Independent TD Mattie McGrath has accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of engaging in a manipulative abuse of his offices authority in order to secure his nominees position for the Seanad’s Cultural and Educational Panel. Deputy McGrath was speaking after political uproar has emerged following the Taoiseach’s rejection of three female candidates for the role in favour of a male Fine Gael party activist John McNulty:
“This latest episode from the Taoiseach demonstrates that his commitment to political transparency and accountability is merely a political charade.
When you have Senior members of the Seanad and indeed the Labour Party’s own Seanad Leader expressing serious concern about the appointment then you know that this a botched and ham fisted effort that has exposed the Taoiseach to justifiable charges of political hypocrisy.
We know the Taoiseach has little or no respect for the value of the Seanad and this crass little episode is simply an acknowledgement of that fact.
He has now made his nominee a lame duck candidate who cannot be taken seriously because of the manner in which he was parachuted in on the arrogant whim of the Taoiseach. It clearly cannot have been given much serious consideration and nor can there have been much consideration of the perception this has created.
If Labour had any kind of backbone in the Seanad it would have opposed this nomination; instead it’s Leader in the Seanad has just wagged a disapproving finger at the Taoiseach as if this constituted some kind of serious political message about its own commitment to the credibility of the Seanad election process, which is now also under scrutiny because of this farce,” concluded Deputy McGrath.