Examiner Irish News

Parades to bring North to its knees

by Joe Oliver and Edward Power
HARDLINE Orangemen will attempt to bring Northern Ireland to its knees by staging scores of illegal no-warning parades if, as expected, Sunday's powderkeg Drumcree march is banned from the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
Widespread disruption, similar in scale to the rioting which followed official attempts to block the parade two years ago, could sound the death knell of the fragile Good Friday deal and will further jeopardise David Trimble's faltering grip on the Ulster Unionist party in the wake of the anti-agreement campaign's strong showing in the Northern Assembly elections.
Mounting expectations that the controversial Parades Commission will announce a ban on the Drumcree march today were fuelled by the deployment of three British Army battalions to Portadown. The troops will augment a heavy RUC presence in the town. The Commission's decision is legally enforceable but may be overruled by RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan.
The Orange Order will formulate its response to today's announcement at a meeting of its 116 district masters. The Order's parades strategy committee is planning to oppose any rerouting of the flashpoint march. The district masters, who represent some 85,000 Orangemen, will be told to organise no-warning parades throughout the North to stretch the security forces to the limit. Other protest tactics have been devised by the committee, which has held several meetings during the past six months to agree an overall strategy.
In a separate development, a letter sent to all Orangemen last week by the Grand Master, Robin Saulter, promised that leadership would be given to back peaceful protests.
In view of splits within the Order, he warned: "There are those attempting to destroy out traditional parades, and are intent on dividing the institution, by attacking our culture and identity. We must stand firm and united against such action. They will try to manipulate situations and turn brother against brother, district against district. We must not allow this to happen."
The hardline Spirit of Drumcree group, who at one stage threatened to break away from the Order, will also press for air and ferry terminals to be blockaded, but such a tactic is unlikely to receive the official backing of the Orange hierarchy.
The real fear, however, is that the Loyalist Volunteer Force, whose stronghold is in the Mid-Ulster triangle of Portadown, Lurgan and Craigavon, will breach its ceasefire by orchestrating widespread riots and mounting attacks on nationalists. Security sources believe the terror group, founded by murdered godfather Billy Wright, has been waiting for an opportunity to unleash a new wave of violence to undermine the peace process.
The Government here is conscious of the threat widespread civil unrest could pose to the nascent Northern Assembly and has been pursuing a 'softly, softly' approach ahead of today's announcement. Official spokespeople were reluctant to comment on claims by Fianna Fáil Chief Whip Seamus Brennan that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will lend his tacit support to David Trimble during the crisis to ensure that assembly wreckers did not gain the balance of power. Last night, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government was anxious to be seen to be maintaining a hands-off approach ahead of Drumcree to avoid suggestions that it was attempting to impugn on the autonomy of the Parade's Commission.
"We wouldn't want to be seen to be interfering in the independence of the Commission," a spokesman said.

Lightning grounds jet and leaves holidaymakers waiting for sun

by Caroline O'Doherty
A GROUP of 140 Aer Lingus passengers spent the first 24 hours of their sun holiday in Cork at the weekend after the aircraft due to take them to the Canaries was hit by lightning.
The disappointed holidaymakers were grounded when the incident sparked a series of delays at Cork Airport yesterday and could only watch in frustration as their aircraft made six flights between Cork and London before they were finally allowed to board.
Passengers on flight EI7916 began arriving at the airport at teatime on Saturday for the 9.25pm departure to Las Palmas but were told they would not be leaving until some time yesterday because the aircraft had suffered "technical difficulties" after being struck by lightning en route from London to Cork.
They were put up overnight in Cork hotels but were then informed their flight had been put back to 9.25pm on Sunday — resulting in the loss of a full day of their holidays.
Frank Kelly, from Cork city, said his two brothers and their wives had driven from Kilrush, Co. Clare for the flight and were annoyed by the delay. "It's disgraceful. They should have been lying in the sun by now," he said.
Mr Kelly's said his own holiday two weeks earlier had got off to a bad start when his flight from Cork to mainland Spain was also delayed for some hours. "It's happening too often. Imagine the frustration of people with children trying to keep them amused for a day when they're going nowhere."
Aer Lingus spokesman Declan Conroy said everything possible was done to get the passengers to their destination but the aircraft was needed to complete six pre-arranged flights between Cork and London before it could be released to fly to Las Palmas.
"We had to try to cause the least inconvenience to the greatest number of passengers. There were 140 people waiting to go to Las Palmas but around 800 relying on the Cork-London trips."
Mr Conroy said repeated attempts were made to charter a replacement aircraft but the busy summer season, combined with the World Cup, meant none were available.
"We did our best through the night. We are conscious a lot of customers are unhappy but we tried to pull out all the stops and it just didn't work."
Passengers were brought to hotels for dinner yesterday and many took up an offer of a trip to Kinsale. The flight eventually took off at 9.45 last night.

