February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed Sunday that a second inquiry was to be launched into the awarding of the contract. This followed the announcement of an initial inquiry by the independent ethics watchdog the Standards in Public Office Commission last week.
Ahern said the government inquiry, which is led by a retired senior civil servant, should be completed within the month. He said he would aim to ensure that the two inquiries did not overlap.
“We don’t want to create any problems for the Standards in Public Office Commission, but I think that as on previous occasions they have to go into detail and it will take some time,” Ahern said.
“This is really about two areas: the OPW [Office of Public Works] and it is in Minister Cullen’s previous Department.
“The papers are there. I think it has been pretty well aired over the past number of weeks, so, hopefully, it won’t take that long. There aren’t that many people involved.
“It isn’t like an area where there are hundreds of people involved. The arguments are fairly well ironed out. The contracts are there. The Cabinet rules are there.”
SIPO has requested access to Department of Environment and OPW files from the time of Leech’s appointment. It is thought that if any of the files reveal objections to the awarding of the contract from senior civil servants, then Cullen will have no option but to stand down.
It had been reported that Leech had agreed a revised working program with Cullen’s old department when he was moved to Transport in the recent cabinet reshuffle. Documents at the Department of Environment reportedly revealed that Leech would continue to have a role in its “Race Against Waste” campaign.
It had been suggested that senior civil servants in the department expressed “unease” over the plans.
Cullen, meanwhile, is thought to be considering taking legal action against RTE radio’s “Liveline” show after a caller made crude remarks about him and Leech before he could be taken off air.
RTE immediately distanced itself from the remarks and has vowed to hunt down the hoax caller and may make a criminal complaint to the Garda over the matter. However, the station is first expected to go through the civil courts in order to discover from which address the call was made. It was reported at the weekend that the station may seek to attach the caller to any legal proceedings Leech or Cullen might take against the station.