INTERVIEW Enda Kenny says he is determined to make Fine Gael the party of government, writes Stephen CollinsPolitical Editor
ENDA KENNY is the only party leader from the last general election still standing, but he is adamant that he will lead his party into the next general election and make it a party of government for the first time since 1997.
Speaking in advance of his parliamentary party meeting in Limerick next week, Mr Kenny was scathing about the Fianna Fáil Government's record, and he accused Brian Cowen of being responsible for the disastrous state of the public finances.
"I want to lead Fine Gael to be the party of government. That is my ambition and my intention. The Fine Gael party has a great deal of work to do in the time ahead. I am not into the business of just being adequate. We are going to get stuck into putting forward serious proposals about the fundamentals of that economy, about restoring competitiveness and jobs for people."
Mr Kenny said his party had made significant gains in the last local and European elections, and had then gained over 20 seats in the last general election.
"I am now in the second phase of leadership. We had initial success; we are now going to build on that and prove that we can be the party of government. That is my sole focus and absolute intent. And I look forward to having the entire party and all its members right down the ranks involved in this process. I am enthused by it."
On the current economic situation, he said the Government had brought forward the budget for a mixture of reasons.
"First of all, it has been forced on them because of the pressure of economic circumstances.
"Secondly, the returns from the self-employed are due in at the end of October, and they are going to show a serious decline.
"And, thirdly, it is probably done as a blind because Brian Cowen has to go to the European Council the following day and explain what it is Government proposes to do following the Lisbon referendum defeat. They could have chosen a week earlier or a week later but they chose the day before Brian Cowen has to go back out and explain to Europe."
Mr Kenny was dismissive of a suggestion by Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern that the Opposition should back the Government's budgetary policies in the national interests.
He said the Government had made a big mistake in the way it adopted benchmarking for the public service.
"It is five years since I was down in Killarney and made the point that this was a brilliant opportunity to reform the public service. And if you were going to pay out €1 billion a year there should be efficiencies and reform and better value for money brought about.
"Let me say this about the Minister for Justice. He has become quite vicious and quite personal in his responses to statements made by Fine Gael. I would remind him that he was the person who went over to England to carry out investigations, and he was the person who gave a clear bill of health to Ray Burke who happened to be the only member of the Dáil that I am aware of who was actually convicted of having taken a corrupt payment."
The Fine Gael leader added that his party had repeatedly warned the Government about the mistake of making the country over-dependent on the construction sector, and it had also published in July a series of proposals to control Government spending.
"So if Dermot Ahern wants proposals that will impact on the economic situation, he could usefully read those. I would remind him and Mary Hanafin and any others who attack me for comments I make that Fine Gael have always stood by the country and will stand by the people now.
"We will continue to put forward serious proposals and well-considered proposals that would benefit our economic circumstances."
Mr Kenny said while the Government could not be blamed for international circumstances it had a responsibility for keeping down Government costs and for keeping competitiveness in line, and it had failed miserably in that.
He said money could be taken out of the decentralisation programme from the agencies that were clearly not going to move and spent in other areas.
"You could take €200 million out of that and put it into schools, starting with constituencies where the agencies were supposed to move to. People being laid off in the construction industry could be employed."
On the Lisbon Treaty, he said his party had always been pro-Europe, and his party was looking forward to hearing a detailed analysis of the Government's opinion poll research from Prof Richard Sinnott at its meeting next week.
Fine Gael would also be taking part in the Oireachtas committee on the issue, and would assess the best way forward.
"People may think we can forget about Lisbon, but Lisbon won't forget about us. We shouldn't be afraid to reflect on these problems, and reflect on how they may be sorted out."
Mr Kenny said he had listened intently to what Cardinal Brady had to say about the issue recently, but he thought that issues like conscription, tax or red tape had far more to do with the result than issues of faith or religion.
"While I respect absolutely the cardinal's view, in my travels around the country the concerns he raised were not brought to my attention in any serious sense."
He said when the Oireachtas committee took on the issue it would have eight or 10 weeks to deal with it.
"I know that when President Sarkozy was here he was anxious initially to have this sorted by Christmas. He got an idea during his visit of how complex it would be, but I am sure he would like a road map by the end of the French presidency in December."