Oil workers fuming as Scottish rig snubs them

by Andrew Bushe
IRISH oil workers are fuming that cheap North Sea labour has been given what they claim are their jobs on an exploration rig, which arrives off the west coast this week.
"The rig left Scotland fully crewed and this has raised major ire here. People are extremely angry. It's a bad day for Irish oil and gas," according to a SIPTU spokesman.
"They can't just roll in and explore our natural resources in our waters and totally ignore the labour force.
"This is a moral and political issue. No Irish person will accept that what is happening is reasonable.
"Irish workers are not even being presented with the option of applying for jobs," he added.
Enterprise Oil General Manager for Ireland, John McGolderick, said the rig, SEDCO 711, would be assessing the Corrib gas find about 30 miles off Achill Head, Co Mayo.
The rig was on long term contract to Enterprise and there were commercial, safety, legal and decency arguments for not taking some crew off and replacing them with strangers just because the rig crossed an international frontier within the EU.
"I have a big problem with this. I find it very difficult to see how I can accommodate it."
He said the oil business was an international one and the crew is a mixture of European and Americans employed by a sub-contractor. "Nowhere else in the world would you be asked to put up with this sort of thing. It's unnecessary hassle," Mr McGolderick said, adding that union wage rates offshore Ireland were two to three times higher than in the North Sea where standard industry rates applied.
He said they were spending £20 million this year and had spent £50 million to date off Ireland.
"We're here trying to drill up reserves. Everybody is on tight budgets and we have got to do it cost effectively.
"Just because there is a big job doesn't mean there is slush to be thrown around for good social causes," he said.
The two-month drilling would mean an injection of about £2 million into the economy through Foynes, Co Kerry, where the operation will be based. It would also support SIPTU jobs in the port, he said.
SIPTU claim there is an understanding that rigs working in Irish waters will use Irish crew like roustabouts and roughnecks.
A similar row last year with Norwegian company Statoil resulted in 48 Irish crewmen being hired.
SIPTU claims the lower wage rates in the North Sea reflect "Thatcherite" employment policies and a lower income tax regime.
"We want the Minister for the Marine to look at the licence for this company. By allowing this to happen he is letting the side down.
"Our preference is for a civil and reasonable arrangement with Enterprise but they have been ignoring our communications for months."
SIPTU Vice President Des Geraghty met a company representative last week but he said it proved fruitless.
A spokesman for Minister for Marine and Natural Resources, Michael Woods, said he met both sides in an effort to facilitate an understanding, despite having no direct role in the row.
"Because of EU legislation we can't put a pre-condition into a licence," he said.

