'I don't think Pat Rabbitte is quite the person to preach at Sinn Féin'

Conor Lenihan gave up a career as a journalist, success as a telecoms executive and the possibility of millions for a life in politics. And he's not about to give it up. He talks to Katie Hannon

Conor Lenihan didn't plan on becoming a politician. He had witnessed the shafting of his father at the hands Charlie Haughey while still a young man. His stint as a journalist had fuelled his cynicism about the political game. He was on the cusp of making serious money as a young telecoms executive. But politics got him in the end.

He seems to find this strangely amusing. "In my case some people would say it was in the blood but I think that it must be a genetic disorder," he says, roaring laughing at the very idea.

When order is restored he explains: "I would have been very cynical for lots of different reasons. The way the father was treated in 1990, certainly wouldn't have led me to think that I was ever going to be in that myself."

Two things changed his mind. "One was the arrival of Bertie Ahern as leader of Fianna Fáil and secondly was the peace process. I suppose it restored my faith in politics and indeed in Fianna Fáil in the way they responded to the Hume/Adams initiative and I felt myself becoming more political."

He became "quite friendly" with Bertie Ahern during his time as a radio journalist based in Leinster House.

"It was sort of mooted then that I should run, and I went in and met him and he just kind of pushed me forward then, put me on the ticket as an added candidate in Dublin South West."

He turned out to be something of an inspired choice – winning a Dáil seat on his first attempt in 1997. But he was surprised by what he found when he joined one of the most exclusive clubs in the country.

"It's a solitary enough profession. I don't think there's too much collegiality. It's one of the big things that struck me in the early days in the Dáil.

"I don't think growing up in a political family actually prepares you ultimately for when it's your face and your reputation that's on the posters and on the line. So that is a bit frightening alright, the first few years in the Dáil when you realise that nobody is going to do you any favours."

He insists that he doesn't waste time worrying about how much his elder brother Brian may be edging ahead of him in the political stakes.

"We just do our own thing, there's no particular tic-tacking with each other or whatever... you're busy enough in politics without having that worry on top of it. If you started worrying about that you'd get nothing done." And he gratefully acknowledges: "Yes, we are very different. Thankfully."

He reveals that the prospect of making millions out of ESAT Digiphone almost ended his political career before it began. "I was nearly contemplating giving back the nomination because there was a kind of a shadow share scheme initiated, you know an incentive for the top senior executives in the field. I think the two people below me in the company are now worth six or eight million in shares."

He allows himself a little wistful moment before concluding cheerfully: "There you go but I'm glad I made the choice to go for politics to be honest with you."

Not that he doesn't think there shouldn't be more money in the political game for those who dare to play it. Welcoming the massive hikes in salaries and expenses for politicians introduced in the McCreevy years, he nevertheless insists: "I think you could probably pay them more in real terms.

"Don't get me wrong. I think they're reasonably well paid. But when you look at the comparable stresses and pressures, it's actually very hard to find people, even at chief executive level in fairly serious companies, who work as hard as your average TD.

"I wouldn't see the chief executives of some of the large companies, and certainly a lot of people who I would have met through business, I wouldn't see them as having as stressful a life or as pressured a life as most average TDs.

"When you're in a ministry like I am in at the moment, you meet a lot of people from different countries and you talk to colleagues. You know the Irish political system is very competitive, probably the most competitive in the world."

As a journalist, Lenihan bagged the first broadcast interview with Gerry Adams after Section 31 was lifted. Having worked for the Irish News in London, he had returned to Dublin with an interest in Northern Ireland politics. He trailed along to cover the Sinn Féin Ardfheis in the days before it was popular or profitable. "I made a habit of keeping in touch with Sinn Féin and seeing what they were at so that's where I got the scoop I suppose. I was there so often, Rita O'Hare felt she owed me at that time."

He modestly acknowledges that he used his good offices to play "a very small part" in the peace process that followed and now warns against losing sight of the big picture.

"I think the public will have to understand, we will still have to sit down and negotiate with Sinn Féin and shouldn't be so caught up in what is happening at the moment and forget the longer term game that we have to cut an agreement."

In fact he takes the rather novel view that the Belfast bank heist may turn out to be an excellent help all round. "I think possibly that the bank robbery has maybe helped clarify that issue for Sinn Féin and the IRA and for everybody involved, that there can't really be any more movement on this, there won't be any more looking the other way on criminality. I think it's probably a positive thing. I think it may help the process forward."

