Shannon debacle - We deserve an answer, Minister

THE Government has consistently misled the country about Shannon and the ending of the airport’s service to Heathrow.

We have been misled about what the Government knew and when it knew it.

Material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act proves that senior officials were aware of the storm brewing in the mid-west a full six weeks before July 27, the date the Government has consistently insisted is the one on which it first became aware of the impending crisis.

That information was in the hands of an assistant secretary in the Department of Transport. The assertion that it was not forwarded to the minister is not an acceptable defence. It is utterly irrelevant.

The secretary, acting in the best — or worst — traditions of Sir Humphrey, may have taken it upon himself to shield his master from an inconvenient truth, but to advance this as a defence for the most cynical concealment of explosive information is not only patronising, it is insulting. It undermines the tenets and procedures vital to sustaining a modern democracy.

The country is already sick of the crisis-ridden Minister of Health fobbing off daily criticism, saying that it’s a matter for the HSE. This discredited device has been consistently used to deflect the outrage so justified by the 24/7 mayhem in our health system — it can no longer be called a health service.

Not this time though — that kind of Pontius Pilate hand-washing is not an option for Minister Noel Dempsey. He must explain, without caveats, distractions or even the slightest “however” what was going on in his department in regard to Shannon during the six weeks before July 27 and why.

Anything less than a clear statement, one without ambivalence or fudge, will not suffice.

To suggest that he is not responsible for highly sensitive information at the disposal of his department falls well short of even the most basic standards we should be able to expect from our public representatives.

Not even Sir Humphrey, in his darkest hour, would suggest otherwise. It’s time to explain, minister.

The management of information is one of the dark arts of politics but there is a very fine line between managing information and disingenuous concealment.

Managing uncomfortable information may sometimes sail close to the wind but wilful concealment to allow a false impression to be created, to mislead the public, is simply dishonest.

The Amgen affair, where it is widely believed that the project’s fate was known before the election, has left a bad taste. Another episode of that kind will only deepen the cynicism already too widely felt for our political process.

At times like this it is easy to understand why the Government has been so enthusiastic about undermining the Freedom of Information Act. Alarm bells should ring each and every time that valuable piece of legislation is tampered with. It is one of the few ways left to bring government to account.

Maybe before he snarls at the next challenging questioner, accusing him of cynicism, the Taoiseach might ask himself why his reputation, and that of his Government, is in such jeopardy.

It, Taoiseach, is because of double-dealing like this.