Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill hopes the Agriculture Minister’s address to the Dáil this evening will clear the air and allow Barry Cowen to get on with the job.
The newly appointed Fianna Fáil Minister was caught drink driving in 2016 for which he received a 3 month ban.
Details of the offence only emerged in recent days.
Deputy Jackie Cahill says this on top of new details about a speeding offence have added pressure and Minister Cowen needs to clarify things once and for all.
“Well look we’ll have to wait for that explanation – he’ll have the opportunity in the Dáil to give that explanation and I presume then we will address it in the parliamentary party and see how we feel after the explanation.”
“I’m not going to be presumptuous and see what he has today – he has the opportunity today to give good explanation for that and as he has said he is extremely sorry and he admits what he did was wrong and I think we’d all agree with that.”
Meanwhile the plight of private bus operators in Tipperary is to be raised in the Dáil by Deputy Cahill.
Many in the sector fear for their commercial future as their traditional sources of income has been absent since the Covid-19 lockdown.
Jackie Cahill says he has spoken to a number of those in the sector who don’t expect business to return any time soon.
“You know they have huge problems facing them. Our whole school transport infrastructure is based on them.”
“Our tourism industry as well, they’re a key cornerstone of that. You know it was said to me on Friday when I met them that it will be 2023 before they see their business getting back to normal because you know this time of year they’d be taking their bookings for 2021 – they’re down dramatically.”
“They feel it will be 2023 before the volume of tourism business that they had will get back to what it was prior to Covid.”
