Sir, – It may come as news to Fintan O’Toole (“How gang of four runs the country”, Opinion & Analysis, December 16th) that myself and the Tánaiste disagree on certain matters. In fact, we have had many such exchanges in recent years on issues, she in the important capacity as Minister for Social Protection, the largest spending department in the State, and me in my role as Minister for Public Expenditure.
You would expect that to be the case. We also continue to work together as friends and colleagues for the recovery of our country and its economy from an unprecedented economic shock and in the name of our party, the Labour Party, of which both of us have been members all our adult lives.
Sometimes you can’t win. If Joan Burton and I agreed on every issue, all the time, we would be justly accused of being party automatons incapable of independent thought.
To see our respective views on the Economic Management Council (EMC) traduced by Fintan in justification of what is a highly unlikely conspiracy theory would be bizarre if it did not indicate how little one of Ireland’s most highly regarded commentators understands about cabinet government and Irish politics.
In my piece in the Sunday Business Post I set out a reasoned analysis on the rationale for the Economic Management Council, its origins in this Government and how it fits into the nexus of the interparty and Taoiseach/Finance relationships as they have evolved over time and responded to new circumstances, particularly those thrown up since 2011.
Fintan’s response, channelling Citizen Smith, is to complain that the EMC was set up when we should have devolved “power to the people”. Now I don’t know that that means, other than to say that Fintan now seems to have a problem with representative democracy in which people are elected to take decisions on behalf of the country.
The crisis facing the country at the time was considerable and I am satisfied that the EMC played some role in improving our national lot.
Fintan asks has the Cabinet taken different views on issues discussed at EMC, and the answer is yes. He objects to advisers attending meetings and when I point out that is not always the case, he has a problem with that too. He derides some of the most important officials of the State. His cited example of the EMC usurping Government decision-making in relation to an education budget proposal some years ago defeats his argument. This decision was taken collectively by the Government because, as he points out earlier in his piece, constitutionally decisions are not the sole preserve of any line Minister.
I conclude that Fintan is determined not to afford this Government any credit for its work over the last four years. He complains that he does not “rule” but if my memory serves me correctly he refused to stand for election when the country truly faced a crisis in 2011. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN HOWLIN,
Minister for Public
Expenditure and Reform,
Government Buildings,
Dublin 2.
