There is protest, there is symbolism, and then there is childish student union politics without thought to diplomacy. Not the for the first time, from Holly Cairns, this only fits one of those categories.
Down 13 per cent on last year
Tánaiste Micheál Martin denies that Catherine Martin’s “women in the home” claim was an example of “misinformation,” saying that describing it as such was a “complete over-the-top reaction.” Question by Ben Scallan.
Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, ex-Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, says that Media Minister Catherine Martin has shown “poor judgement” in her handling of the RTÉ crisis, and says RTÉ may only be the tip of the iceberg regarding wasteful State-funded bodies.
From climate to immigration
The lack of any real reform to RTE in the months since the Tubridy payment scandal has been obvious, and once again blame for that should fall at the feet of the Chairwoman of the Board.
Media Minister Catherine Martin when asked if she accepts that people boycotting the TV license don’t want to fund RTÉ in any way: “What I would say to that is that the TV license is the law of the land, so it needs to be paid…it funds public service broadcasting.”
IGNORED: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar walks out of a press briefing as Ben Scallan is mid-sentence asking about government ministers spreading referendum misinformation.
“Political rhetoric.”
Media Minister Catherine Martin is asked if she will delete a tweet in which she falsely claimed that the Constitution says “a woman’s place is in the home” – a claim which was explicitly contradicted by her government’s own Electoral Commission. Question by Ben Scallan.
Catherine Murphy, the former co-leader of the Social Democrats, previously said that Irish people had “white privilege,” even during periods of historical oppression. Ben Scallan asked the current leader, Holly Cairns, if this is still the party’s position.
After all, one might also argue that given that this mess happened on her watch, the Minister for Communications has a moral obligation to resign and repay her own salary. Right?