Shatter appoints himself minister for time and TV

Just as Doctor Who is ever-ready to regenerate, prepare for Ireland’s own Time Lord — Alan Shatter.

The justice minister took a break from bringing in stinging new insolvency rules and waging a war of words with gardaí to remind the nation to tune into the adventures of the intergalactic time-traveller at the weekend.

Branding himself “the minister responsible for time”, Shatter used a press release reminding people to put the clocks forward to announce: “For those interested it should be noted that a new series of Doctor Who commences on BBC 1 tonight Saturday 30 March at 6:15pm.”

Anyone thinking it may have been an early April Fool’s prank was reassured by Shatter that he is a true Tardis-head.

“It’s a great programme and we should celebrate that it has started a new series.

“One of the strange and odd things the Minister for Justice and Equality has to do is issue statements twice a year to tell people whether the clock is going forward or going back, so apparently I’ve got responsibility for time,” he said.

Shatter is no stranger to space travel. Ahead of the 2007 general election he issued a campaign leaflet which superimposed his head on to the body of Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and warned voters he would “resort to his phaser weapons” if they did not give him their number ones.

His latest bizarre interaction with pop culture prompted musings along the lines of: Right time — wrong planet.

For others, it was not so much a case of Doctor Who but Minister, Why?