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Hayes Earns a Smackdown from Batt O Keeffe
Read more about: Education, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Irish Election 
It is an interesting spat, I read a lot of Brian Hayes releases as they come into the inbox here and it is interesting how he does focus on the micro, chasing down figures which might be obscure to some but I always thought it was a sign of a decent command of his brief. Well Batt o Keeffee disagrees and took the opportunity of Brian Hayes latest release to smack down Fine Gael’s front bench golden boy. Via the Examiner:
“Deputy Hayes is issuing so many micro-level press releases that trying to digest them is a bit like drinking water from a fire hose.
“Perhaps in the new year, Deputy Hayes will resolve to focus more of his energy on constructive policy-making, lest the huge volume of press releases he issues almost daily frames him as the impulsive boy who cried wolf,” the minister said.
Hayes was questioning the amount spent on the School Broadband Scheme – which if it is like any other broadband scheme in the country is junk. The Minister’s response though does seem to back up a recent impression of the FF and PD ministers in government – they are shaken and badly so. For the first time in tne years they are looking over their shoulder nervously and the edifice on which political success has been built for three elections appears to be crumbling. It is a small spat, a throwaway comment but it seems indicative of where the collective attitude in FF is heading – to get the backs to the wall.
It might have passed O’Keeffe by in recent months but Hayes actually made concrete proposals at the conference about how FG would see funding for third level evolving (and not necessarily a very populist approach either) and also how to address the funding problem in other areas of education by not proceeding with pay increases for those in education who are earning more than 50K per year. The minister may choose to differ with deputy Hayes on these ideas but they are well within the bounds of “constructive policy-making”, perhaps the minister might grace us with his own ideas?
Apart from agreeing that we need a Brian Hayes person to grub out the grubby details, are we technos not apalled at the quoted cost of the mail server?????
Bye, Barry
Agreed dan Hayes often comes out with pict in his statements and isn’t afraid of taking a position. I am not sure o keeffe is up to this task with more cuts coming thus the diversion.
Barry u are right, I’m apalled but not surprised – this is the country that gave us eircom
barry, I’m similarly appalled at the cost but there again selling technology to our government appears to be a sweet deal.