The resignation of another key staff member working for Minister of State for Transport Ivor Callely was raised in the Dáil and Seanad yesterday.
As is the norm on Thursday, Tánaiste Mary Harney took the Order of Business, in the absence of the Taoiseach, and did no more than join in the banter relating to the Fianna Fáil junior minister's difficulties. Tongue in cheek, in reply to Bernard Durkan (FG), she said that the Government was not planning any specific legislation on the minister.
Earlier, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte asked: "If Deputy [ Enda] Kenny is right and only one in nine civil servants are prepared to move, could Deputy Ivor Callely not be switched around to a few different departments?"
Joe Higgins (Socialist Party) said that "hard-pressed motorists want to get through that [ M50] toll bridge at least as quickly as the Minister of State, Deputy Callely, gets through his private secretaries".
In the Seanad, Paul Coghlan (FG) suggested he should be put in charge of the decentralisation programme.
David Norris (Independent) said: "I notice two articles beside each other on the front page of The Irish Times today, one indicating that less than 10 per cent of people have applied for decentralisation, the other indicating that the Minister of State for Transport, Deputy Callely, is on his sixth secretary in three years and is also seeking a new constituency secretary.
"Will the Government consider giving him responsibility for decentralisation?"
