MINISTER FOR PUBLIC Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has apologised for comments he made about the Referendum Commission over the weekend.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Howlin said he regrets that his comments were seen as a criticism of the body. He said it was not his intention to question the role or the independence of the chair of the Commission or the Commission as a whole.
The Commission had released a statement last night to rebuke the comments made by Howlin, in which he appeared to accuse the chairman Bryan McMahon of causing confusions among voters ahead of Thursday’s referendums.
Howlin seemed to claim that McMahon, who is a former judge, had caused confusion by stating the Commission could not say what role the courts would have in reviewing inquiry procedures adopted by Oireachtas committees.
The Minister said the comments were made as he was trying to candidly answer questions about the defeat of the constitutional amendment to give power to the Oireachtas to conduct inquiries.
“If Bryan McMahon feels that there was a slight to him, I unreservedly give an apology,” he said, adding that it was never his intention to slight him.
He said that the Commission acted with complete probity.
Commenting on the no vote, Howlin said, the Government needs to “reflect on the decision of the people – with a degree of humility on my part.”
However, he believes there is still an appetite for reform to get to the truth of issues of public importance in a “quicker and more effective way”.
He said it was clear that the Government needs to “bring the people with us every step of the way” and that was not done on this occasion.
“It is an early lesson for this Government and for me as a minister to do it better in the future,” he concluded.
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