FINE GAEL MEETING:FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny told his parliamentary party colleagues that in government it would not repeat the "disastrous mistakes" that were made in coalition during the 1980s.
The party’s 76 TDs, its senators and its MEPs yesterday unanimously endorsed – on a show of hands – the draft programme for government agreed with the Labour Party.
It came after a three-hour meeting of the parliamentary party in the Shelbourne Hotel to review the document, which was the fruit of a week’s negotiations between the two parties
Speaking after the meeting, taoiseach-in-waiting Mr Kenny said he was very happy with the outcome and implementation of the programme would change the way politics was done in Ireland.
“We want to rebuild our reputa-tion both here and abroad. There are suspicions about Ireland in Europe. We want to banish those suspicions by telling the truth to our colleagues.
“There’s an urgency about this. The outgoing government had become too stale and too out of touch and the details of our plan, particularly in relation to our jobs focus and on the fiscal and economic difficulties and challenges the country faces, make it radically different from what we are used to.”
He accepted there had been compromise. “It is not a Fine Gael document. It is not a Labour document. This is a programme for government document,” he said.
Mr Kenny, who will become taoiseach when the 31st Dáil meets for the first time on Wednesday, made a brief speech at the outset and several short interjections during the meeting, chaired by Senator Maurice Cummins behind closed doors.
“He promised that he would conduct a review halfway through the term. Anybody not measuring up would be gone,” one source said. “He also told us that tribal politics had to be left aside and now was about getting the country back on track.”
When a member asked about ministers in ivory towers, Mr Kenny replied the party would not repeat the “disastrous mistakes” of the coalition of the 1980s.
“He said that he would not allow a situation develop where ministers did not relate to our people. He said that ministers will not become remote and if they do, they will be gone,” said another person who was present.
The meeting was dominated by questions on the 64-page document to Fine Gael’s lead negotiator and finance spokesman Michael Noonan. The other two negotiators, Phil Hogan and Alan Shatter, also answered questions on sections of the document pertinent to their own areas.
“Noonan was very impressive,” said one of those present. “He answered the questions very well. Some people were asking about the finer detail and why certain things were not included.
“He said that if you are dealing with the economy on a day-to-day basis you cannot put every single detail into a document like this.”
Almost 50 people made contributions to the meeting, either by way of questions or speeches. According to those present, what was most notable was that not one voice of dissent was raised during the course of the three hours.
Even those who have dissented in the past with the views of the party leadership described the meeting as consensual.
“It was all fairly smooth, Most of our public sector reforms are contained in it,” said one TD, who voted against Mr Kenny last year.
Another prominent TD said he was happy enough with the programme. He said that the party’s main policy platforms – jobs and energy policy NewERA; the health policy; fiscal policy; and public sector reform – were still “70 per cent to 90 per cent intact”.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Cummins put the matter to a vote. It was carried by a show of hands of the 82 eligible members who attended. Michael Ring was the only one of its 76 TDs absent.