Dempsey under fire over 'misuse of funds'

EDUCATION Minister Noel Dempsey was last night accused of abusing his ministerial office to advance Fianna Fáil local election candidates in June.

Mr Dempsey accepted last night that Department of Education funds were used to produce a confidential briefing document customised for Fianna Fáil local election candidates.

The document, which was obtained by TV3 News, included detailed information not available on the department's website.

The matter is likely to be referred to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) by opposition parties.

Customised for each county, it listed all schools in which building work and other improvements (including remedial teacher provision) had been carried out.

It also gave a full breakdown of figures for each school.

A copy of the glossy briefing pack seen by the Irish Examiner stated prominently: "Briefing material from the Minister for Education and Science for Fianna Fáil local election candidates."

It was dated March 2004 and was prepared for a county in north Leinster, the region in which Mr Dempsey is Fianna Fáil director of elections.

Opposition parties reacted angrily to the customised briefing pack last night, describing it as an "abuse of office" and "a misuse of funds".

Opposition spokespersons also confirmed they will ask the SIPO to investigate if Mr Dempsey breached strict guidelines that apply to office holders.

In a brief statement the minister said the briefing pack was no different to material produced in replies to parliamentary questions from all members of the Oireachtas.

"The pack was customised for Fianna Fáil election candidates but similar packs and information are available for election candidates of other parties if they wish to inform their constituents of the good work being done by the Department of Education and Science," he said.

His department refused to respond to specific questions relating to the briefing paper, costs, or how widely the customised briefing packs circulated.

Fine Gael Education spokeswoman Olwyn Enright condemned his response as pathetic and disingenuous.

"He claims it is available to anyone who wants it yet it was only provided to FF candidates.

"Most of the information is not available on the department's website.

"I want to know how many education staff were involved in compiling these statistics and at what cost," said Ms Enright.

Eamon Gilmore, Labour's director of elections, said that the minister had flagrantly used his department's resources to put together election propaganda for FF local election candidates.