Kenny praised Lowry’s ‘integrity’ when he quit

ENDA KENNY paid glowing tribute to Michael Lowry in 1996 after Mr Lowry had been forced to resign from government, saying he was “a man of the highest integrity and honour”.

Mr Lowry stepped down as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications after it emerged that Dunnes Stores had paid for the renovation of his home.

Speaking in the Dáil on December 3 that year, Mr Kenny, who was Tourism Minister, said he regretted Mr Lowry’s departure.

“I have known him for many years both as a member of Fine Gael and as a Government colleague and he is a man of the highest integrity and honour,” Mr Kenny said.

“As a minister in a large department for the first time, he displayed energy and commitment in dealing with the many complex issues in a broad range of semi-state bodies…

“When necessary he did not hesitate to challenge outmoded practices and systems of operation which were no longer suitable to the demands of a modern European state.”

Mr Kenny went on to suggest that the “seeds sown” by Mr Lowry during his time as minister would “bear fruit in the future, when his efforts will be widely appreciated”.

On the circumstances surrounding his resignation, Mr Lowry had “behaved with dignity even in the face of a hostile media”, Mr Kenny said.

“When difficult questions were put to him he demanded the right to have time to reply. We should give him that right. When he is ready he will give a complete explanation about the activities mentioned. He will answer all the questions when he has had proper time to reflect on them.”

Separately, Mr Kenny himself had met with Denis O’Brien in Government Buildings in May 1995 when the Esat boss was seeking to “raise his profile” with the Government.

The meeting was arranged by Dan Egan, a former Fine Gael official helping Mr O’Brien to build links with the party.

Mr Kenny subsequently told the tribunal he had no recollection of any such meeting with Mr O’Brien, although his official diary noted a meeting with Dan Egan at 5pm on May 17, 1995.

Several years later, Mr Kenny as Fine Gael leader delivered a speech to the party’s 2004 ard fheis in which he criticised Fianna Fáil politicians who “have no recollection of where they were or who they met ... on their country’s service”.