THE OPPOSITION has condemned Minister for Community, Gaeltacht and Rural Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív, claiming he failed to defend his department in the face of the McCarthy report recommendation that it be abolished.

Labour spokesman Jack Wall said the Minister was only now talking about a reply to the report “when you should have been in there fighting your corner”.

Doubt had been cast on “wonderful programmes” the department operated “and you’ve allowed that doubt to be cast”, he said to Mr Ó Cuív during Dáil question time. Mr Wall said the Minister was “now going to write the critique, but it’s too late because the general public thinks differently following the McCarthy report”.

It was “a bit late to be putting forward evidence when the door is closed”, he said. “If the McCarthy report is trying to close down rural Ireland and if the Minister continues to write up reports at a late stage, then you will assist McCarthy in doing that”.

Rejecting the claim, Mr Ó Cuív insisted there was plenty of evidence and documentation to support the department’s work, and all the reports “are available”.

He said the McCarthy report “also states there is an obligation to translate every document into Irish, which is factually incorrect. Mr McCarthy is entitled to his view and we are entitled to ours.”