Bitter party split could spell the end for Trimble

by Joe Oliver
ULSTER Unionist leader David Trimble, who will be installed as First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly this week, faces a bitter split within his party which could eventually topple the new administration.
The UUP chief put his political career on the line to fight for the Good Friday Agreement and admitted he breathed a huge sigh of relief when his party rallied to secure the lion's share of seats in the Assembly.
But storm clouds are already looming for the Upper Bann MP as the post mortem into his party's showing in the election — for the first time it secured fewer first-preference votes than the SDLP — threatens to overshadow progress within the Assembly which is balanced on a knife-edge.
Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, one of Mr Trimble's closest aides before the Good Friday agreement, made it clear he would resign from the party if, as expected, the First Minister enters government with Sinn Féin before decommissioning.
A second Ulster Unionist MP, William Thompson, also signalled he, too, would quit the party.
Such a split, and the emergence of a splinter group allied to the already elected 28 hardline Assembly members opposed to the Agreement, could bring down the new administration.
Under the special voting arrangement in the Assembly, a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists must support any tabled resolution, otherwise it fails.
Mr Donaldson, who has not previously threatened to quit even though he is opposed to the Agreement, said bluntly: "I will not support the party going into government with Sinn Féin, in either a shadow executive or a real executive, short of the IRA declaring a complete end of violence, decommissioning their weapons and dismantling their paramilitary organisations.
"I could not support our party sitting in an executive with the IRA. If that did happen, then myself, and many other members, would have to consider their positions."
Rebel West Tyrone MP William Thompson was even more outspoken saying: "I have felt for a long time that David Trimble was determined to do a deal. Clearly, he's riding on a high wire.
The Ulster Unionist executive is scheduled to meet on Friday for what promises to be a stormy meeting.
Ian Paisley's DUP topped the poll in seven constituencies while the Ulster Unionists topped the poll in only three.
Of the UUP's 28 elected members, up to five are known to be opposed to the Good Friday pact. In addition, 20 members from the DUP, five from Bob McCartney's UK Unionists and three independent unionists are pledged to bring down, or as Mr Paisley put it, wreck the Assembly.
The remaining seats in the new administration, which meets for the first time on Wednesday, will be taken by 24 SDLP members, 18 Sinn Féin representatives, six from the Alliance Party, two from the Women's Coalition and two members of the fringe loyalist Progressive Unionist Party.
Another problem facing Mr Trimble is that he could be deposed as leader of the party's Westminster group.
Of the total of 10 MPs, he can count on the support of only three, John Taylor, Ken Maginnis and Cecil Walker.
Mr Trimble, who has the backing of the party executive, will now have to decide whether to heal the rifts of face down the rebels.
He admitted yesterday: "One of the great delights of the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party, and I say this without irony, is the capacity of the party to inflict damage upon itself by squabbling in public."
Those squabbles could now well break into open warfare.

Left-led revival on the cards: Leader

by Kevin Barry
THE country's first ever Left-led government is now a distinct possibility thanks to the moves to create a new alignment of that ideology in Irish politics.
This was the claim made by Democratic Left leader Prionsias de Rossa on Saturday night when he warmly welcomed the Labour Party's decision last Thursday to press forward on the alignment project.
"An objective of 50 seats for the Left is not over ambitious and would provide a comfortable Left majority within any future coalition government," he said.
Mr de Rossa suggested that the Left has never prospered as it should in Ireland because attitudes to the North have dominated politics here since the state's foundation, leaving the Left-Right choice as a secondary consideration.
But the conclusion of the Good Friday Agreement and the new structures within Northern Ireland may open the door for a new-look Left to emerge, he said.
Both de Rossa and Ruairi Quinn have now publicly supported a new alignment and the Democratic Left leader believes a fresh era could be about to dawn.
He said that an untapped base of support for a Left-led government exists and could be targeted by a new alignment.
"There has been a considerable degree of interest from many people who are not members of either party but who have always considered themselves to be 'of the Left'," he said.
Mr de Rossa insisted that there is much work to be done by the Left in Ireland.
"While significant progress has been made on the liberal agenda, the social and economic objectives of the Left remain to be achieved," he said.
Mr de Rossa was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the election of Joe Sherlock to Mallow Urban District Council. He expressed regret that all 20 TDs in Cork city and county are drawn from the ranks of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.
"The objective for this county in the next election must be the return to the Dail of Joe Sherlock and Kathleen Lynch as part of a substantially strengthened Left team from Cork," he said.

High speed internet system
puts town on information map

by John Murphy
A REVOLUTIONARY high speed internet access system which has been launched in Dungarvan by a local company, is set to put the Co. Waterford town firmly on the information super highway map.
Making use of cutting-edge, fibre-optic technology, the CableSurf system has been devised by Casey Cablevision Ltd. and puts Dungarvan in the hugely advantageous position of being one of only a few elite towns and cities worldwide with similar services.
Dungarvan is the first town in Ireland in which the two-way cable internet service will be deployed, and inevitably this will make it a more attractive proposition for future investment.
While the traditional internet access system generally relies on the telephone, the new CableSurf system involves the installation of a cable modem which is then connected by Casey Cablevision to a subscriber's computer. This will enable the customer to use the cable system which heretofore was generally thought of for delivering TV and radio channels only. It will also enable them to surf the internet at high speed and read their email without ever having to use their telephone.
Customers can remain connected 24 hours a day and, even more attractively, access to the CableSurf service is for a fixed monthly fee of just £25.
Speaking at the official launch of the new system, Pat Casey of Casey Cablevision Ltd. said that since the internet system was born in the US a decade ago it has grown at a phenomenal rate, and today is a giant network linking people all over the world.
"It's not long ago'', said Mr Casey, "that the only source of information was a book or a newspaper, and today we have every book and library at our fingertips''.
Mr Casey said the problem with the 'traditional' internet system is that once you start using the internet a subscriber's telephone line is tied up and charges start accumulating as long as you are connected — just like any phone call. However their new CableSurf system changes all that.
"Dungarvan,'' he went on, "is in the unique position of being completely ringed with fibre optic cable, and its ability to carry incredible volumes of information makes it the perfect conduit for the internet.
"Two-way access to the internet will now be achieved through the cable that normally delivers TV, so your phone line isn't tied up at all. That access is available 24 hours a day, so if you want to check out the latest news from Los Angeles all you need do is select the web site for the Los Angeles Times and all the information is there.''
Mr Casey said the ability to deliver internet access in this new and exciting way is a first for Ireland, and places Dungarvan in the unique position of being able to offer a service that no other town or city in the country can.

