Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended the Government’s decision to nominate Kevin Cardiff for a position on the European Court of Auditors after European Parliamentary budgetary control committee refused to endorse his appointment.
Mr Kenny said that that many in media circles had recognised Mr Cardiff as the best qualified candidation for the position and he was confident that he would ultimately be appointed when the European Parliament votes on the matter in plenary session.
"As has been pointed before if the government had decided to nominate a former politician here, it would be a different kind of story - this is first auditor appointed to the Court of Auditors from Ireland who was the Secretary of Dept of Finance
"Kevin Cardiff has outstanding qualifications in terms of this job - it is a matter for the European Parliament in full session to make its judgement ... and I expect that ultimately the European Parliament will cast its vote on Mr Cardiff's competency for the job."
Speaking at the official opening of the Irish Maritime Energy Resource Cluster in Cork, Mr Kenny rejected suggestions the government's plan to have Mr Cardiff appointed to the Court of Auditors had been derailed by the budgetary committe's decision.
"I think the general consensus is that Mr Cardiff performed very well on the hearings and the comments afterwards were that the vote did not reflect the quality of the hearing so from that perspective, it goes to the plenary session of the parliament for the members to vote."
Asked how he could justify nominating Mr Cardiff after the error in Dept of Finance when €3.6 billion was miscalculated, Mr Kenny said that it was important to remember that political decisions were separate from the advice given by civil servants.
"At the end of the day, politicians may well be advised and given options by the public service but it is the political process that makes the decisions- in other words, ministers have to sign off on options presented to them by the civil service.
"This is not the first occasion where double accounting took place during audits- not just in Ireland but abroad and my understanding is Mr Cardiff performed very well at the hearings and the comments afterwards are that the vote did not reflect the quality of the hearings,"
Mr Kenny said Mr Cardiff was the Government's nominee to the Court of Auditors and a process was in train involving firstly the budgetary committee of the parliament before the full parliament votes in plenary session and that process would continue to its conclusion.
Earlier, the chair of the Oireachtas committee on European Affairs sought an urgent meeting with the head of the European Parliament budgetary committee that rejected the appointment.
Labour TD Joe Costello contacted Dutch MEP Jan Mulder after e-mails from Eoin O’Shea, Ireland's serving member on the EU Court of Auditors, were disclosed to the Oireachtas committee.
The rejection of Mr Cardiff for a €276,000-a-year position on the European Court of Auditors may be referred back to the EU committee that ruled against him in light of revelations about lobbying carried out by Mr O'Shea.
Mr Costello said he had conveyed the serious concern of his own committee regarding the rejection of Mr Cardiff by the budgetary committee this week.
The Oireachtas committee is expected to meet shortly to appoint a delegation to meet Mr Mulder's committee ahead of the plenary vote of the European Parliament on the Cardiff appointment.
Meanwhile, Mr Mulder today indicated there could be a second hearing to confirm Mr Cardiff if members of the committee requested one.
The budgetary control committee of the European Parliament failed to approve Mr Cardiff’s nomination by a single vote this week, but the emergence of an e-mail sent by Mr O’Shea could lead to a change of heart.
When he heard on October 6th that the Government was not proposing him for reappointment, Mr O’Shea sent an e-mail to the Socialist and Christian Democrat whips of the committee. He wrote Mr Cardiff “was responsible for financial supervision during the period of the collapse of the Irish banks”.
He suggested there would be “further details in respect of this appointment” in connection with the “window-dressing” of the accounts of Anglo Irish Bank by Irish Life and Permanent to the tune of €7 billion.
