Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is the Taoiseach saying he contacted Mr. Concannon to ask him if he was available for this job and that, miraculously and without the Taoiseach saying it to him, the Secretary General came to the same conclusion and made the appointment? The Taoiseach is being a bit disingenuous. If he approached a senior civil servant, indicated that he was setting up a particular unit and that the person would be a good head of it, and asked if the person was available to take up the job, it is clear to me that the Taoiseach told the Secretary General to make the appointment. Strictly speaking, the Taoiseach is saying that it was actually the Secretary General who made the formal appointment but the reality is that the Taoiseach made the appointment. We need plain speaking and honesty about this to a far greater extent. The Taoiseach appointed Mr. Concannon, not Mr. Fraser, the Secretary General. He was told to appoint him. He was the Taoiseach's chosen person. Mr. Concannon was chosen to sell a political message and it is a message which has the Taoiseach at the centre, together with the Government and the Fine Gael Party, more than others. I have no doubt that this is the way it is going to transpire. Talking about efficiencies in the fullness of time and savings is all nonsense.

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