The choice of Mary Wallace is a surprise, writes Stephen Collins, Political Correspondent.
Fianna Fáil backbenchers were astounded at the Taoiseach's decision yesterday to appoint Mary Wallace to the vacant junior ministerial post created by the resignation of Ivor Callely.
"It is just impossible to figure out what goes on in that man's head," said one bewildered backbencher last night.
There was consternation on two grounds.
The first was that none of those regarded as leading contenders were selected to fill the post. The second was that the TD who was selected was dropped by the Taoiseach in 2002 for her perceived inability to get a piece of legislation through the Dáil.
Most of the speculation since the departure of Mr Callely two months ago had centred on his constituency colleague Seán Haughey. A popular figure in Leinster House, Mr Haughey's appointment would have been widely welcomed.
However it was not a complete surprise that his claims were overlooked once again. Given the continuing controversy surrounding his father Charles Haughey, there was always the chance that the Taoiseach would make the political calculation that it was not the appropriate time to return the Haughey name to the forefront of Fianna Fáil.
However, there were other Dublin TDs like Jim Glennon, Pat Carey and Seán Ardagh who deserved promotion on grounds of ability. The promotion of any one of them would have helped Fianna Fáil's image and bolstered its chances of retaining or winning seats in tight constituencies.
That none of the Dublin TDs got promotion was surprise enough, but the return of Mary Wallace in Meath was the real stunner. Her ministerial career ended in 2002 when she was not reappointed after the election victory. The Taoiseach's decision to drop her was widely regarded as a judgment on her handling of the Disabilities Bill, which had to be withdrawn after it was attacked by almost all the interest groups involved.
Ms Wallace made her displeasure at the Taoiseach's decision known, and she refused to attend Dáil sittings until she received a telephone call from him explaining his decision.
Since 2002 she has not been a frequent Dáil attender, and her name did not feature either in the media or among her colleagues in the speculation around who would be promoted to the Callely vacancy.
The rationalisation being offered by Fianna Fáil TDs for the Taoiseach's decision was that the appointment of Ms Wallace would help the party to secure two out of the three seats in the new constituency of Meath East at the next election.
With the party's other two TDs in Meath, Minister Noel Dempsey and Johnny Brady, running in Meath West, Ms Wallace was left as the sole outgoing Fianna Fáil TD in Meath East. At a selection convention two weeks ago the relatively unknown Thomas Byrne from Grange Rath was selected as her running mate.
Taking two seats in the constituency is a tall order. With the last seat likely to be between Fianna Fáil and Labour, the promotion may help the overall Fianna Fáil vote.
However, the same argument could be applied to many constituencies, and many TDs were not convinced that it was the real reason for Ms Wallace's elevation.
One theory is that the Taoiseach gave the Meath TD a commitment, in his conversation with her after her disappointment at being dropped in 2002, that he would give her a new post at the earliest opportunity.
It could be that simple, but it does not explain why Mr Ahern allowed the speculation about Mr Haughey to flourish for two months when he could have nipped it in the bud by making the appointment in December.