Coalition accused of political cronyism

THE Coalition was last night accused of exploiting the culture of government cronyism the parties once condemned.

Opposition parties accused the Taoiseach of hypocrisy after it emerged many people with links to Fine Gael and Labour had been appointed to state bodies since the general election.

Despite pledging to bring in a new era of openness and diversity to a system often tainted with a “jobs for the boys” image in the past, more than 20 people with close links to the parties have been elevated to boards — with their relationship as either workers, members or fundraisers involved with FG or Labour not flagged up at the time.

Of the six judges nominated by the Government, five have links to the parties.

And despite the Government’s pledges to publicly advertise board vacancies, fewer than half of state departments have done so.

During the February election, both Fine Gael and Labour pledged to do away with political cronyism.

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald insisted that the Government had instead built on Fianna Fáil’s reputation for cronyism.

“Cronyism has fundamentally undermined our system of government and it can no longer be tolerated,” she said.

However, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar claimed that as 1.1 million people voted for the Coalition, it would be “absurd” to exclude such individuals from appointments.

“These individuals applied through the public process, in response to a public advertisement. All of them are highly qualified for the positions they have been appointed to.

“It would be absurd to think that the 700,000 people who voted for Fine Gael, and the 400,000 who supported Labour, should be excluded from serving on state boards,” he said.