Union calls on Minister to retract 'outrageous attack'

A CALL on Minister of State for Trade John McGuinness to stand down unless he retracted an "outrageous attack" on the Civil Service was made by the Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU) at a meeting in Dublin yesterday.

The motion followed an address by Mr McGuinness to the Beverage Council of Ireland's annual conference last Friday in which he described the public service as "now so protected by its unions that it has largely become a reactionary, inert mass at the centre of our economy". He also said the public service culture "destroys ambition, resists change, and is now so insulated from reality that information can be withheld from a Minister, unfavourable reports are doctored and answers to parliamentary questions . . . are master classes in dissemination and obfuscation".

Mr McGuinness should "withdraw his outrageous and wholly unjustified attack on his work colleagues in Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the wider civil and public service", a motion passed by the meeting stated. More than 80 union members, including many from Mr McGuinness's department, gathered at the lunchtime meeting yesterday.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan were called on by the CPSU "to confirm that his comments do not reflect Government policy and that he be required to retract his statement or be asked to stand down from his post as junior Minister."

CPSU deputy secretary general Eoin Ronayne said that while the Department of the Taoiseach had told the union that the comments were the Minister's personal views and not the views of the Government, this did not go far enough.

"You can't have a Minister make comments that undermine social partnership and get away with it," he said.

MARK HENNESSY, Political Correspondent, writes:Mr McGuinness's criticisms of the public service were personal views and did not reflect the Government's opinions, Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said yesterday, but they refused to heed calls to force him' to apologise.

Speaking in Galway, the Taoiseach said Mr McGuinness was indicating "some personal views. They are not the Government's views. The Government has indicated that the public sector reform programme is an important part of what we need to do to deal with the situation."

The Minister for Finance said: "John McGuinness was expressing a personal opinion of his on public sector reform, not necessarily reflecting Government policy. And the matter rests there."