TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has accused Fine Gael of reaching a “new low in Irish politics” over its criticism of an interview he gave on RTÉ radio yesterday.
Mr Cowen said Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney had made an “appalling and unfounded assertion” in his Twitter response to the interview.
Speaking at a press conference that concluded Fianna Fáil's two-day parliamentary party conference in Galway, Mr Cowen said he stood over the "substance" of what he had to say in the interview on the Morning Irelandprogramme shortly before 9am.
Cork TD Mr Coveney, who is Fine Gael’s spokesman on transport, had said in a Twitter despatch shortly after the interview that Mr Cowen sounded “halfway between drunk and hung-over”.
“I just think it’s very unfortunate. Simon Coveney is a person for whom I had some respect as a person and as a colleague,” Mr Cowen said at the conference, where he was flanked by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.
“I think it is an appalling and unfounded assertion that he has made. I dealt with the interview with Cathal MacCoille [of RTÉ], as I always would, and gave full and frank answers to the best of my ability. As I said, I have a hoarseness in my throat, which I apologise for.”
Asked whether he was worried that he “drank too much”, Mr Cowen insisted on answering the question in spite of attempts by party colleagues to overrule it.
“It’s very important to recognise that there are social occasions which we enjoy after political work is done after a long day yesterday. I think that all you who were guests were invited here to our proceedings yesterday. We had dinner with them and enjoyed their company. But of course, moderation in everything, especially moderation, as the old Chinese proverb says.”
Mr Cowen added that “members of the press were here with us yesterday evening”.
“We enjoyed your company. People will know what went on, and there was no question of me when I went in to do my interview this morning . . . I am sorry I am hoarse . . . but I answered all the questions,” he said.
“I’m very sorry Deputy Coveney would resort to that sort of petty personality-type politics, which I find disgraceful and simply totally incomparable,” Mr Cowen said.
“Obviously, as I say, I apologise for my voice and articulation of what I had to say, but the substance of what I had to say I stand over absolutely,” he continued. “It’s a very accurate articulation of Government policy on the questions that Cathal [MacCoille] put to me this morning.”
Asked about the wider public response to the interview, he said the controversy arose as a result of Mr Coveney’s tweet.
“I don’t know what the noun for Twitter is,” Mr Cowen said, but he believed Mr Coveney’s response was “politically motivated and orchestrated” and was “pathetic and pitiful”.
Mr Cowen said the country faced serious challenges, and the Government’s only focus was on making the adjustments that had to be made.
Criticising Fine Gael’s economic strategy, he said this would involve making “far greater cuts than we would envisage as being appropriate or feasible at the present time”.
The Government believed a “balanced approach had to be taken to this with a contribution from capital and expenditure primarily, and at the end of the day it is a matter for discretion for the Minister for Finance in formulating this Budget whether there will be any other tax proposals as well,” he said.
“That process begins now,” he said, and there wasn’t a “coherent alternative being put forward” by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. “He’s been saying he will not have to increase tax, he won’t be hitting all the various sections of the community that would be vulnerable, he’s going to take €3 billion out and, by the way, increase the capital programme as well. His figures don’t add up.”
Asked again by RTÉ’s political correspondent David Davin-Power about whether he should accept early morning radio interviews, Mr Cowen said he “intended to do more” of them.
“I’d hate to leave RTÉ with a vacant slot there,” he added, to laughter. Asked what he had learned from the episode, Mr Cowen said he had learned “there are no depths to which Fine Gael are not prepared to go to try and make political capital out of something that is absolutely without foundation”.