Power ‘jumps the gun’ by naming Dell task force chief
He has been accused of “jumping the gun” ahead of Tánaiste Mary Coughlan formally announcing that former Kerry Group boss Denis Brosnan will head the new body, set up after Dell announced it was to axe 1,900 jobs.
There are reports of fury in the Tánaiste’s department over Mr Power’s announcement.
Yesterday, hours after Mr Power’s announced that he had accepted the post, Mr Brosnan said: “I will make up my mind in coming days.”
Mr Brosnan revealed that he had been involved in detailed talks over the past two weeks with the Tánaiste and her department about the problems facing the mid-west. He said they had identified the “spec” of the job, and he needed time to see how this would impact on his current business and family commitments given the scale of the task ahead.
“I had talks with the Tánaiste and said give me a few more days,” Mr Brosnan said.
He revealed that the talks took in a wide-ranging study and it had been decided with the Tánaiste that the task force would have a chief executive for its lifetime.
Mr Brosnan said tourism in the mid-west had been in decline.
“There are huge problems in the mid-west and this study might be a blue print for the country,” he added.
Fine Gael deputy finance spokesman Kieran O’Donnell TD hit out at the overseas development minister’s premature announcement. “I contacted the press office of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment who informed me that they had been advised by the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan’s office that no formal announcement had yet been made. My surprise was all the greater when I learned of Denis Brosnan’s statement that he had as yet not accepted the invitation to chair the task force.”
Mr O’Donnell said it was regrettable that such confusion should occur and Mr Power owes an explanation to the workers who are losing their jobs.
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