Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Prior to the local elections the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, sent out material from his Department to draw up election information for Fianna Fáil. Subsequently, he repaid €2,500 in respect of that material. Around the same time the former Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Fahey, was in difficulty about the use of Government headed paper.

In June 2004, the Standards in Public Office Commission found that both Ministers had not appropriately observed the code of conduct for office holders, in particular sections 1.5 and 2.2.3. Last year it emerged that a civil servant who worked in the Department of the then Minister of State, Deputy Callely, resigned because the Minister required her to attend a political function which was outside the terms of the remit of a civil servant. I understand the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, asked a civil servant to attend a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting to give a briefing on a particular matter. Does the Taoiseach agree that is a breach of the code of conduct? Under no circumstances should public servants be asked by Ministers in any Government to attend at exclusively party-political meetings where the interests of the party could override the issue at hand and be seen to politicise the public service. Will the Taoiseach comment on that? Does he agree this kind of activity leads to a situation where a Minister is open to a charge of allowing the interests of party politics to take precedence over the public good and public office requirements?

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