Motion of no confidence over weather crisis blocked

OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE: THERE WERE heated scenes at the Oireachtas Committee on Transport yesterday as chairman Frank Fahey refused to take a no-confidence motion related to the recent weather crises.

Labour TD Tommy Broughan insisted the committee should have used yesterday’s meeting to call Ministers John Gormley and Noel Dempsey to account for the recent handling of the icy conditions and earlier floods.

When it became clear in recent days Mr Fahey would not accede to the request, Mr Broughan tabled a motion of no confidence in the chairman accusing him of using his position to protect Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey.

Mr Broughan said it was not the first time Mr Fahey had used his position to protect the Minister, adding “you did so in relation to Aer Lingus”.

He told fellow members of the committee it was particularly important that the Ministers and others responsible for the State’s response to the weather crises be called before them, as the Dáil and Seanad were not sitting until the end of the month.

Outlining the difficulties first with the November flooding followed by the December icy conditions and the snowfalls in January, Mr Broughan said the country had suffered “while nobody seemed to be in charge”. He said the failures “beggared belief” and “most of all we had no Minister for Transport”. He told the chairman: “you should go. Minister Dempsey should go”.

Meath TD Shane McEntee said conditions during the icy spell were like “a war zone” with more then 8,000 elderly people injured.

Frank Feighan TD said there was palpable anger among the elderly who had been let down by their politicians and the Government, and he emphasised that the situation was not yet resolved for many people, some of whom had not been outside their homes since before Christmas.

However, Mr Fahey told Deputy Broughan he was “a disgrace”. Mr Fahey read a statement outlining the receipt of the request to call the Ministers, remarking that the clerk of the committee had explained such a move would take a while to organise. He said once this was conveyed to Mr Broughan there was no further discussion until Mr Broughan had tabled the motion of no confidence.

Mr Fahey said he had no objection to calling the Ministers and others but procedures must be followed and he offered to invite the relevant personnel to come before the committee as soon as it could be arranged.