Enda Kenny at odds with Labour hopeful

Labour leader hopeful Alex White said he stands over claims that the former Garda commissioner was fired, despite the Taoiseach saying he "does not accept" the junior minister’s "assertion".

Enda Kenny said he was “well aware” of the legislation governing the dismissal of a Garda commissioner, which requires a cabinet decision and a right of response.

Mr Kenny said he “will respond in my time” whenever Nial Fennelly — chair of the commission of investigation on a range of Garda issues — calls him to give evidence on the matter.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said he had — for 10 weeks — been asking the Taoiseach for a “candid and truthful response” on events leading up to the surprise resignation of Martin Callinan in March.

He said a “very serious assertion” was made “by one of your ministers” — referring to a letter from Mr White to Labour Party members last week.

Mr White stated in the letter: “I will not stand over a position where the Taoiseach looks to fire the commissioner of the gardaí without as much as a phone call to the leader of the Labour Party.”

Mr Kenny said he had not spoken to the junior health minister about the claims. “No, I do not accept Minister White’s assertion in his letter,” he told the Dáil.

A spokesperson for Mr White said last night that he stands over what was said. “That’s the way it looks to him and he stands over that, but he is obviously aware of the fact that the Taoiseach said he is going to clarify it to the Fennelly inquiry.”

The Oireachtas justice committee is expected to discuss proposals to call in Mr Kenny to answer questions on the resignation of Mr Callinan after sources close to the former commissioner said he was effectively sacked for political reasons.

The committee is also expected to discuss a proposal to ask Mr Fennelly himself if his hearings would be prejudiced by its probing of the issue.

Meanwhile, John Cooke is to be invited before the Oireachtas oversight and petitions committee to discuss his report into allegations of bugging at the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).

The report said it was “difficult categorically to exclude the possibility that some form of illicit eavesdropping may have taken place”, but that the evidence “did not support the proposition” that bugging took place as outlined in an original Sunday Times report on the issue, and “much less that it was carried out by a member of the Garda Síochána”.

Noirín O’Sullivan, the acting Garda commissioner, said the report had “exonerated” members of the force from any suspicion. She said “both ourselves and GSOC should see it as a launch pad to build on the relationship that exists”.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that “bridge building” needs to take place between GSOC and the force.

GSOC said “question marks sill remain”. Its chairman, Simon O’Brien, said: “There is still an outstanding anomaly and in the words of the judge, as he says in these rather febrile areas, it’s difficult to know whether that could be in relation to unlawful intrusion.”