Morally money was not Shatter’s to give

No doubt the cash windfall of the region of €70,000 donated to the Jack and Jill foundation by former Justice Minister Alan Shatter will be of significant assistance to this worthy charity.

However, this largesse by Mr Shatter raises some questions. Having been party to the Government debate and decision to abolish Ministerial severance payments and which were due to be abolished under the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act of 2014, I question Mr Shatter’s ‘right’ to donate this severance award to anyone but the taxpayer. Morally, and perhaps legally, it was not his to give to anyone. The minister was being generous with other people’s money.

But for the laxity or incompetence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin, who had not signed the commencement orders for the legislation prior to Mr Shatter’s resignation, this debacle, which brought further damage on the body politic in this state, would never have arisen.