Bertie repays some favours and raises a few eyebrows

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern was accused of repaying favours, as he gave a surprise Seanad seat to Eoghan Harris, the former Workers' Party activist-turned-political guru.

And eyebrows may be raised at the appointment of Maria Corrigan, a Dublin South Fianna Fail councillor who is the girlfriend of Mr Ahern's close friend Joe Burke.

Mr Burke is one of a group of the Taoiseach's friends who together made a payment of IR£16,500 in 1994 to help cover the cost of Mr Ahern's separation. Mr Burke was recently re-appointed as chairman of Dublin Port.

Mr Harris had been credited with helping to turn around the general election for Fianna Fail with an impassioned 'Late Late Show' appearance on the Friday before polling day.

Mr Harris, a 'Sunday Independent' columnist and lecturer, is the only independent appointee on Mr Ahern's list of 11 appointments to the Seanad.

He replaces Senator Maurice Hayes, chairman of the Forum on Europe and formerly Northern Ireland's most senior civil servant.

"I made a very strong intervention on the 'Late Late Show'," said Mr Harris yesterday, claiming that he had no advance indication of his appointment.

But he conceded his outspoken TV backing for Mr Ahern "wouldn't have damaged" his own prospects.

The Taoiseach's list includes two seats for the Greens who lost out in the election - Dan Boyle and Deirdre de Burca. There were also two for the Progressive Democrats' members Fiona O'Malley and Ciaran Cannon.

That left six Fianna Fail nominations.

Failed

Mr Ahern breathed new life into the career of Ivor Callely, ousted from the Dail in Dublin North Central, and who had also failed to get elected to the Seanad last month.

Cllr Corrigan, one of three rising stars from the ranks of the party's councillors positioned for Dail bids at the next election, ran unsuccessfully for Fianna Fail in the Dublin South constituency at the last election.

Running behind party heavyweights Seamus Brennan and Tom Kitt, she ranked eighth on first preferences, but failed to win a seat despite running Fine Gael's Alan Shatter close for the final berth as a result of transfers.

Cllr Corrigan, who has fought two elections for the party in Dublin South, is seen as a future replacement for Seamus Brennan.

Mr Ahern continued to look to the future by priming two other young councillors for Dail attempts next time out.

Cllr Brian O Domhnaill is seen as the natural successor to Pat the Cope Gallagher in Donegal South West, while Cllr Lisa McDonald, based in Wexford town, will have a good chance in that constituency.

The Taoiseach also rewarded popular Dublin North East figure Martin Brady.

John Ellis, another defeated TD, becomes the sole Oireachtas member for Leitrim after the Taoiseach was faced with a straight choice between Ellis and Paschal Mooney, who lost his seat in the Seanad this summer.

All three former TDs have been positioned to try again for the Dail next time out when a re-drawing of constituencies could restore Leitrim as a single entity while rearranging the political profile of the northside of Dublin, where Cllr Deirdre Heney has good grounds for feeling left out.

Historic

Green party leader John Gormley said the appointment of Deirdre De Burca and Dan Boyle, beaten in Wicklow and Cork South Central respectively in June, meant the party was now in a historic position with its first seats in the upper house.

Dan Boyle, seen as rewarded for helping to negotiate the power deal with Fianna Fail, spoke of necessary reforms to the Seanad that would "make it more vital".

Deirdre de Burca said she intended to play her part in bringing about fundamental reform "so that it can become a more relevant and democratic institution".

The PDs also took the opportunity to set up future tilts at full Dail seats. Fiona O'Malley, beaten in Dun Laoghaire, is known to be contemplating a switch to her father Des's old stomping ground in Limerick. Ciaran Cannon performed creditably in Galway East at the general election with 3,381 first preferences.

But Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar accused the Taoiseach of "wasting his last opportunity to appoint genuinely independent voices to the Seanad". The selection of candidates from the Fianna Fail ranks was singularly lacking in imagination, he said. "It appears to be driven by a desire to repay political favours or debts.

"There is no genuinely independent voice, no-one to represent Northern Ireland, and no-one to represent the Irish emigrant community.

"This is regrettable.

"It is disappointing that the Taoiseach has chosen instead to appoint a number of people who were rejected in at least two elections in recent months."