Wife-beating myths are
'shattered' by report

by Caroline O'Doherty
POPULAR myths about men who beat their wives are set to be shattered by a report on domestic violence due for release tomorrow.
The report from the Cork Domestic Violence Project reveals that 79% of abusive men hold down full-time jobs, contrary to the belief that most violence occurs among the disadvantaged sectors of society.
"There is a perception abroad that you have to be a traveller or an alcoholic to beat your wife whereas this research shows absolutely that those two beliefs are completely false. It goes across all the social and economic boundaries," Fr Tom Hayes, communications officer with the Diocese of Cork and Ross, which runs the project.
The 60-page document is the first major report from the project which was set up six years ago and is believed to be the first of its kind in Ireland, given that it bases its findings on the real-life experiences of the men and women who come for help.
The project grew out of the diocese's Marriage Counselling Centre after counsellors found increasing evidence that physical, sexual and psychological abuse were among the main causes of marital difficulties.
It now offers a range of treatment courses and supports for men who want to overcome their abusive tendencies as well as support and counselling services for women who are the victims of violent relationships.
Among its findings are that 77% of women who sought help reported a lasting positive effect for themselves. Of the same women, 41% also reported a lasting positive effect on their partners while 36% reported a temporary positive effect.
The survey also found that growing numbers of men were coming forward to seek help. In the first year of operation, the project worked with 47 men but the number increased to 157 last year.
But despite a growing awareness of the problem, it was misunderstood and there was still a widespread reluctance to tackle it openly with many women mistakenly believing they were in some way to blame for their partner's abusive behaviour.
"Society as a whole tends to want to keep this issue underground. There are still huge social taboos around it. The women who are involved in relationships where there is violence are not going to talk about it at a coffee morning," said Fr Hayes.
"Our counsellors and psychologists would say that you do not have to go around shouting that you have been beaten but they stress that as a society we have to address the issue.
"Part of the problem is that the people involved in this type of behaviour are not challenged by society," he added.
Tomorrow's launch is also expected to hear that funding is a source of concern to the project. It is assisted financially by the Southern Health Board for resources were becoming increasingly stretched, Fr Hayes said.
"One of the things we will be emphasising is that the project offers a model for other agencies who might be able to get involved in this kind of work. It has developed a model of treatment and shown that it can be very effective."
Fr Hayes stressed religion was not a barrier to seeking help from the project. "There is no explicit religious dimension involved in the treatment. If it's touching on issues of justice and relationships and what marriage is about, then it's also touching on religion but religion is not used in the treatment programme."

