Skin and hair fly over Harney hair do!

I just wonder if Mary Harney's discomfort at revelations that FAS paid for her hairdressing during her visit to NASA in 2004 has not given some early Christmas cheer for FF backbenchers. I suspect that the timing of these revelation is entirely connected with the reality that Ms Harney no longer has the support of a political party and she remains in cabinet at the plesaure of An Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Ms Harney is particulalry vulnerable on this issue given that she is marreid to the then chairperson of the FAS when she undertook the trip. My only interest in this mater is why was the bill not paid by the minister and covered on her own expenses? Ministers have their own genreous expenses schemes, indeed the sum which Ms Harney is now facing sleepless nights is much less of the amounts paid by the state to powder Bertie Ahern's nose while he was Taoiseach. Mr Ahern seems to have gone from strength to strength in the meantime.

Anyhow, judge for yourself whether the haircut was worth it. The accompanying picture was taken at the time of the minister with her entourage and is available on the NASA website.