SEANAD REPORT:AS WE went into a situation where money was tighter, the spending of €200,000 on the refurbishment of offices for former taoiseach Bertie Ahern was outrageous, and it was insulting to tell citizens that this was "the market rate", Fiona O'Malley (PD) said.
Calling for the attendance in the chamber by the Minister responsible for the Office of Public Works to explain the "very embarrassing revelations" about the cost of the renovation, Ms O'Malley said she felt particularly sorry for Mr Ahern because she was sure he was also embarrassed about the expenditure for which, she understood, ministerial approval had not been needed.
She believed the Minister in question would like to give the House an explanation so that they could ensure that this kind of thing would never happen again. Paschal Donohoe (FG) said he admired Senator O'Malley's political deftness in raising this issue.
He would remind her that this spending had been undertaken by a Government which she supported. He was not surprised at this continued wasteful spending by the Government, but he was disappointed to see it happen.
Jerry Buttimer (FG) said he wondered how much more suffering the people of Ireland would have to endure as a result of this Government's actions. In a survey of Cork builders which he had undertaken, the highest price quoted for office refurbishment was €50,000. It was an insult to the people of Ireland for Ms O'Malley to complain about extravagant spending at a time when the PDs and the Greens in Government were freezing recruitment, cutting front-line services and asking people to belt-tighten.
Seanad leader Donie Cassidy said that while the expenditure did seem to be excessive, members knew only what they read in newspapers. The Public Accounts Committee would no doubt want to hear from OPW personnel as to where the money had been spent "and what cost what".
Office accommodation for taoisigh and former holders of the office had to be in keeping with the status of the office itself.
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Joe O'Toole (Ind) said the reign of terror that had been visited on the people of Zimbabwe had been brought home to him by the treatment meted out to a white farmer to whom he had spoken in a telephone link-up on an RTÉ current affairs programme last Sunday.
This farmer had talked about abductions and beatings and had expressed his disappointment at the reaction of the western world to the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
Mr O'Toole said that two hours after answering his questions on issues such as sanctions, the farmer had been abducted from his farm. He had been beaten and his in-laws had also been taken away. "They were tortured, and I have left on the Cathaoirleach's desk a photograph of him lying in a coma in a Harare hospital."
Fiona O'Malley (PD) said she was surprised that no one had posed the question: "Is Robert Mugabe guilty of genocide?" He had effectively wiped out his population. The United Nations needed to show that it was capable of standing up for human rights.
Dan Boyle (GP), Deputy Government leader in the Seanad, said Ireland was in a unique position because it had not been a colonising power.
Unfortunately, it had lionised Mr Mugabe in the past. "He has made great play of the fact that he was educated by Irish religious. I think as a country, one of the things we can do is to show that the type of relationship that he has put forward as forming him and his attitude to life, is not one that's recognised by this country or its people. If that message gets through to him, at least that might be the beginning of the end of Robert Mugabe and his reign of terror in Zimbabwe."
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Minister for the Environment John Gormley told the House that he would not tolerate any sort of cover-up in his department.
He was responding to Jerry Buttimer (FG), who had sought an urgent debate on the pollution risks to the people of Cork following the discovery of toxic and hazardous waste at Haulbowline.
Mr Gormley said as an environmental campaigner, he was aware of the importance of access to information, and he would ensure that the people in this locality would get it.
He had instructed his officials that information, "warts and all", should be made available. He wanted to assure people that accurate information would be disseminated to counter the misinformation that had been circulated and which had stirred up fears.