Paul Murphy: Calls Ivy House workplace review a 'whitewash'
Paul Murphy criticised the Department of Foreign Affairs' internal review of workplace arrangements at Ivy House, calling it a 'whitewash'. He said the review failed to question the minister responsible and did not address key inconsistencies in the account of the event.
Assessment of the internal review
The speaker described the review as a whitewash from start to finish and said it treats "Workplace Arrangements" as a euphemism for "Champagne Gate". He criticised the report's central claim that the event was impromptu and noted it does not explain why at least two members of staff who were not scheduled to work were present.
Questions left unanswered by the report
Paul Murphy highlighted that the review did not interview the minister in his capacity as the minister responsible, despite the minister arriving about an hour and a half after the champagne corks popped while a social event was still continuing. He argued the report failed to probe what the minister did on arrival.
Concerns about deleted messages
The speaker pointed to at least one deleted text message related to the event and said the review did not adequately investigate the deletion. He emphasised this was not the first time such deletions had been referenced in relation to the party.
Context of public restrictions and penalties
Murphy contrasted the review with the wider public context, recalling a time when many people could not attend funerals and thousands were fined for organising or attending social gatherings in breach of regulations. He called for the minister to come before the Dáil to answer questions and warned against colluding in a cover-up.
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Thanks, Chair Nicola. Yesterday the Department of Foreign Affairs published its internal review of what it calls Workplace Arrangements in Ivy House, which I think is a euphemism for Champagne Gate, on the 17th of June. This is a time when many people were not able to attend funerals of loved ones, when thousands of people received fines for either organising or attending social gatherings in breach of the regulations in place at the time. And what is this report? It is a whitewash from start to finish. It doesn't deal with the fact, the whole narrative is the idea of this being an impromptu event, but it can't therefore explain the fact that there were at least two members of staff present at the social event who weren't scheduled to work on that day. But most glaringly, it is a whitewash for the minister, responsible Minister Coveney. And they did not even question him. They did not even interview him about, for example, what he experienced when he went there. He was there about an hour and a half after the champagne corks popped, when clearly a social event of sorts was still continuing. What did he do about it? Clearly he did nothing. He did not interview him in his capacity as the minister responsible, who ultimately the book has to stop with. They also wonder, have you spoken to Minister Coveney about why he deleted at least one text message from his phone, it's not the first time we've heard of this, about this party. But most importantly, will you not please agree that Minister Coveney needs to come before the Dáil and answer questions about this, or are you going to collude in a cover-up? Thank you.
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