A 70-minute meeting ensured Martin Cullen's survival, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen, was on his way home to his apartment in Rathfarnham in Dublin last night when his longest day was brought to an end. He and his advisers had waited for the Standards in Public Office Commission which met at 5.30 p.m. to decide if it would open a full-scale inquiry into him.
The statement from the commission that ensured his political survival was sent out to journalists following a 70-minute meeting of the ethics body. The Minister kept his public utterances to a minimum, issuing a two-paragraph statement: "I note this evening's announcement that the Standards in Public Office Commission, having considered the matter, has found that there are no grounds for an investigation. Taken together with the Quigley inquiry, all matters relating to this issue have been comprehensively examined by independent persons.
"I look forward to continuing to work hard in my role as Minister for Transport and to delivering on the many challenging and exciting policy initiatives under my responsibility."
A decision to launch a full inquiry into the recruitment of Waterford-based PR consultant Ms Monica Leech would inevitably have forced his resignation from the Cabinet.
In the last 10 days, the few Cullen supporters that could be found in the Government argued that he should not be forced to stand down if the commission opted to launch a full inquiry. However, the argument - based on the principle that a man should not be hanged before a trial - would not have stood up to challenge in the brutal world of politics if it had been put to the test.
The commission, which is chaired by the High Court judge Mr Mathew P. Smith, began its preliminary inquiry into the contracts held by Ms Leech before Christmas. A full inquiry would have taken even longer. The Department of Transport would have been frozen for the duration. The prospect is one that would have been too awful for the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to contemplate.
Last month, the Quigley inquiry, headed by former Revenue chairman Mr Dermot Quigley, into the Leech contracts had failed to end the controversy. It found that while nothing wrong had been done, the Minister had left himself open to a "perception of impropriety".
The Quigley report, which was quickly criticised by the Opposition for pulling punches, reported that Ms Leech had earned €42,903 under an Office of Public Works contract during Mr Cullen's time there.
By June 2002, Mr Cullen had headed to better pastures in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Ms Leech quickly followed in his wake, earning €265,806 in fees and a further €25,615 in expenses between July 2002 and November 2004.
Having suggested her appointment to officials, Mr Cullen went further and made it clear that she could only be appointed as a consultant, rather than to the departmental staff, because she had other business clients. The environment contract, Mr Quigley found, was well in excess of EU thresholds. No proper paperwork was kept, while no similar contract existed anywhere else in the public service to the one she enjoyed promoting OPW projects.
Questioned immediately after the publication, the Taoiseach offered Mr Cullen support for the future, though some saw his offer as being based on the condition that he escaped a full Standards in Public Office Commission inquiry.
Though last night's result is a major relief for Mr Cullen, the political reality is that he has been badly damaged by the affair, which came so quickly after the e-voting debacle. Even though he only mishandled the e-voting crisis, rather than starting it, he can afford no other mistakes.
The controversy has hit Ms Leech hardest. Just months ago she was hoping to start a company with offices in Dublin, London and New York. Now she must proceed without her biggest contract. Asked in the Dáil about his decision not to renew Ms Leech's contract, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, said that while her communications strategy was successful, he preferred to rely on the Department's own resources.
New ministerial PR contracts will in future require the approval of the Taoiseach. Having seen what has happened to Mr Cullen, few ministers will be in any mood to repeat the experience.