Clear Blue Water

The first commandment enshrined in the Ethics in Public Office protocol is loyalty, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan claimed today. ‘Loyalty to ones friends and donors is a core principal of the Fianna Fail party,’ he said.

The Minister agreed that giving oneself secret loans of €129m was ‘misconduct.’ He also admitted that the misconduct had caused ‘huge reputational damage’ to the bank.

‘But that’s all in the past now. We need to move on. We know from the Northern Ireland experience just how bitter things can get when mutual recriminations abound. As far as the Government is concerned the new, nationalised Anglo Irish Bank has clear blue water between itself and the misconduct that emerged in recent weeks. What’s past is past and I don’t want people harping on about it.’

The Minister asserted that there were no more skeletons in the Irish banking closet and vigorously denied that the past would come back to haunt the Government.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley said the decision had been taken in the national interest. ‘We back everything. Just give efficient light-bulbs the go-ahead and we’re yours,’ he said.

News round-up

Irish Times begins stealth advertising

The Irish Times let 30 staff go in December. Still feeling the pinch, Geraldine Kennedy has decided to allow advertising take the form of articles. This weekend, Miriam Lord reports on a Mediterranean cruise. She was a guest of the Travel Department.

(http://www.thetraveldepartment.ie/ , or call 01-6371600). Costs from €1,099 for eight nights.

Dunlop to be accountable for small beans

Former Government press officer Frank Dunlop faces to seven years in jail and/or a fine of €50,000. Among the 16 counts, Mr Dunlop has pleaded guilty to giving £3,000 to one former senator, £2,000 to one councillor and £1,000 to another.

‘The full rigour of the law must be brought to bear on these abuses,' said bank manager Sean FitzPatrick last November. Bertie Ahern too has called for full penalties: 'that's just the kind of guy I am.' Bishop of Cloyne John Magee has said he will offer up a novena for the disgraced press officer.

One door doesn't close, but another opens...

The Dublin Docklands Authority has said it will not be going ahead with Antony Gormley’s 46m steel sculpture of a human figure in the river Liffey because of the cost of the project (€1.6 million). Meanwhile, plans to turn ‘Kearney’s Gardens,’ the ancestral home of Barack Obama in Moneygall, into a heritage centre are going ahead.