Apple jobs remain in doubt

by Caroline O'Doherty
WORKERS at the Apple computer plant in Cork could know the fate of their jobs as early as this morning as union bosses prepare for a briefing on Tanaiste Mary Harney's emergency talks with company chiefs in the United States.
Ms Harney left California on Saturday after talks on speculation that 500 jobs are to be shed at the plant and she is expected to honour an undertaking to arrange a meeting between officials of her department and senior SIPTU officers as soon as possible following her return.
"We will make contact first thing in the morning. We want to know what the exact position is and we want to know immediately. We want to end the uncertainty," said SIPTU general secretary, John McDonnell yesterday.
How detailed the briefing will be is not clear, however.
A spokesman for the Tanaiste said Apple had not yet made a definitive decision on the job losses although company chiefs had outlined in broad terms the future of the Cork plant.
"All I can say is that things are more positive than we would have anticipated," the spokesman said. "The company has not finalised its plans but even if there are changes ahead, the overall picture is not entirely negative."
The Tanaiste's US visit was prompted by the belief that Apple intends transferring its Cork plant's Printed Circuit Board (PCB) section to the Far East where labour costs are cheaper. The company currently employs 1,900 people in Cork, making it the city's largest private employer, and the loss of more than a quarter of its workforce would have a disastrous effect on the local economy.
But despite Ms Harney's intervention, union officials were not confident that the successful lobbying of four years ago, when the company abandoned proposals for a similar move, could be repeated.
Mr McDonnell met with the Tanaiste a week ago prior to her visit and asked her to convey the message to the company chiefs that if the PCB unit could not be saved, a new Apple product, Eye Mac, be produced in Cork instead.
"We made the argument that the Apple workforce had already proven itself in relation to producing new product lines in Cork and we put it to the Tanaiste that she would take it upon herself to lobby for that. We have to hope for at least that."

Rural communities will feel the pinch as 80 teaching jobs are expected to be shelved

by Colette Keane
OVER 80 schools in rural communities from Cork to Donegal will lose a teacher in September, the country's largest teacher union has warned.
The General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation Joe O'Toole, said that on the first day of the new school year in September, 83 schools along the Western seaboard from Cork to Donegal would have lost a teacher.
He said schools in Cork county will be among the heaviest hit with twenty teachers to be lost, while Donegal is set to lose 16, Galway 14, Limerick 13, and counties Clare, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim also to lose out.
Senator O'Toole said the policy of the Department of Education and Science regarding the staffing of rural schools is having a catastrophic impact on communities in rural areas of declining population. Particularly at a time when the West of Ireland is crying out for infrastructural support and all we are doing is cutting the ground from under them by downsizing their educational service.
"The current Government policy is forcing urbanisation in that the reduction of schools sizes in villages and small towns creates a doubt about the viability of the school's future and is a powerful dissuasion to couples from setting up home and family nearby," he said.
Mr O'Toole urged the Minister for Education and Science Micheál Martin to respond to the needs of these areas, noting that small schools in areas of declining population should be a new category of school deserving of special consideration and positive discrimination.
While he acknowledged that the introduction of Information and Communication Technology is one way to breathe new life and create new linkages for small schools, he said that while technology is an effective tool, in no way can technology actually replace teachers .
A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Science responded to Mr O'Toole's statement saying that any teacher losses were based on the pupil enrolments agreement made in the late 80s by both the INTO and the Department.

Minister is criticised by FG Senator

by John Murphy
A FINE GAEL Senator has launched an astonishing attack on Agriculture Minister, Joe Walsh, describing him as the "worst Minister to hold the portfolio since the foundation of the State."
Senator Tom Hayes, who is also a member of South Tipperary County Council, said that the appointment of Mr Walsh as Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry was the "greatest single failure" of the Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrat administration.
He said that he was "shocked" when he looked back on the Fianna Fáil programme for Government and compared it with what has been done since the party came into coalition government with the Progressive Democrats.
"Funding, which had been promised in several key areas, hasn't been provided, a new control of farmyard pollution scheme is awaited, so too is a dairy hygiene scheme, as is the introduction of a new farm installation grant for young farmers", Senator Hayes explained.
He also said that the Minister's failure to reopen the live cattle trade to Egypt and Libya was probably his "most disastrous and dismal failure", and he blamed the Government collectively for its failure to introduce an efficient farmer-friendly animal traceability scheme, as well as a comprehensive quality assurance scheme at farm level, which is not excessively costly to farmers.
"Before last year's election Fianna Fáil, and Minister Walsh, described the farmyard pollution scheme as important for the sustainability of agriculture", Senator Hayes continued.
"It is disgraceful that 12 months into government the Minister still hasn't introduced this scheme."
The South Tipperary Senator said that the list of failures on the part of the Minister is "endless", and he claimed that more and more people are now going out of the dairying sector because of new guidelines and regulations that are being imposed by Minister Joe Walsh's Agriculture department.
"Without any doubt he is the worst Minister for Agriculture since the foundation of the State, and that's a viewpoint an ever-increasing number of farmers will now go along with," Senator Hayes added.

