A new book by a former adviser to former Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn reveals how, in early 2012, Fine Gael advisers successfully shot down Labour proposals to include farm and other business assets in calculations for college grant eligibility. In the book, John Walshe explains how the Labour-driven plan was demolished at a key meeting attended by Simon Coveney’s adviser Aine Kilroy and Enda Kenny’s top advisers Andrew McDowell, Mark Kennelly and Angela Flanagan.
Labour TDs and advisers were very keen to have business assets included in assessment for college grant eligibility. In the book, the former Irish Independent journalist admits that the Labour side leaked juicy information on the topic to Sunday papers in order to drive their agenda. Walshe quotes a Labour adviser, who told him: “I want blue blood on this – 10,000 farmers protesting outside the Department would be good”.
However, he notes that “it turned out to be red blood instead” as the Labour team were demolished in a 14 February meeting – later labelled the St Valentine’s Day massacre – in the Taoiseach’s department.
At the end of the chapter, Walshe concedes that “no capital assets test would see the light of day under this Government if it contained any proposal to take farm assets into account”.
Meanwhile, the book reveals a sinister development in May 2012 when the farm organisations were lobbying Ruairi Quinn on the issue.
Walshe writes: “The IFA turned up in Leinster House first and made the predictable noises. They were to be followed a short time later by the ICMSA. However, someone phoned our office to explain that the ICMSA needed to cancel because a named member of the association’s delegation had to deal with an urgent personal matter. The higher-education officials who had been waiting for the meeting left Leinster House to go back to their offices. And then the ICMSA delegation showed up, fully expecting to sit down with the minister and officials. The call had been bogus – some unknown dirty-tricks brigade was at work to upset them. Urgent phone calls were made and the officials returned. Naturally we never did find out who had made that phone call.”
The Dealer’s inquiries reveal that the caller deliberately set out to hamper the ICMSA leadership by maliciously claiming that ICMSA president John Comer had a family bereavement. It shows the depth that some individuals were willing to go to in order to damage the leadership at the height of the ICMSA fued, frequently covered on this page.
John Walshe’s book, An Education: How an Outsider Became an Insider – and Learned What Really Goes on in Irish Government is published by Penguin Ireland.
A new book by a former adviser to former Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn reveals how, in early 2012, Fine Gael advisers successfully shot down Labour proposals to include farm and other business assets in calculations for college grant eligibility. In the book, John Walshe explains how the Labour-driven plan was demolished at a key meeting attended by Simon Coveney’s adviser Aine Kilroy and Enda Kenny’s top advisers Andrew McDowell, Mark Kennelly and Angela Flanagan.
Labour TDs and advisers were very keen to have business assets included in assessment for college grant eligibility. In the book, the former Irish Independent journalist admits that the Labour side leaked juicy information on the topic to Sunday papers in order to drive their agenda. Walshe quotes a Labour adviser, who told him: “I want blue blood on this – 10,000 farmers protesting outside the Department would be good”.
However, he notes that “it turned out to be red blood instead” as the Labour team were demolished in a 14 February meeting – later labelled the St Valentine’s Day massacre – in the Taoiseach’s department.
At the end of the chapter, Walshe concedes that “no capital assets test would see the light of day under this Government if it contained any proposal to take farm assets into account”.
Meanwhile, the book reveals a sinister development in May 2012 when the farm organisations were lobbying Ruairi Quinn on the issue.
Walshe writes: “The IFA turned up in Leinster House first and made the predictable noises. They were to be followed a short time later by the ICMSA. However, someone phoned our office to explain that the ICMSA needed to cancel because a named member of the association’s delegation had to deal with an urgent personal matter. The higher-education officials who had been waiting for the meeting left Leinster House to go back to their offices. And then the ICMSA delegation showed up, fully expecting to sit down with the minister and officials. The call had been bogus – some unknown dirty-tricks brigade was at work to upset them. Urgent phone calls were made and the officials returned. Naturally we never did find out who had made that phone call.”
The Dealer’s inquiries reveal that the caller deliberately set out to hamper the ICMSA leadership by maliciously claiming that ICMSA president John Comer had a family bereavement. It shows the depth that some individuals were willing to go to in order to damage the leadership at the height of the ICMSA fued, frequently covered on this page.
John Walshe’s book, An Education: How an Outsider Became an Insider – and Learned What Really Goes on in Irish Government is published by Penguin Ireland. 
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