Shocked. Stunned. A bolt from the blue. Just some of the words Fianna Fáil TDs and senators used to describe the announcement that Barry Cowen had been sacked as Agriculture Minister by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.One Fianna Fáil deputy told me the drink-driving story was becoming a "distraction" from a Government attempting to deal with Covid-19 and economic recovery.
When a follow-up story revealed a garda report, suggesting an apparent effort to evade a checkpoint, Barry Cowen strongly disputed the version of events and announced he was taking legal action.His party colleagues looked on and felt: well, let's see where this goes. It seems to have weighed on the Taoiseach that it was not possible for the minister to continue to refuse to answer any questions in public about a matter of significant seriousness for several more weeks.
He thought it was "straight forward" that the legal process would take a few days more to reach a conclusion. But then - suddenly - Mr Cowen was gone. Why? It's widely accepted that a Cabinet appointment will be made early enough for the successful candidate to participate in a Cabinet meeting this evening.
An outside bet would be Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill - the former president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association .
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »
Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »