Taoiseach threatens legal action against TD over FitzPatrick row
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin’s demands to know why the Taoiseach had kept quiet about his golfing day out and dinner with Anglo chief Sean FitzPatrick and other bank officials and a financial regulator, provoked an angry response from the Taoiseach.
Mr Cowen said that if the deputy had any allegations of wrong-doing, he should not “abuse” Dáil privilege.
“Let him go outside and say it and I will see him in court,” Mr Cowen said in angry exchanges.
Mr Ó Caoláin questioned whether it was appropriate for the Taoiseach to attend a dinner with Mr FitzPatrick, two other senior Anglo figures and a Central Bank official in July 2008.
The meeting was revealed in a new book after Mr Cowen had failed to disclose it despite two years of Dáil demands from the opposition to list his contacts with Mr FitzPatrick.
The Taoiseach claims the deteriorating situation at Anglo was not discussed at the dinner, though a wide range of other economic matters were.
Mr Cowen’s claims have been dismissed as “unbelievable” by the opposition and played a large part in the eruption of discontent over his leadership in Fianna Fáil over the past week.
Earlier in Leader’s Questions, Enda Kenny accused the Taoiseach of performing a U-turn after Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said it was possible to try and renegotiate the interest rates charged by the EU/IMF for the bail-out of the economy.
The Fine Gael leader said this contradicted earlier comments by Mr Lenihan which rubbished opposition calls for the interest rates to be reduced.
Labour’s Eamon Gilmore accused the Taoiseach of running scared from a general election and prevaricating so as not to set a date.
Mr Gilmore said Mr Cowen should have been ringing other EU leaders in recent days when Ireland’s 12.5% corporate tax rate came under attack from the French government, not ringing his own FF TDs to try and safeguard his job as Taoiseach.
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