Justice Minister tells Offaly lunch it'd be 'honour' to lead Fianna Fail

JUSTICE Minister Jim O'Callaghan said it would be an honour to lead Fianna Fail when he addressed party supporters at a lunch in Tullamore on Friday.

Minister O'Callaghan had earlier attended the launch of a Tullamore Rotary Club road safety campaign at Tullamore College and afterwards was the guest of Offaly Fianna Fail TD Tony McCormack in the Court Hotel.

In a question and answer session Minister O'Callaghan was asked by Ronan Berry of Midlands 103 if he would put his “name in the hat as a potential future leader of Fianna Fail”.

In his reply the Dublin TD at first acknowledged the presence at the lunch of former party leader and Taoiseach Brian Cowen, a man he said was a “really fine” Fianna Fail leader.

“He's one of the finest public servants that this country has ever had,” said Minister O'Callaghan.

He referred to what his friend Paul Gallagher, attorney general when Brian Cowen was Taoiseach, had told him.

“To listen to Paul Gallagher talk about the public service, the diligence, the intelligence and the commitment of Brian Cowen through a period that was extraordinarily challenging is inspirational to listen to. Unfortunately people don't get to hear that publicly.”

Referring to his own intentions he said: “Who knows what the future holds? Certainly it's a fantastic party, Fianna Fail, I'm privileged to be a member of it, there are great people involved in it and it would be an honour to lead it.”

Earlier, Mr O'Callaghan, a Dublin City councillor between 2009 and 2016 and TD in Dublin Bay South since then, outlined how he had grown up in a household of four women (one of whom is his older sister the broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan) and that he had attended the 1982 All-Ireland football final with his Kerry-born father.

He said his older sisters studied history and law and his parents were interested in those topics, plus politics.

He went on to study law and become a barrister. He trained with the late Rory Brady, attorney general prior to Paul Gallagher. “I ended up going into law. There were no lawyers in our family and then I got interested in politics. How I got involved in politics was doing a court case for the former leader Bertie Ahern many years ago,” said the minister.

He said he was privileged to be appointed Justice Minister by Taoiseach Micheal Martin after last year's general election and the portfolio, which he always envisaged he would have, suited his experience and knowledge.

“The most important thing when you become a minister is that you know what you want to do. If you don't know what you want to do you're going to go into a department and the civil servants are going to tell you what you want to do.”

He said his priorities were ensuring the gardai were well respected and resourced, creating a fair justice system in both criminal and civil spheres and ensuring women who are victims of domestic violence are confident they can come forward and be taken seriously by the criminal justice system.

Minister O'Callaghan added: “In the area of immigration I'd like people to know that we have a rules based system in Ireland, if you comply with the rules you can stay, if you don't, you've to leave.”

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The 57-year-old also reflected on a rugby career which saw him play for Leinster, London Irish, Cambridge and the Ireland Under 21s.

He enjoyed his career but looking back he thinks he did not take it seriously enough, unlike today's players who will not go out on Thursday or Friday if there's a match on Saturday.

“I'd be coming home at three o'clock in the morning on a Friday and there'd be a match on the Saturday.”

He encouraged all young people to play sport and noted how he had made many friends through rugby, including Birr man Willie Burns.

Also speaking at the lunch former Offaly TD Barry Cowen mentioned his brief time as Minister for Agriculture.

“Was delighted and privileged to be appointed to Government,” said Mr Cowen. “Then the debacle [he was embroiled in a drink-driving controversy which resulted in Micheal Martin sacking him] that ensued was very disappointing, it was a quite shattering personal blow. It took a few years to get over it, to be quite honest.”

When Laois-Offaly was moved to the European Parliament constituency of Midlands North West he decided to seek a seat in the Brussels-based assembly and was elected last year. “In politics occasions arise and opportunities arise and you either take them or you don't at any given time.”

Deputy McCormack said he had been advised by Micheal Martin to “pick five things” to work on during the term of the Government and the new N52 road link between Tullamore and Kilbeggan was one he had selected.

The existing road is used by 18,000 vehicles daily. “It's unsafe for parents bringing children to and from school every day, the people going to church and to the creche and local people on normal every day business,” said Deputy McCormack.

He also said the new road is crucial to realise the ambitions of the Durrow High Cross committee who wish to establish an interpretive centre focused on the early Christian monastic site of St Colmcille.