Alan Shatter held the position since issuing a press release on the clocks changing last year in which he gave himself the title ‘Minister for Time’.
But in yesterday’s announcement, reminding us all we’ll lose an hour sleep this weekend, there was no mention of this particular office. So Shatter must have resigned, I mean retired from the role.
Fianna Fáil want the Minister to call time on the rest of his jobs as well – and they aren’t the only ones. As the public are increasingly troubled over Shatter’s actions - some Labour backbenchers have started to get uneasy again too. Though none of them are willing to stand up and say it too loudly yet.
“I went out canvassing for the locals last night, and door after door the issue was the same – Shatter,” one backbencher revealed.
“We have to see that nothing else comes out, especially in the Sunday papers, but he’s on his very last chance with me now,” declared another.
A new club was formed on Thursday “The Alan Shatter Apology Club”. It only has two members – Sergeant Maurice McCabe and former Garda John Wilson. They will be life members, but it is doubtful anyone else will be joining, not anytime soon.
Alan Shatter doesn’t do apologies and he doesn’t admit he was wrong. At least he didn’t until this week, but then he had to, not just for his own survival – but because the survival of the coalition depended on it.
He did enough to settle any nerves in the Cabinet and - importantly his harshest critic in the past two weeks – Transport Minister Leo Varadkar. But for much of the time in the Dáil on Wednesday during hours of debates and criticism by Opposition, Shatter sat alone, an isolated figure on the Government benches.
But even a few weeks ago when the Garda Inspectorate published a report on the penalty points saying there was a problem (in fact lots of problems), the Minister never said sorry for when he got it wrong before. Because in May of last year Alan Shatter insisted there was nothing wrong at all.
In that video he told me “let’s get real”. Well the reality is less than a year later he’s had to accept a Garda Inspectorate report that effectively overturns his stance on that day.
Next week, there won’t be any apologies either. Instead expect an ever more bullish performance from Alan Shatter when it comes to a motion of no confidence in him.
Because the Minister has ‘form’ when it comes to dealing with motions of no confidence – look at his response when the Garda Representative Association announced they had no confidence in him.
To save the Minister’s skin Oliver Connolly was cut loose as the Garda confidential recipient and Martin Callinan was convinced he needed to take early retirement for the sake of his family. But there aren’t many others that can be disposed of before the Government will also have to lance the boil that is the Minister.
If the spotlight turns again on the Attorney General or if this gets out of control to the point where a court case collapses or a conviction is overturned, Enda Kenny will have to look at his watch and call time on Alan Shatter. And this weekend we may be an hour nearer that moment as we spring forward the timepieces.
