Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said his job as Head of Government is to lead the Government to implement the mandate given to them.
When asked if he could survive a heave, he said he hoped he could weld the party together.
His comments come amid increasing criticism over the selection of John McNulty as the Fine Gael candidate in the Seanad by-election.
Asked if he has taken disciplinary action against the official at the centre of the McNulty affair, Mr Kenny said he had already taken away the authority from Fine Gael headquarters as to how candidates would be selected.
Speaking as 400 jobs were announced at Car Trawler in Dublin this afternoon, he said all public appointments would be publicly advertised on stateboards.ie from 1 November, and would be assessed externally.
Asked why he was protecting the individual and whether he would be naming them, he said in terms of staff of Fine Gael these were ordinary staff, and he had taken the rap for this and was changing the process.
Mr Kenny also noted the obstacles that the country had overcome, having inherited what he called the worst economic catastrophe in the history of the State and he said the country was emerging from that swamp.
Earlier, in the Dáil, Mr Kenny denied that he discussed appointing Mr McNulty to the Irish Museum of Modern Art board when he spoke to him about a possible Seanad nomination.
He said Fine Gael officials had forwarded Mr McNulty's CV to Minister for Arts Heather Humphreys without the knowledge of the party's ruling council.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams both wanted to know if Mr Kenny had had a hand in the Donegal businessman's nomination to the IMMA board.
Mr Kenny said he had interviewed a number of potential Seanad nominees, but he had spoken to Mr McNulty at length because of the impending retirement of local TD Dinny McGinley.
He said he had not discussed any State board with Mr McNulty.
The Taoiseach said that subsequently Fine Gael officials had sent Mr McNulty's CV to Minister Humphreys without reverting to the party's executive council, who were in charge of the Seanad selection process.
Mr Kenny faces a difficult parliamentary party this evening.
TDs and senators are openly critical of his performance throughout this affair, which has also shone the spotlight on the new Minister for Arts.
This morning, Fianna Fáil's Seán Ó Fearghaíl called on Minister Humphreys to explain her decision.
He claimed she had either been instructed by the Taoiseach himself or believes it appropriate to bury her head in the sand and avoid answering questions on the controversy.
Call for Kenny to appear in Seanad
This morning there were calls in the Seanad for an amendment to be made to the Order of Business requiring the Taoiseach to go before it and answer questions on the affair.
Fianna Fáil Senator Marc Mac Sharry said that the appointment of Mr McNulty to the IMMA board was incredible, bizarre and completely unacceptable.
He said it was an affront to the arts community, Seanad members and to the wider public.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Kenny defends position amid McNulty controversy
Dengan url
http://newsdeadlineup.blogspot.com/2014/10/kenny-defends-position-amid-mcnulty.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Kenny defends position amid McNulty controversy
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Kenny defends position amid McNulty controversy
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar