I raise this matter on the Adjournment because of the deep public concern about the continuing Bord na Móna saga which has been running for over two months. It has been an unseemly, vicious and nasty battle dominated by manipulative media leaks.
Bord na Móna has become a successful State company for a number of years. However, no more than any other business, it cannot afford to lose two months of the time of the board and its management, but that appears to have been the consequence of this affairs. The eye of management and the board has been taken off the real issues of importance to Bord na Móna.
This matter has also impacted on the morale of the Bord na Móna workforce. Staff morale has been seriously dented and irreparable damage has been done to the company's corporate reputation by the stream of newspaper headlines. Much of the comment that appeared in the media has been based on leaked reports constructed in a fashion to maximise the damage to the reputation of one individual. This has not happened by accident. There is an agenda at play in Bord na Móna. It is a disgraceful way to conduct an investigation and amounts to trial by selected medial leaks.
I would like the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Deputy Lowry, to explain his role in this affair. What part has he played in leaking these reports? He and his Department are among a handful who have had the documents and have had access to additional information. Have they briefed the media on this matter? I want the Minister to say what he thinks about the campaign of half-truths and manipulative media leaks. I would also like him to explain what contacts he has had with the chairman of Bord na Móna during this controversy.
Last year we saw how the Minister does business in relation to semi-State companies. We saw his lack of respect for the offices of the State and the manner in which he and his army of advisers briefed journalists. We saw the Minister trying to defend himself and, in turn, trying to destroy the reputations of some individuals by the selective leaking of information. There are echoes of that campaign in the Bord na Móna affair and I see the Minister's hand in several parts of the controversy. To quote from The Irish Times, the Minister should take a hand now to bring matters to a speedy conclusion, not least of all in his own interest. As The Irish Times reported in its editorial, surely it is remarkable that so many issues within the Minister's purview seem to terminate in recrimination and grief.
The manner in which the Bord na Móna investigation has been conducted is disgraceful and breaches many of the principles of natural justice. If the Minister refuses to step into the affair I would ask the Taoiseach to take urgent action to return some dignity to our State enterprises.
A number of issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. There should be a full examination to establish where the responsibility lies for these selective leaks. It should be established who authorised the widening and deepending of the terms of reference of the Price Waterhouse report. The reports prepared by the chairman of Bord na Móna on the remuneration of the chief executive, as required by the Cromien guidelines, should be placed in the Oireachtas Library, as requested by the Leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Ahern, yesterday.
The former chairman of Bord na Móna, whose silence in this affair has been remarkable, should immediately come before the Joint Committee on Commercial State-sponsored Bodies and answer questions. The Minister must bring this shameful spectacle to an end. He must investigate and explain this matter and put a stop to the secret agendas in regard to Bord na Móna in the interests of the 2,500 people who work in that fine State company.
