PAC chairman’s style has made him ‘enemies’

A Fine Gael TD has claimed the Government thinks the Public Accounts Committee chairman has “crossed the line” and that is why information has been leaked to force him from his position.

PAC chairman John McGuinness faced queries from committee members yesterday over remarks he made about his wife’s travel, and spending in the Department of Enterprise when he was a junior minister.

Questions have been raised about his position as chairman in recent days, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny saying the controversy has damaged PAC.

Committee member and Fine Gael TD John Deasy yesterday suggested material about Mr McGuinness’s time as a junior minister for trade had been purposely leaked to damage his position.

There was a general view among civil servants and Government that Mr McGuinness had gone too far, the Waterford TD speculated. He pointed out that Mr McGuinness had a “combative style” and had made “political enemies”, just like other politicians.

Mr Deasy queried whether the PAC chairman had “crossed the line” in his work with the committee.

He said: “In government circles people think you have, and that view has been expressed to me.”

People throughout the Government thought this, he claimed.

Mr McGuinness replied: “I’d say they’re quite upset with me how far I’ve driven the committee.”

He said he thought details about his time as a junior minister in 2007-8 had been leaked by the department. “I have the view, I’m damn sure they’ve been leaked from the department... that’s the nature of things in politics and the civil service.”

He claimed there were probably “powerful forces” who did not want a banking inquiry undertaken.

Sinn Féin TD Mary Lou McDonald said the Government had to respond if there were claims of a strategy to undermine the PAC.

Several government committee members rejected any inference that pressure had been applied on them in relation to the PAC and Mr McGuinness.

Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe said he had never been contacted by a minister, as did TD Simon Harris and others. Labour TD Gerard Nash argued that it was “damaging” to PAC to suggest that deputies had been “got at” by Government.