Public accounts committee members in favour of delaying Higgins costs analysis

Any examination of the cost of Michael D Higgins’s first term as president should be delayed until after the October presidential election to prevent any bid to politicise the genuine questions being raised.

A number of the Dáil’s public accounts committee members have called for the short-term postponement of any investigation after committee chair and Fianna Fáil TD Sean Fleming called for an immediate review to take place before the presidential vote.

As reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, Mr Fleming has confirmed an examination of the cost of Mr Higgins’s first term as president is on the committee’s radar and that he wants an investigation to take place before the presidential election as clarity is needed.

However, speaking to the Irish Examiner, four of the other 11 committee members said while they are also in favour of a presidential costs’ review, they want to delay it until after the election to avoid any ‘politicisation’ claims.

Asked if they supported Mr Fleming’s call for immediate action, Sinn Féin TDs Jonathan O’Brien and David Cullinane, Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy and Fianna Fáil TD Shane Cassells argued instead for a short delay.

And while Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said he is supportive of holding a quick examination immediately as people have a right to know how their money is spent, it remains unclear where the remaining six TDs on the committee stand. They are unaligned Independent Catherine Connolly; Labour’s Alan Kelly; Fine Gael’s Kate O’Connell Pat Deering and Peter Burke; and Fianna Fáil’s Bobby Aylward.

Mr O’Brien said “the PAC have lots of things to deal with such as cervical check and Garda spending, so unless he [Mr Fleming] is proposing additional meetings I wouldn’t be in favour of bumping something off the agenda”. His party colleague Mr Cullinane, agreed, saying holding a review before the election “might give rise to claims it’s being done for political reasons”.

Social Democrats TD Ms Murphy said that although “I don’t oppose scrutiny, timing could be a problem”. This was a position shared by Fianna Fáil’s Mr Cassells.

The financial transparency call is likely to be raised by a number of potential presidential candidates at a special Carlow County Council meeting tomorrow to be attended by businessman Gavin Duffy; Independent senator Joan Freeman; artist Kevin Sharkey; and Marie Goretti Moylan.