Interview with Paul Gogarty

Yep, another Mail interview, this one conducted by Jason O’Toole which allows Paul Gogarty an opportunity to wax lyric:

In a colourful remark, that could add further strain to the fragile coalition, he
contradicts Brian Cowen’s claim about Willie O’Dea’s departure, openly admitting:
‘Yeah, it was a political execution. I would be quite blunt about that. He was given a good trial, a fair hearing. He was tottering around wounded, someone needed to shoot him in the head.
‘The execution of Willie O’Dea wasn’t a moral execution, it wasn’t a legal execution, it was a political execution. And what built it into a political execution was the manner in which he conveyed himself in the Dáil.’ Referring to an interview the former defence minister gave on RTÉ radio and an article in the Limerick Leader, he said: ‘The portrayal of himself as a victim in the interview, and then – after promising to us that he’d be vindicated in an article,
and the article didn’t do anything to vindicate him – the manner in which he portrayed himself was out of order.’

Hmmm. Interesting.

Though Mr Gogarty believes he was ‘personally shafted’ by Fianna Fáil on a promise of a junior ministry, he does not blame them for leaking the letter to a garda that forced Mr Sargent to quit.
He says: ‘My gut tells me it’s in some- one’s interest for us to fall out with Fianna Fáil. It could be Fine Gael’s interest or Labour’s. It could be the gardaí cheesed off over public service pay cuts. On the balance of probability, it’s a Fine Gael sympathiser rather
than a Fianna Fáil minister.’

Dan Boyle comes into view…

‘I have to say straight out, it was wrong of Dan to issue his Twitter when he did because we could’ve still ended up coming to the same conclusion without having added pressure on us.

And that junior ministry?

[ GP deputy leader], Mary White, will probably get Mr Sargent’s food and horticulture portfolio, but says Fianna Fáil reneged on a promise of a second junior ministerial position, to which he would be particularly suited. He explains: ‘We trusted Fianna Fáil to honour their agreement with the junior ministries but they didn’t.
It’s always in the gift of the Taoiseach in any event, but the understanding with Bertie Ahern
was that if there was an extra junior ministry it would be in the education area. So, that would have been tailor-made for me. Yes, I do feel personally shafted. It mightn’t necessarily have been me appointed, but it was in an area that I had a level of experience built up.’

And…

Deputy Gogarty says he came close to resigning from the Government last year, and insists he will ‘walk’ by the end of this year if promised legislation to ban corporate donations isn’t introduced,

As for FG and SF…

However he has reserved his greatest wrath for Enda Kenny, accusing
him of being untruthful for denying he approached the Greens to sound out
Sinn Féin about a coalition after the 2007 general election.
He declares: ‘I think Enda Kenny will end up having to resign as party leader because of that little booboo. He asked Trevor to speak to Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin because he didn’t have the courage to approach him himself. On foot of an interview with the Mail a year ago, the media found out that Enda had rung Trevor asking would he contact Sinn Féin about an alternative administration and now Enda is casting aspersions on Trevor’s good
name.
‘I’m really p***** off with Enda Kenny over blackening Trevor’s name.

Oh, there’s more…