Taoiseach concedes EIB post could be delayed

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has conceded that the appointment of Mr Hugh O'Flaherty to the £147,000-a-year post of vice-president of the European Investment Bank could be delayed were there a successful Supreme Court challenge.

In the absence of such a challenge Mr O'Flaherty's nomination could proceed, following the High Court rejection of the attempt by Mr Denis Riordan to put a stay on the appointment, Mr Ahern said yesterday.

"The result is that the appointment can now proceed, and will proceed, unless Mr Riordan persuades the Supreme Court to make an order staying the appointment pending an appeal to that court.

"In the absence of any such order by the Supreme Court, the appointment will proceed in the normal way," Mr Ahern told the Dail.

Mr Riordan, a college lecturer from Limerick who took the Government to court over Mr O'Flaherty's appointment, has said he will appeal the High Court's decision to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the European Court of Justice.

The Dail was suspended twice yesterday afternoon after the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, persisted in accusing the Taoiseach of not abiding by Cabinet procedures in the appointment of Mr O'Flaherty.

Mr Bruton claimed that rules which stipulate that the Cabinet must be informed of any appointment to a board two weeks before it is made were breached in the O'Flaherty case.

The Fine Gael leader said it was one of the key functions of the Taoiseach to ensure that Cabinet procedures were respected, and he called on Mr Ahern to account for his failure to do so in this instance.

The question was ruled out of order several times by the Ceann Comhairle.

A Government spokesman said last night that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, did not have to follow the Cabinet procedure in the case of this appointment, which was at his discretion.

"However, Mr McCreevy consulted widely, and the appointment was confirmed by Cabinet on May 23rd. The procedure was not fully followed but did not have to be followed."

The spokesman quoted from the introduction to the Cabinet procedures guide which said that "procedures can be changed at any time by government" and that the government was not answerable to the Dail on how it conducted cabinet business.

A spokesman for the Minister for Finance said the appointment would proceed and that contacts were continuing with the EIB.

A spokesman for the European Investment Bank said it was waiting for the Government to inform it on the appointment.

He said there were no proposals on the agenda of the board of directors to discuss the nomination.