generally. I just witnessed what went on in the Dáil. I witnessed Mary Lou (McDonald) sort of coming in high dungeon saying, “oh, it’s a job share”; it’s exactly what Mary Lou proposed during the election.
“Okay, you can criticize us for not executing this perfectly, or whatever, but that’s not the point. The point is, why is the tendency more about tearing down, of attacking? I think we need more honest, sincere debate. I’d be open to criticism any day to week, but I would like a bit more sincerity from the opposition.”
Also speaking at the event, Minister Browne defended his first 100 days in office, and claimed there is still public confidence in the Department of Housing.
“I look at my first 100 days since I was appointed, and was appointed with a very strong remit: which was to go out, make decisions, and get things moving for our housing,” he said.
“But where there is a gap, and we need to bridge that gap, is between the strategy and the funding and then those output on the ground, and that’s why the housing activation office is so important: to be able to operationalise on the ground to get those homes moving.”
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