Minister rips Kenny conspiracy theory apart
Noel Dempsey says meeting with Sean Quinn was not about Anglo
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Sunday March 01 2009
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey last night released details of a meeting he and another government minister had with Ireland's richest man, in a bid to refute a conspiracy theory voiced repeatedly in Dail Eireann by Enda Kenny which suggests an association between the Cabinet and the so-called Anglo Irish Bank 'Golden Circle'.
The documentation reveals that Mr Dempsey and Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith met with billionaire Sean Quinn seven months before Mr Quinn began to unload his shareholding in Anglo Irish Bank, 10 per cent of which was purchased for over €450m by a so-called 'Golden Circle' in circumstances which are now under garda investigation.
But the two ministers last night strongly denied that they had discussed with Mr Quinn his position at Anglo at that meeting or at any other stage, or that they had any knowledge of the so-called 'Golden Circle'.
In response to a query from the Sunday Independent, Mr Dempsey released a portion of a file which confirms that he and Mr Smith discussed with Mr Quinn the proposed Belturbet bypass scheme in Co Cavan at a meeting in the Department of Transport on December 13, 2007.
Mr Dempsey believes it was this meeting that Mr Kenny was referring to when he dramatically suggested that members of the Cabinet may have been involved with or are protecting the so-called 'Golden Circle'.
Yesterday Mr Kenny denied he had any knowledge of the December 1997 meeting between the ministers and Mr Quinn. But he did not back away from the substance of his suggestions. In fact, he sought to directly implicate the Taoiseach, claiming that Mr Cowen had a private dinner with the Anglo Irish board "three days" before the media first reported the possible existence of the 'Golden Circle'.
But Mr Dempsey has now rounded on Mr Kenny, accusing him of making unsubstantiated allegations "just to see us deny it". Speaking from the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis, he said: "This is not unusual from Fine Gael."
Pressure is now likely to increase on Enda Kenny to either substantiate or else withdraw his conspiracy theory. In Fine Gael, several prominent TDs are already questioning their leader's judgement on the issue. One senior Fine Gael source said yesterday that if a leadership vote was now held the party's finance spokesman, Richard Bruton, would defeat Mr Kenny "hands down".
Eyebrows were raised In the Dail on Thursday when a sharp exchange took place between Mr Kenny and Mr Dempsey. At one stage, Mr Kenny declared: "We know about Deputy Dempsey now."
Mr Dempsey took offence at Mr Kenny's comment, stating: "I know Deputy Kenny's agenda," to which Mr Kenny replied: "I know Deputy Dempsey's agenda."
Mr Dempsey then claimed Mr Kenny and his "henchman" were involved in "character assassination", and declared: "Say it outside the House. The Deputy is saying one thing behind people's backs."
This was a reference to comments by Mr Kenny two weeks ago which suggested that a member or members of the Cabinet were involved with or protecting the so-called 'Golden Circle'.
Two weeks ago, the Fine Gael leader raised the political temperature significantly when he suggested that members of the Cabinet may have facilitated the controversial transaction, which is set to cost the taxpayer up to €451m.
In the Dail he asked: "Does the Taoiseach know the names of the 10 persons involved? Can he confirm that no member of the Government was involved in any way by encouragement, support or any other activity to facilitate this situation...
"Can he confirm that no member of the Cabinet was in any way involved in the decisions of the new 'Golden Circle'? The Galway tent may be gone but its spirit seems to be alive and well."
Yesterday a spokesman for Mr Kenny said the Fine Gael leader had no knowledge of the December 1997 meeting between Mr Quinn and the two government ministers.
He claimed that Mr Kenny's remark, "We know about Deputy Dempsey now", was made after Mr Dempsey had "hurled abuse across the floor, fairly vicious stuff".
The official Dail record, however, does not report a "vicious" attack from Mr Dempsey, other than a comment some time earlier to Labour leader, Eamon Gilmore, that if the Opposition "came up with a few ideas, we would have something to discuss".
Mr Kenny's spokesman yesterday said that when Mr Kenny had questioned the Taoiseach about whether any members of the Cabinet were involved in facilitating the so-called 'Golden Circle' he did not have a specific individual minister in mind.
He added, however, that it was "not credible" that the Government had no knowledge of controversial transactions involving Anglo Irish Bank, stating that the Taoiseach, when he was Finance Minister, had a private dinner with the board of Anglo Irish Bank "three days" before the media first wrote about the possible existence of what has now come to be known as the 'Golden Circle'.
Mr Kenny's spokesman said "we do not believe" that the Government did not have more knowledge of this specific controversial transaction ahead of both the nationalisation of Anglo and the recapitalisation of the banks.
Last July, Anglo Irish Bank loaned €451m to 10 investors to buy shares in the bank with the shares themselves substantially the only security against the loans. The shares are now virtually worthless, which means that the taxpayer will have to pick up the debt.
The 10 investors, the so-called 'Golden Circle', who have not been identified, used the loans to purchase a 10 per cent stake that Mr Quinn was looking to unload.
The Taoiseach has said that he knew in March last year, when he was Finance Minister, that the Quinn Group had a large position in Anglo via contracts for difference. "This was considered by the bank and the market to be a source of instability and the institution was seeking some resolution of the issue," he said.
Mr Cowen has also said Finance Minister Brian Lenihan was advised in late July last year that a number of investors had invested in Anglo. However, Mr Lenihan was not advised as to the details of who the individuals were and the nature of the transaction.
In recent weeks, Mr Kenny has notably taken charge of Fine Gael's challenge to the Government on its handling of the economy. Prior to that, his Finance spokesman, Richard Bruton, had, with some success, led Fine Gael's direction on the issue.
Within Fine Gael there is a widespread feeling that Mr Kenny, in an attempt to thwart any threat to his continued leadership, has moved to lower Mr Bruton's public profile.
A senior Fine Gael source last week told the Sunday Independent: "There is a realisation that Enda is weak on the economy, but that was more than compensated for by Richard's performance.
"Initially, Enda was prepared to let Richard run with it. In fact, he embraced that idea. Now Enda has come out front on the economy, and he has been found wanting."
- JODY CORCORAN
