O'Keeffe says FF eyes were off the party

TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen and Fianna Fáil Ministers have “taken our eye off the party” while concentrating on economic matters, Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe has said.

While the Fianna Fáil “family” contained “mixed and divided views”, it would unite for the election campaign and everyone accepted “there’s no one to compare with An Taoiseach when he’s at his very best”, Mr O’Keeffe told The Irish Times.

“The one thing that has happened our party, and I think we have to put our hands up on this, is that as a Government and as Ministers and Taoiseach, we have been so engrossed over the two years in trying to get the public finances in order and to ensure that the economy gets back on track that we have actually taken our eye off the party and concentrated on the national scene.”

Mr O’Keeffe said the Fianna Fáil party had failed to portray Mr Cowen’s qualities adequately.

“There’s an acceptance that there’s no one to compare with An Taoiseach when he’s at his very best. I think people forget that we have been as a party poor to portray his strengths over the last number of years because he’s been tied up with the austerity measures.

“Fianna Fáil has always been a family,” he added. “We’ll always have mixed and divided views within the family and at the end of the day, by and large, we come together with unity of purpose and never more so than in an election.”

Mr O’Keeffe made his remarks in an interview conducted last week – before controversy erupted over two previously unknown contacts between Mr Cowen and former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick.

A Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting had not been scheduled for this week, but will now take place tomorrow after the Dáil’s Order of Business at the request of a number of TDs. Some TDs are planning to meet tomorrow evening in advance of the meeting, which Mr Cowen is expected to attend.

Kildare South TD Seán Ó Fearghail said he would have preferred to have known earlier that Mr Cowen received a call from Mr FitzPatrick in March 2008 and in July had played golf and had dinner with him.

“Obviously that’s been unhelpful to us politically. I would have preferred that the Taoiseach made that known earlier, but I don’t think there’s anything untoward in it.” However, he insisted the revelation would not prompt a heave against Mr Cowen.