Labour demands sacking of Paddy Teahon

The Labour Party has slammed the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, for not sacking Paddy Teahon over the controversy surrounding the aquatic centre under construction in west Dublin.

Mr Teahon, a close friend of the Taoiseach, is currently chief executive and chairman of Campus Stadium Ireland, the company overseeing the stalled Stadium Ireland project.

He has already admitted that he was wrong to withhold information from the Government about the dormant status of one of the companies involved in the aquatic centre and Labour leader Ruairi Quinn is furious that he hasn’t been let go.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party has also attacked Attorney General Michael McDowell for flying to Los Angeles to celebrate St Patrick’s Day when he is supposed to be compiling a report into the aquatic centre fiasco.

Labour said Mr McDowell’s trip shows that he attaches little priority to the inquiry into how Waterworld UK, a company with assets of just stg£4, secured a contract to help construct and operate the aquatic centre.

A government source has insisted that the inquiry will continue in the Attorney General’s absence and that he will bring his report before the cabinet on Wednesday as planned.