Fine Gael leader Mr Michael Noonan today described the Taoiseach’s response to the O’Keeffe controversy as an "abject and supine response" and called on him to answer to the Dáil on the issue.
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Mr Ned O'Keeffe
resigned on Saturday |
Mr Noonan said in a statement that Mr Ahern’s response was "typical" of his leadership, that he had decided that Mr O’Keeffe’s continuance as a Minister of State was an embarrassment to the Government and will not deal with the issue in a straight forward way.
"He has dealt with Ned O’Keeffe as he did with Ray Burke, Denis Foley, Liam Lawlor and others," said Mr Noonan.
"The Taoiseach conceals his intentions in ambiguous language and procrastinates to the point where decisions are always taken too late. He has such a fear of being blamed for taking action against a colleague that he acts through winks and nods and background briefings," he said.
Mr Noonan added the Taoiseach has a responsibility to remove from office ministers he considers unfit or unsuitable for office. He said that this was damaging to the office of Taoiseach.
"To restore some degree of confidence the Taoiseach must make a statement to the Dáil on Tuesday and answer certain questions. In particular, he must tell the Dáil if he wants Ned O’Keeffe to stay or go," said Mr Noonan.
The Fine Gael leader ended by demanding that the Taoiseach make a statement to the Dáil and take questions from the opposition on the matter.
The Labour party is also set to seek Dáil statements tomorrow from the Taoiseach and Mr O'Keeffe.
Speaking on the issue yesterday Mr Ahern said: "I just want to confirm that Ned O'Keeffe informed me on Friday that he was resigning. He was not pushed."
Contacted this afternoon by ireland.coma Government spokeswoman said that the Taoiseach would not be making any further comment on the issue at this time.
