Taoiseach Brian Cowen said today he had full confidence in Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and refuted claims she had threatened to resign if he had not demoted former junior minister John McGuinness.
Responding to comments made by Mr McGuinnness on last night's Late Late Showon RTÉ, Mr Cowen said he was not aware of any discontent within Fianna Fáil and insisted the party was committed to getting on with the business of government.
He expressed full support for Ms Coughlan and roundly rejected suggestions that she had issued an ultimatum regarding Mr McGuinness’s position.
Mr McGuinness had been critical of the leadership being given to the country by MrCowen and Ms Coughlan in his interview on the RTE show.
He blamed Ms Coughlan for his demotion as Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, claiming she had threatened to resign if he remained in office.
He also questioned Ms Coughlan’s capabilities, insisting that she did not have the ability to run the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Mr McGuinness said that while he had a reasonable personal relationship with Ms Coughlan, her style of management was very different from his.
In a statement issued earlier, Ms Coughlan said Mr McGuinness had never conveyed comments similiar to those made on the Late Late Show to her in person.
She said she understood the "upset that the deputy may be feeling having lost his position and certain things can be said in the heat of the moment".
Speaking in Tullamore today, Mr Cowen said Mr McGuinness was entitled to his opinion, saying simply, “John has been asked questions and he is answering them”.
“From my point of view as Taoiseach and leader of the parliamentary party, we are getting on with the business, the country has big problems to solve, we are taking whatever decisions are necessary, we are glad for everyone supporting the very difficult decisions, we had to make in relation to the supplementary Budget,” he said.
When asked about possible discontent on the Fianna Fáil backbenches over the Government’s performance, Mr Cowen said: “I know my parliamentary party better then most people, even keen observers, and I can assure you we have a united party who are working for the country and have a focus at the moment ahead on the elections.”
In his interview, Mr McGuinness was asked by Pat Kenny if there was a paralysis within government, to which he replied: “There is to a degree as we are faced with such global difficulties in terms of how we perform.”
Asked what the mood among Fianna Fáil backbenchers he said: “There is a lot of discontent in the party at the moment.”
He added that elected representatives were not being listened to and there was a “disconnect” between the parliamentary party and the leadership.
Mr McGuinness said the Taoiseach had to shift his mindset to being leader of the country. “I have confidence that Brian has the ability, he’s a decent family man that understands the normal troubles of people’s lives but he needs to shift his mindset from being the leader of Fianna Fáil to having a clear understanding that he is now the leader of the country. We need to put the country first.”
Earlier Mr McGuinness said he had been told by colleagues in Leinster House that Ms Coughlan had given Mr Cowen an ultimatum to drop him or she would resign herself.
"She made it quite clear that she would consider her position if I was brought back to that or some other ministerial capacity," Mr McGuinness told The Irish Times.
He also questioned Ms Coughlan’s capabilities, insisting that she did not have the ability to run the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Mr McGuinness said that while he had a reasonable personal relationship with Ms Coughlan, her style of management was very different from his.
“She’s not equipped to deal with the complex issues of dealing with enterprise and business within the Department. And neither is the department,” he said.
“I don’t believe that she’s in the right position.”
“There is a need for a greater understanding of the challenges of business, there is a need to reach out businesses and there is a need for a different approach in terms of how you form policy and fulfill and in my opinion that’s not existent in the department either on the political leadership side or on the bureaucratic side,” he added.
In response, the Tánaiste’s departmental spokesman yesterday strongly denied the claim that she had insisted on Mr McGuinness’s demotion and described as “ludicrous” the criticisms being made by Mr McGuinness regarding her competence.
“We have no axe to grind with the man. There was no ultimatum. I wonder where all this is coming from,” he said.
The Kilkenny TD was one of seven junior ministers dropped by Taoiseach Brian Cowen on Wednesday to facilitate the reduction of the number of Ministers of State from 20 to 15.
Mr McGuinness, has said he is disappointed and frustrated at his demotion and has already publicly criticised the leadership style of Mr Cowen, as well as the manner in which the Department of Enterprise is managed.
He missed two Dáil votes on Thursday and will be asked next week by Government Chief Whip Pat Carey to explain why it happened.
Mr Cowen yesterday rejected the criticisms levelled by Mr McGuinness about the Government’s handling of the economic crisis. “I don’t agree with John on that. I spoke to him yesterday (Thursday) when I had to make the decisions I had to make,” Mr Cowen said.
“Like other colleagues he was very gracious in his acceptance that we were in the business of reducing the numbers serving in Government.”
Speaking to reporters in Galway Mr Cowen also rejected a claim made by another former junior minister, Jimmy Devins, that he had been dropped due to his stance on retaining cancer services at Sligo General Hospital.
“I don’t think there is any particular issue there,” said the Taoiseach. “This was about me having to employ less and any decisions I made were no reflection on the personal capacity of anybody or the competence in their job.”