Simon Harris seeks to draw line under O’Donovan phone call – but where does it leave us?

There was little chance of Simon Harris easing himself back into the job after returning from paternity leave. The Tánaiste has stepped right into the sprawling saga over Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan’s budget, briefings about his health and his subsequent illness.

How did we get here?

O’Donovan had a rough budget – culminating in major headlines when he left RTÉ €20 million short on an agreed funding allocation of €260 million.

After that, he was heavily (and anonymously) briefed against in the Sunday Times. Concerns over his judgment were attributed to senior ranks within Fine Gael, while one minister suggested his health could lead to him losing his Cabinet post.

O’Donovan is epileptic and was hospitalised after a seizure this summer, taking several weeks off to recover. He publicly criticised the briefing on the Tuesday following the report. The Minister suffered a seizure later that day in Limerick, which led to a spell in intensive care.

What happened then?

While he was hospitalised, rumours emerged about a supposedly fractious call between O’Donovan and Harris. It was suggested the call took place after he publicly hit back at the anonymous briefings, but before he fell ill.

Harris, who was on paternity leave, issued a statement on the Friday evening castigating the anonymous briefers and giving enthusiastic backing to O’Donovan’s ongoing Cabinet career.

This came minutes after the O’Donovan family published a social media post emphasising the Minister’s intention resume his duties. The statements themselves sparked commentary within Fine Gael, with some viewing them as over the top and unusually pointed about O’Donovan’s future.

Over the following days, Harris’s spokesman refused to confirm the call.

So where are we now?

The Tánaiste returned this week – firstly going to Limerick to see O’Donovan, who is now recovering well at home, according to Harris. He then did a round of media outings. Harris or his spokesman have spent the guts of an hour publicly discussing the controversy this week.

What have we found out?

The Tánaiste confirmed he spoke with O’Donovan before he took ill, but, as to the content of the call, we are none the wiser.

The Tánaiste said it was a routine exchange and one of many they had around the time, insisting that he speaks to his Ministers constantly.

[ Harris says ‘hurtful’ anonymous comments questioning O’Donovan’s performance should never recurOpens in new window ]

He has refused to be drawn on details – saying it was private – and has taken issue with some aspects of the reporting around it as inaccurate. He has rejected any suggestion he threatened O’Donovan’s Cabinet position.

Harris didn’t confirm whether they discussed O’Donovan’s counterattack on his anonymous briefers, which was generating headlines as the call took place. Harris has defended waiting to confirm the call on the basis that he was on paternity leave. However, it has also been widely pointed out that he was on the phone to O’Donovan or his family before and after he took ill and issued a lengthy statement.

The Tánaiste has said he issued the statement to express support and as assurance that his focus was on getting O’Donovan back to work. He said he gave no explicit guarantees to O’Donovan about his future at Cabinet.

Harris and his spokesman have refused to add more detail about the call, or any other exchanges with staff or Ministers during the period, or his interactions with O’Donovan’s family as he consulted with them in advance of issuing his statement.

[ Simon Harris denies asking Patrick O'Donovan to consider his positionOpens in new window ]

They argue it is not standard or proper to disclose details of conversations between party leaders and ministers, and that privacy should be also afforded to O’Donovan.

Details about plans to account for O’Donovan’s absence have also been sparse, with the top civil servant in his department assuming responsibility for now – but without the ability to make decisions on significant financial or policy matters.

It is not clear if further powers might be delegated to O’Donovan’s junior minister during his absence, or whether another minister may temporarily take over his brief.

What about RTÉ?

It’s easy to forget that before all of this, the key issue was RTÉ’s funding. Harris and Taoiseach Micheál Martin were understood to have believed the RTÉ situation had been addressed when they found extra money for O’Donovan just before the budget.

Since then, they have indicated they don’t have a detailed knowledge of final decisions about spending in each department, and that money will be found for RTÉ if reforms happen. Harris explicitly backed O’Donovan’s decision-making on this point.

And the anonymous briefers?

Harris has said he didn’t brief against O’Donovan, and added that he won’t be pursuing a mole hunt against those who briefed against O’Donovan as it would be fruitless.

Where does all this leave us?

Harris and his team have had their say and the shutters have effectively been pulled down on further questioning when it comes to the detail of what transpired.

It is doubtful, however, if that will be enough to dampen speculation and intrigue, and scepticism in some quarters, about recent events. Fine Gael, meanwhile, is left to take stock of a tumultuous few weeks.