Training boost for top fishing port

by Eddie Cassidy
A £500,000 fishery training centre in the country's top whitefish port will open its doors next October.
The chief executive of BIM, Mr. Pat Keogh said the training facility in Castletownbere, Co. Cork, was an important piece in the jigsaw of an inter-related programme for fleet modernisation and safety training.
The centre will provide training up to international certification standards in areas such as seafaring, safety, navigation, wheelhouse electronics, machinery maintenance, fish handling, quality control and business methods.
It will also augment courses being provided at the National Fishery Training College in Greencastle, Co. Donegal. "The priority of the Castletownbere facility is to tackle a training deficit in the industry in the south and south-west", said Mr Keogh, speaking in Baltimore, Co. Cork, at the weekend.
Currently, skippers and fishermen participating on courses at the national centre face 600-mile round trips. Training for skippers in electronic navigational systems is only available at the Greencastle centre.
"With a new emphasis on vessel modernisation and safer working conditions, we must have the capacity to train fishermen at a location, as close as possible, to where the fishing activity is taking place", he said.
Two years ago, a review group concluded a small proportion of fishermen, at all levels, had received any type of formal training. Traditionally, crews received on-the-job training rather than attending formal courses.
The review group was set up in 1996 after 18 people had lost their lives, the previous year, in fishing accidents. Serious concern had been expressed by the group that, in such a high-risk industry so few fishermen had undertaken formal training courses.
Dr. Michael Woods, the Minister for Marine last week visited the planned new waterfront centre being constructed on a former ice plant site in the inner harbour of the state-managed fishery centre in Castletownbere. He said he was committed to improving safety and one of his key objectives was the implementation of recommendations in the report by the Safety Review Group: "This facility will strengthen BIM's overall programme in improving the safety competence of crews", he said.
In an historic step last week by the Government, to deliver a planned multi-million pounds' package to revitalise the whitefish fleet, incentives were also provided to help enhance safety and training.

RTE stand by report, but TD says allegations are a 'tissue of lies'

by Kevin Barry and Tom Gillespie
RTE last night stood by a report it broadcast on June 19 claiming that Mayo TD Beverley Cooper Flynn advised a farmer to avoid paying tax when she was a high-ranking employee of the National Irish Bank.
Earlier, the Fianna Fáil TD had issued a statement describing the allegations as "a tissue of lies." She said she never met, spoke with or had any dealings with the farmer in question.
The war of words erupted after the Sunday Independent named the retired farmer who allegedly made the claims against Ms Cooper Flynn as Mr James Howard, originally from Ardcath, Co Meath, but now living outside Drogheda.
Contacted at his home last night, Mr Howard refused to say if he was the anonymous source interviewed by RTE reporter Charlie Bird on the June 19 bulletin.
"I'm not confirming or denying anything. I have absolutely no comment to make," he said.
In a lengthy statement, Ms Cooper Flynn castigated RTE for relying on anonymous sources.
"It is now clear that a central source for Charlie Bird's story was a man whom I never met and to whom I could not have said the things alleged of me. What was said about me was a tissue of lies," she claimed.
A statement from RTE News said it could not name its sources without their prior consent.
"The news reports in question were prepared following an extensive investigation by RTE News reporters and were based on a number of sources," said the statement from Montrose.
The RTE story alleged that Cooper Flynn encouraged NIB customers to evade their tax liabilities by investing in the Clerical Medical Insurance scheme on the Isle of Man.
She said as a result of the report she had figured prominently on every newspaper and on radio and television.
"I have been portrayed as a wrongdoer and a source of tension in Government. This has been due in large part because of dealings RTE said I had with someone I do not know and have never met," she said.
She called on RTE and Charlie Bird to confirm that Mr Howard appeared on the broadcast and to withdraw the allegations about her.
She added: "They should also explain how a prominent journalist could have been allowed to base a story on anonymous statements by someone I have never met. This is the least that I, my family and the public should expect from our national broadcaster."
RTE said it had made repeated attempts to contact the TD before the report was broadcast, giving her an advance right of reply.
Yesterday, according to the station statement, it "again afforded another opportunity to Ms Cooper Flynn to respond to the allegations by offer of an interview ... she has again declined."
RTE said its investigations are continuing.
Ms Cooper Flynn said her reputation had been tarnished by the actions of the station. "I have been blackened on the basis of secret sources speaking anonymously to a reporter. I am saddened and outraged by what has happened."