Denis Naughten standing firm in broadband bid row
Communications Minister Denis Naughten is refusing to resign over revelations that he met three times this year with the only remaining bidder for the State’s lucrative national broadband plan amid growing fears of a snap Christmas election.
Mr Naughten rejected claims he did anything wrong after it emerged he “facilitated” and paid for an April 18 Leinster House €37 lunch for David McCourt and his daughter and met him personally on June 28, before an already known July New York meeting with the billionaire.
Speaking as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin continued to stoke election tensions, Mr Naughten admitted to the two previously unknown meetings.
When asked if he should resign amid growing concerns over the interactions, Mr Naughten said: “No, I don’t accept I shouldn’t meet with bidders.”
The new revelations come at a deeply sensitive time, as the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil confidence and supply deal must be renewed to avoid an election.
At Fine Gael’s weekly private parliamentary party meeting last night, Mr Varadkar said the deal needs to be changed as it was written “two years ago” and said this should not take long as “it was only seven pages long”.
The comment provoked an angry reaction from Fianna Fáil TDs, who want to extend talks until Christmas and believe Mr Varadkar is trying to instigate a December election, with Mr Martin warning the Dáil: “The Taoiseach himself spent most of this year trying to create an instability which would allow him to collapse his own Government.”
Asked about December 7 election rumours, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said both parties should “agree” a specific 2020 election date, while Independent Alliance TD John Halligan said voters will not “look kindly” on a budget-inspired snap election before Brexit.
