When a prominent politician is caught up in a controversy surrounding personal standards or behaviour, at a certain juncture it becomes obvious they have reached the point of no return and will have to walk the plank.
The Fianna Fáil chairman of the Public Accounts Committee John McGuinness has been at the centre of such a storm for a number of months now, with a series of newspaper disclosures relating to his time as a minister of state in the Department of Enterprise. But are we witnessing the kind of momentum, the feeding frenzy of negative stories that suggests his being chair of the PAC is no longer tenable? The short answer is no.
Disclosures
The series of disclosures about McGuinness in recent months include some relatively minor issues, and perhaps one or two more serious questions. But when compared with the issues that led to the resignation of John O'Donoghue as ceann comhairle in 2009 (extravagant travel expenses) or Willie O'Dea as minister for defence in 2009 (swearing a false affidavit), they are of a completely different and less serious order.
The first controversy surrounded the €250,000 cost of refurbishing a new office – with a luxury toilet annexe – when he was appointed a minister of state. The chair of the Office of Public Works (OPW) came into the PAC earlier this year to confirm McGuinness had had no role in the refurbishment and never communicated with the OPW about its fit-out.
The next related to overtime payments paid to his son, who was employed as his ministerial assistant. He received €30,000 in one year and €48,000 over two years. Two issues arose there. The first was nepotism. Coalition ministers and TDs cannot say they have not employed family members. The second was the amount. The sum was the largest, so there’s an issue there.
The latest disclosures relate to his time as minister of state, when he argued his wife should be allowed accompany him on two foreign trips. The request was turned down by then senior minister Micheál Martin and by officials. This week McGuinness argued on RTÉ that the State should foot the bill for spouses on some foreign trips. Yesterday, the Irish Independent reported that on a St Patrick's Day trip in 2008 to Seattle costing €22,000 the State paid for his wife's travelling and accommodation expenses. It was more standard practice then but is frowned upon now.
Robust committee
The PAC is a unique committee, a watchdog that closely monitors State spending. It's a robust committee, the only one seen as independent of Government. For its chair to have to face down a series of stories is embarrassing. McGuinness finds himself somewhat compromised and a little wounded politically. But Fine Gael will also need to be careful it is not perceived to be running a witch-hunt against him.
The disclosures, individually or cumulatively, are not enough to undermine his position. There will be a political onus on him to make a statement at the meeting tomorrow but it will be a surprise if his PAC colleagues table a motion of no confidence in him.
