Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he will seek to rebuild trust with Fianna Fáil in the coming weeks after the controversy over the appointment of former Attorney General Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal brought relations between the two parties to their lowest ebb since the Government was formed over a year ago.
Speaking in Brussels where he is attending a summit of EU leaders, Mr Varadkar insisted Fine Gael had not breached the agreement with Fianna Fáil, but said that “confidence building” measures between the two parties may be necessary to keep the arrangement alive.
“Obviously the week that has gone by I don’t think has been helpful for either party,” Mr Varadkar said. “But we have a written agreement. That written agreement does not require that we run appointments, either judicial appointments or public appointments, by Fianna Fáil, nor could it. So I don’t believe that there has been a breach of the confidence and supply agreement. I don’t see any reason now why that agreement should fall.”
However, Mr Varadkar indicated that he would offer an olive branch to Fianna Fáil after the collapse of relations this week.
“I do believe that over the next couple of weeks, it will be necessary for us to work closely as parties and have some confidence building moves or confidence building gestures,” he said.
“And I know one of the things for example that Fianna Fáil has put a real focus on is on the whole issue of mental health and their desire that we establish a committee to review the implementation of promises and commitments in relation to mental health. And I think perhaps if we can move on some of those detailed issues in the confidence and supply agreement it can put things back on track,” he said.
Agreement
Earlier, Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on Education and Skills Thomas Byrne said maintaining the confidence and supply agreement between the Government and his party was “extremely difficult” in the wake of Ms Whelan’s appointment.
A number of questions have been raised in the Dáil about the appointment of Ms Whelan, the former attorney general, to the Court of Appeal. Her nomination caused controversy when it emerged that three High Court judges had expressed an interest in the post and that Ms Whelan was at Cabinet when her nomination was discussed.
When asked why Fianna Fáil did not stop the appointment of former Attorney General Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal, Mr Byrne said: “short of going to the Arás, we couldn’t have stopped the appointment.”
Speaking on RTÉ radio, he said that his party was not questioning the suitability of Ms Whelan for the post, but was scrutinising the actions of the government and the process by which the appointment was made.
“What happened? What was the process? Why didn’t the Cabinet consider the three judges who applied for the position? There have been no clear answers.”
Mr Byrne said that the manner in which the government “rushed through” the process threatened the independence of the judiciary.
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald defended Ms Whelan’s recommendation to Cabinet, saying that the correct procedures were followed in relation to “anyone else” who had expressed an interest in the position.
Ms Whelan’s nomination was passed by the Cabinet and she was appointed to Court of Appeal by President Michael D Higgins at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin on Monday, which was attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Mr Varadkar has also defended the appointment, calling Ms Whelan “uniquely qualified” for the role.
Mr Byrne said that Fianna Fáil did not fear an election. “We want to be honourable about the agreement (with the government). We are clear an election will change the government or change the direction.”
