THE Labour Party's controversial £100 a plate fundraising lunch, which led to calls for the resignation of the Minister of State, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald, has been cancelled.
Fianna Fail described yesterday's cancellation as "pitiful" while the Progressive Democrats said Ms Fitzgerald should still consider her position.
Last week the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, and Ms Fitzgerald apologised to the Dail after it emerged that, on behalf of her Dublin South constituency, she had written to business people inviting them to lunch where they would have a "rare opportunity" to meet the Minister for Finance as he put the finishing touches to Finance Bill. The notepaper was described as "semi official" as it bore the harp, the Oireachtas emblem.
The affair greatly embarrassed the Labour leadership amid claims that Ms Fitzgerald had breached the Government's ethics legislation that she herself had drawn up.
A brief statement from the Dublin South Labour Party yesterday said a decision had been taken to cancel the fund raising lunch, due to take place on March 28th in Dublin's Jurys Hotel. "The constituency considers that given the public controversy surrounding the proposed event, it would be discourteous to our guests to go ahead with it."
Mr Ivor Callely, of Fianna Fail, said the fact that the lunch had to be cancelled indicated that Ms Fitzgerald and the Labour Party knew all along that she had "broken the spirit" of the ethics legislation from the time that she first issued the invitations to the "ill fated luncheon".
The Progressive Democrats spokesman on transport, energy and communications, Mr Bobby Molloy welcomed the "belated cancellation", saying it was now clear that Labour realised the impropriety of offering privileged access to the Minister for Finance.
"Surely the Minister responsible for organising the planned lunch must recognise that it is singularly inappropriate for her to continue to promote the concept of ethics in government after this debacle. I would ask her, therefore, to consider her position," Mr Molloy added.
. Mr Quinn confirmed last night that he saw Ms Fitzgerald's letter. "I was aware the letter had gone out." Pressed on whether he approved of its contents, he said he did not read it in the way it was interpreted by political opponents.