Schoomarm Mary expels Hayes from briefing

SHE’S often accused of being something of a schoolmarm, but Mary Hanafin was branded as childish by her opposite number in Fine Gael yesterday.

While class sizes dominated the question-and-answer session that followed, it was clear Brian Hayes was one pupil too many for the Education Minister to handle at her budget press briefing.

The opposition party’s education spokesperson had come along, he said, to hear Ms Hanafin’s response to questions from journalists on her spending outlay for the next year.

But after receiving an unofficial briefing before the class bell rang, he was subsequently asked to stand outside the room by the minister’s top civil servant, Department of Education secretary general Brigid McManus.

She explained in very diplomatic terms that the event was restricted to the press.

Accompanied by a Fine Gael press officer, Mr Hayes took the advice but not before giving his own mini-briefing to the journalists who were looking on astounded at the scene.

“I wanted to hear what the minister had to say first hand and, unfortunately, I won’t have the opportunity to do that. It’s rather churlish and childish of the minister that she’s refused me entry to this press conference,” he said.

Ms Hanafin was asked at the end of her half-hour press conference why she had him excluded.

“Press conferences are for the press, if any politician feels that the only way they can get publicity is by coming to a party they weren’t invited to, well.”

And not to be outdone by her counterpart, she continued: “I don’t think any schoolchild would go to a party they weren’t asked to, it was obviously a very good budget, a very good speech.”

For staging and upstaging, you might be better popping to your local primary school nativity play, but it provided some light entertainment from an otherwise uneventful education budget.