In any case, he doesn't think recent revelations will have done Sinn Féin's electoral standing much harm. "I can't foresee the future but all the people who are hoping it will damage them may be disappointed.

"I think now, looking at my own constituency, that Sinn Féin has carved out a left wing vote which has nothing to do with Irish Republicanism. And clearly quite a lot of their voters must have been aware before this that there were acts of criminality being engaged in by Sinn Féin and that doesn't appear to have damaged them to date, so I wouldn't travel in the hope or expectation that these revelations would deter their own voters from voting for them in the future.

"It may have the political effect of curbing the further expansion of their vote but I don't see it as particularly reversing the gains that they have made to date."

He says he has no evidence to support claims by his constituency colleague Pat Rabbitte that Sinn Féin activists are being paid hard cash for their efforts in ministering to the constituents of Dublin South West. "They are certainly brought down from the North into this constituency at every general election and they are certainly very well resourced. I mean they have plenty of taxis to drive them around and they're fed and watered extremely well, it's almost a military-like operation. But I'm not convinced that they are necessarily individually paid. I mean I think that would be rather extraordinary if that was the case. I have no particular evidence of that."

The opportunity to have a swipe at the Labour leader could not be allowed to pass. "I don't think Pat Rabbitte is quite the person to be preaching at Sinn Féin on this issue," he says, becoming suddenly more animated. "I mean, his own involvement in the Workers' Party could beg an awful lot of questions. It's a bit ironic to hear him preaching against the Provos because you know, the Worker's Party survived for a long number of years thanks to the proceeds of bank robberies, the proceeds of rackets, the proceeds of money directed towards them from Moscow, you know. I think he's the last person in the world that should be preaching at the Provos given his own background."

He admits that he was "really flattered" to have landed the junior job in the Department of Foreign Affairs in last year's reshuffle.

"The budget available for overseas aid and under my department and direction would be higher than the budget available to at least four members of the Cabinet. It's a great portfolio and you've great operational freedom going in the portfolio because it's so large, and because my senior minister, Dermot Ahern, is a good team player and quite busy with Europe, the world and the peace process. You do get an opportunity to run a department so it's almost better than being in the cabinet – you don't have to go to the meetings!"

He does not appear all that perturbed by the reality that his overseas aid budget is in fact considerably lighter than it is supposed to be – and well off course to reach the oft-promised target of 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2007.

He says he decided to come right out and admit defeat on this issue when he first went into the Department and did the sums.

"I didn't think the most persuasive minister for overseas development in the world could persuade his cabinet colleagues to shift the amount of resources it would have required. It would have been of the order of 160 million each year for the next three years, to achieve the target level."

So a promise solemnly made to the UN by the Taoiseach on our behalf just gets binned? "Well, the target remains but the time frame will differ. I mean that's the bottom line here. There's no point pretending it's otherwise. Certainly I didn't feel in the first week or so in office that it was a good idea to muddy the thing along."

The last time Lenihan was closely questioned on this issue, he had a go at the NGOs operating in the field, suggesting that people who support such charities should look into what is spent on advocacy as opposed to what goes directly to the Third World.

He claims to have been surprised at the backlash these remarks generated. "I found it rather odd that making what I would basically say was a sort of caveat emptor type of remark should excite such a visceral reaction. I meant I think that's a fair point for anybody to ask in the context of giving to charity.

"It's one of the reasons why I think we need to really speed up on charities legislation and bring it in, so that the public can be much more reassured about what they are giving to and where the money is spent at the end of the day. I think that's an important issue."

John O'Shea of GOAL has been loudly critical of aid donations to corrupt African governments with massive military budgets.

"John is sometimes prone to overstating his case but I still accept his sincerity on this and the validity of making this point because it is important that if we are giving money that we are not giving it to corrupt regimes. You see figures from time to time of the amount of money that's actually leaving development countries in Africa and going into Swiss bank accounts."

Has Irish development aid ended up in Swiss banks? "Some of it has, I am sure, over the years." However he insists that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is impressed with Ireland's aid record and says he is pushing his fellow EU development ministers to tie aid to democratic reform and the fight against corruption.

His ambitions? "Well obviously I want to do a good job in overseas aid, I want to set out a timeframe for the achievement of the 0.7 per cent target, a realistic timeframe we can all live with."

And after that? "I suppose if I do a good job then maybe the Taoiseach will eventually look kindly on me and promote me.

"I'm not as much a political junkie as you'd think. I wouldn't rule out going back to journalism. But I'm going to continue in politics for the foreseeable future. I'd like to climb the ladder."