Scorned former junior minister lands Taoiseach in hot water

Hell hath no fury like a former minister scorned. And so it was that Fergus O’Dowd, a former junior minister in the Department of the Environment, took to the airwaves yesterday morning to pour scorn on Irish Water.

O’Dowd, tipped by some commentators for promotion rather than the backbenches in Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s ministerial reshuffle, has not gone away, you know.

He did not hold back when he described Irish Water as an “unmitigated disaster’’. His remarks provided plenty of political fodder for the Opposition when it came to leaders’ questions in the Dáil yesterday.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin led the charge when he asked the Taoiseach if he would take steps to ensure the poverty analysis of the charges, referred to by O'Dowd on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland, was carried out.

Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae had a political observation. “The Taoiseach is sorry now he appointed him,’’ he remarked.

Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher was probably nearer the mark. “He is sorry he dropped him,’’ he said.

Teething problems

While disowning his former junior minister’s remarks, the Taoiseach went some of the way in agreeing with him.

“I do not agree with Deputy O’Dowd’s comment that Irish Water is an unmitigated disaster,’’ he said. “I agree Irish Water certainly had teething problems during the course of it being set up.’’

Then the Taoiseach embarked on a stream of consciousness. “Water is a very precious commodity,’’ he said. “Given our geography and location we are blessed with an abundant supply of water.’’

And then he resorted to a biblical reference when challenging the Fianna Fáil leader’s assertion. He said that Martin had supported the Irish Water concept but had proposed an average charge of €400 with no allowance.

“In other words, the deputy is a little like St Augustine in that he wants it but just not now,’’ Kenny added.

Fianna Fáil's Timmy Dooley intervened with a remark on a crisis that dare not speak its name in Fine Gael circles these days. That is the ongoing controversy in the party surrounding the nomination of John McNulty to contest the Seanad byelection. He is the candidate who has asked members of the Oireachtas not to vote for him but could end up elected anyway. "It is a bit like the Taoiseach with McNulty,'' he said. "He wanted him now but not yet.''

Martin said he loved the Taoiseach’s sense of the English language.

“When a former minister of state says something is an unmitigated disaster and abject failure, and uses phrases such as ‘intense dislike of the whole process’, and states people feel angry and intimidated, the Taoiseach says yes, it had teething problems,’’ said the Fianna Fáil leader. “These are not teething problems.’’

The Taoiseach clearly had enough. He put the boot in to his former junior minister. But, clearly under pressure, he put a premature historical note to the political career of his angry backbencher.

“I have admitted that obviously there were teething problems in the setting up of Irish Water,’’ he said. “The former Deputy O’Dowd was the minister of state who dealt with setting it up.’’

An observant Timmy Dooley remarked: “He is still a deputy.’’

Bonus culture

The Taoiseach was on a roll and the political gloves were off. “He dealt with New Era and piloted the Bill through the House ,’’ said the Taoiseach. “Perhaps if some of these issues had been brought to his attention then, he might have been able to change them before it went through.’’

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams ran with the political ball handed to the Opposition by O'Dowd. He said the words they were quoting were not his. "Deputy O'Dowd pointed out it has become another cosseted quango with a bonus culture,'' he declared.

In an attempt to change the subject, the Taoiseach said he thought the Sinn Féin leader was coming into the Dáil to say why he did not submit his budget proposals.

But it was all to no avail. The harsh words of Fergus O’Dowd cast a shadow over the Cabinet. He is among the dispossessed backbenchers who could make life uncomfortable for Kenny until the general election.