Kenny says State resources wasted in pursuit of Cowen portrait prankster

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has claimed State resources were wasted in pursuing the painter of nude portraits of Taoiseach Brian Cowen for the crime of “putting a nail in a wall”.

He told the Dáil this happened “because of a restriction on freedom of expression for a piece of political satire, which the Taoiseach is well able to put up with”.

Mr Kenny sharply criticised assigning a detective garda to go to a radio station to get e-mails about the issue when gardaí “could not be found in Tipperary to deal with people being assaulted”.

Mr Kenny also said “the issuing of a grovelling apology by the national broadcaster is an abuse of independence and freedom of expression”.

He demanded to know “what part did the Government play in seeing that RTÉ issued a grovelling, wholehearted and comprehensive apology to the Taoiseach”.

RTÉ apologised following a TV news report about the portraits found hanging in the National Gallery and the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin.

A detective garda went to the offices of radio station Today FM seeking all e-mails and phone messages, which the artist had sent to the Ray D'Arcy Show.

Mr Kenny was the first of a number of TDs to raise the issue in the Dáil, but Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue repeatedly ruled it out of order. "I can't go into that nonsense," he said, describing it as more suitable for the Dandycomic.

Mr Kenny persisted that “a grovelling, unreserved apology was issued for a piece of political satire as a result of the Government press secretary contacting RTÉ”.

He stressed that Mr Cowen “is well aware of what happens in political life in terms of political satire”. A “detective garda was assigned to go to a radio station to get e-mails about this and the crime involved was putting a nail in a wall”.

Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said that “while I sympathise with the Taoiseach and his family, the public has noticed that it took gardaí six months to go into the Anglo Irish Bank”.

Liz McManus said “there is a concern that the public interest will not be served by a national broadcaster bowing to political pressure . . . We live in a democracy where political satire is part and parcel of our culture.”