Sacked junior minister launches blistering attack

SACKED Minister John McGuinness last night unleashed a stinging attack on the Government, accusing it of “lacking political leadership”.

The ex-junior commerce minister, who admitted he had been “shocked” by his demotion, launched a wide-ranging assault on Brian Cowen’s administration a day after being dumped onto the back benches.

The Carlow-Kilkenny TD insisted the Government was not doing enough to save jobs and that “half the country was threatened with closure” because ministers had not forced banks to lend to small firms despite the bail-out from taxpayers.

Mr McGuinness turned his fire on the Enterprise Department he was dropped from in the junior ministerial reshuffle, insisting its staff were not up to the job.

“I don’t think they measure up. I think it could do far more for employment, create more jobs.

“We could be far more efficient in terms of how we do business. The business sector is simply not being listened to by the department, or indeed by the Government to an extent.

“We need to change that, to change radically how we do business in Government.

He said: “There’s a lack of political leadership in terms of every single Government department,” he told RTÉ.

The vocal critique was seen to herald the emergence of a credible focus of opposition to Mr Cowen on the Fianna Fáil benches.

Mr McGuinness insisted the Taoiseach had “not made any progress” on his key pledge when taking office last May to reform the public service.

Mr McGuinness said he had been taken aback to learn he was one of the seven ministers of state Mr Cowen had decided to axe.

“I think anybody would be shocked, it’s a human reaction when you lose your position as many thousands of people know all over the country,” he said.