THE Archbishop of Cashel, Dr Dermot Clifford, says he is intrigued at the reaction of the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, after he was accused of being "a liar" in the Dail on Thursday. Mr De Rossa had not withdrawn a similar accusation he made against the archbishop during the divorce referendum campaign in November, Dr Clifford recalls.
Dr Clifford, in a letter to newspapers, said he was intrigued at Mr De Rossa's reaction "when he was called `a liar' by a member of the opposition in Dail Eireann. He reacted very angrily indeed".
The archbishop said readers and viewers would recall that Mr De Rossa had accused him of lies and deceit at a press conference on the divorce referendum on November 20th, 1995.
"He was referring to a statistic quoted by me in a pastoral to my people. He has never withdrawn the accusation even though I told him publicly that this accusation was false and that I felt greatly hurt by it," Dr Clifford said.
Meanwhile, the Government is expected to frame an amendment to the opposition parties' motion condemning Mr De Rossa's failure to correct the record of the Dail over whether the posts of five advisers in his office were advertised. The motion, calling on the Minister to resign failing such a statement, will be debated next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Additions were made yesterday to the official record of the acrimonious exchanges in the Dail on Thursday morning to include a remark from Mr De Rossa. At one stage, after interruptions, he is recorded as stating: "You are a pathetic bunch of liars." He is also reported as stating that he intended to take Mr Joe Walsh's accusation that he (Minister) was "a liar" to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
