Vol. 524 No. 6
1 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the number of items of correspondence relating to Government business or invitations he has received from a person or company (details supplied) since becoming Taoiseach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19208/00]
Since becoming Taoiseach I have received one piece of correspondence from this person.
The Taoiseach will recall that his colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, was sent a letter of protest by this man about a decision the Government appeared to be taking regarding the size permitted for supermarkets and he assisted the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by sending him a covering note with a copy of a letter he had sent to the Taoiseach, which contained the words addressed to the Taoiseach from the person in question, "many thanks for your great help Taoiseach". What was the great help in question in view of the fact that this issue is a very controversial one affecting small shopkeepers, etc., and some of the interests involved have not been behind the door in pursuing their political contacts with the Taoiseach's party?
The matters relevant to the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, are before a committee of the House today. At that stage I was sent a copy of some of the correspondence which he has dealt with, but that was not the correspondence communicated to me. It was a different issue about which the individual wrote to me. I had no involvement whatever in the planning matters.
Would he have been thanking the Taoiseach then under a misapprehension? Did the Taoiseach give him no help, for which he was thanking the Taoiseach in this letter?
The letter to which the Deputy refers was the one to do with the size of certain planning issues. I gave him no help on that issue, none whatsoever.
I am reassured to hear that, but why would the person have said "many thanks for your great help", if the Taoiseach had not actually given him any help?
If the Deputy meets the person, he has my permission to ask him.
I would prefer to ask the Taoiseach because it is easier to get a chance of asking the Taoiseach.
I have answered the Deputy. I did not give him any help on that issue.
The Taoiseach did not give him any help.
No help.
That is on the record.
I did on another issue. He had written to me on another issue, on which I was not of much help to him either.
Is the Taoiseach of no help to anybody?
On a related matter, the subject matter of this correspondence was, we were told at the time, brought about by a leak from Cabinet. Did the Taoiseach conduct any inquiry as to the source of that leak and is he in a position to make a statement on it?
All those matters are before a committee of the House today and the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, as we speak, is reporting on all those matters, but I had no involvement whatsoever in them. All of the relevant matters around that are being put forward in a statement which will be on the record of the House.
Do I take it in this plenary session of the House and at Question Time the leak from the Cabinet of confidential and, in this instance, highly commercially sensitive information is not a matter of concern for the Taoiseach and that the leak is being investigated by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government?
If the Deputy wants to table a question about what happened about that leak or about the investigations – there were some matters but I cannot recall them – I will look at it.
I will hand the question to the Taoiseach now.
The Deputy should table a question.
It was tabled to the Taoiseach on 3 October.
I will reply to it.
Deputy Quinn, this is most disorderly. There is a system in the House for passing messages from one Deputy to another.
I did that to demonstrate that I tabled the very question he invited me to table and he had it transferred to the Department of the Environment and Local Government.
I am just pointing out that if there is a communication like that to be passed between a Deputy and a Minister it should be done through the ushers.
In this era of e-commerce I thought we might speed up its transmission.
He is grandstanding.
When the Taoiseach says there was only one communication from this person to him, does he mean in respect of this issue or does he mean there has only ever been one communication from that writer?
I will read the reply again. Since becoming Taoiseach I have received one piece of correspondence from this person. In reply to Deputy Bruton, I said that the correspondence I received was not regarding this issue.
It is about time we proceeded to Question No. 2.
Was the issue upon which the correspondence was received a matter of public policy or was it something personal to the individual? Obviously we would not want to know anything about personal correspondence. Anybody is entitled to correspond with the Taoiseach about a personal matter without the matter being the subject of a parliamentary question. Was it about an issue of public policy? If so, can the Taoiseach assist the House by telling us what it was?
The issue was regarding Wimbledon Football Club having a part in the Premiership coming to this country. That is what the correspondence was about.
Did the Taoiseach kick to touch on that?
I was opposed to that. That is why I said I could not help him.
Are they going to use the so-called Abbotstown site?
