Kenny willing to debate with all leaders

ELECTION TALK:ENDA KENNY has offered to take part in a televised leaders' debate involving all the party leaders during the next election campaign.

Speaking at the end of his parliamentary party’s two-day meeting yesterday, he said he had no problem with whatever format was going to be proposed.

“It doesn’t matter to me whether the leaders’ debate is between two, three, or four people or where it takes place,” said Mr Kenny.

“We believe that a general election is not far distant and for that reason the party has been put on a general election footing,” he said.

Mr Kenny said that during the meeting, which he described as positive and constructive, there had been a discussion on the draft programme for a general election. There had also been a debate about the nature of the campaign that Fine Gael should run and issues like the leader’s tours and the television debates.

He added that frontbench spokesman Phil Hogan had started his duties as director of elections at the beginning of this month and the party expected to have all its candidates in place before Christmas.

Mr Kenny said the suggestions in Government circles that the byelections will be held next March along with the Dublin mayoralty election indicated that a general election would take place before that happened.

“It would appear to me as if the scaffolding surrounding this Government in Leinster House is beginning to collapse and from soundings that I hear from Independent deputies they don’t want to be under that scaffolding when it falls,” said Mr Kenny.

He said the election could happen any time between the autumn and next spring, but he did not expect the Dáil to run much beyond March of 2011.

He described the gathering as positive and constructive and said the divisions of recent times were now in the past.

“Our party has come through a difficult time in the summer but the party is big enough, mature enough and strong enough to deal with its internal matters decisively and we are now concentrated and focused on the future,” said Mr Kenny.

“This is about the Fine Gael party standing up for the people of Ireland, standing up for our country and winning government to implement the plans and the strategies we have to restore sound public finances to get our people back to work and to restore hope and confidence and pride.”