Hands off approach by the hands on Labour men rouses the Opposition

THE hands off approach which the hands on Labour programme managers and advisers tried to observe in the appointment of Mr Ruairi Quinn's brother's company to conduct the Government's divorce advertising campaign is mainly responsible for the juiciest political row of the New Year.

It will be the subject of Dail questions and, probably, be raised in the High Court next week when Mr Fergus Finlay, the Tanaiste's adviser, Mr Richard Humphries, the adviser to the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, and Mr Conor Quinn brother of the Minister for Finance and a senior partner in Quinn McDonnell Pattison, are expected to be called to give evidence.

The dispute concerns the letter from Mr Conor Quinn to Mr Finlay laid before the High Court last week, which strongly implied that QMP had been appointed to handle the advertising for the divorce referendum by May 2nd, 1994. Yet, McConnell's Advertising Service, together with QMP, was invited to make presentations to the coalition's sub committee on divorce on June 22nd, 1995. The formal appointment of QMP was announced in mid September 1995.

The circuitous procedures applied in the awarding of the £500,000 divorce information contract to QMP have emerged from the various parties to the dispute.

The Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor, invited a Labour dominated ad hoc advisory committee to handle the tendering process for the awarding of the contract in late 1993. The committee, comprising his programme manager, Mr Paul Mulhern, Mr Richard Humphries, Mr Finlay, Mr John Foley, head of the Government Information Service (GIS), and Ms Kate O'Toole, a member of the GIS, invited six of the State's leading advertising agencies to tender for the divorce contract at the end of November 1993. Mr Tom Lynch, principal officer in the Department of Equality and Law Reform, liaised with the committee.

The two front runners after the tendering process were QMP and McConnells. The committee attempted to get the two agencies to work together on the campaign but, at the end of April 1994, they informed the ad hoc committee that they would prefer if one of them got the contract.

The sub committee unanimously decided that QMP should be awarded the contract. Mr Finlay, in his account, said that they recommended to Mr Taylor on May 4th, 1994, that QMP should be appointed. Mr Taylor accepted that recommendation.

Mr Foley, on the other hand, said that he informed the Minister that they had agreed a recommendation, without naming the company, and advised that the name be passed on to the Government's contracts committee.

The protracted court case over the Judicial Separation Act led to the postponement of the referendum date. Mr Finlay kept in touch with Mr Quinn about the Government's divorce strategy. He discussed with Mr Conor Quinn, on May 2nd, 1994, the potential embarrassment which his relationship with his brother, the Minister for Finance, could involve for the campaign.

After the fall of the Fianna Fail/Labour Government and the formation of the rainbow coalition, Mr Taylor suggested to a newly established Cabinet subcommittee on divorce that it should review all preparations for the referendum campaign, including the choice of an advertising agency, since no contract had been formally offered to QMP.

In pursuit of the hands off approach to the QMP appointment, according to Mr Foley, he invited McConnells advertising agency and QMP to make presentations to the Cabinet subcommittee on June 22nd, 1995. The meeting was attended by the Attorney General, Mr Dermot Gleeson, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, Mr Taylor, the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, and the three Government press officers appointed by the different parties, Mr Shane Kenny Mr Foley and Mr Tony Heffernan.

McConnells was not aware that QMP was getting the contract and that it was not getting it. Mr Heffernan and Mr Kenny were informed that QMP had been strongly recommended and was the choice of Mr Taylor's ad hoc committee.

The Cabinet sub committee also chose QMP to run the divorce information campaign. The formal announcement was made on the day that the Government launched its divorce campaign, September 14th, 1995.

This circuitous procedure employed in the appointment of QMP has led Fianna Fail and the

Progressive Democrats to question why the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor, repeatedly stated on May 30th, July 4th, July 30th and August 2nd last year that a decision had not been taken on the awarding of the £500,000 contract.