Episodes demand full explanations

ANY objective assessment of two stories of recent days would, unfortunately, conclude that two members of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s cabinet may have abused their position in revealing ways.

The first concerns Foreign Minister Simon Coveney who, on June 17, 2015, when minister for defence, personally contacted an Air Corps pilot who refused to fly him to Cork because fog was forecast at Cork Airport.

Mr Coveney has described his intervention as part of his “hands-on” approach and that the call should not be regarded as “intimidatory” even though Mr Coveney, in that one-on-one call, questioned the pilot’s judgement.