PDs' outspoken chairman is confident of taking seat in Cork South Central

The chairman of the Progressive Democrats, Mr John Minihan, remains confident of taking a Dail seat in Cork South Central, despite a recent poor opinion poll performance. Media appearances and frequent statements, some critical of aspects of Government policy, have given him a national reputation.

A former Army officer, he now runs the family pharmacy in Cork city centre. He is also a member of Cork Corporation.

Yet a TG4 poll gave him just two per cent in the five-seater. "Of course I was disappointed, but there have been polls which showed me doing much better," he says. "Frankly, the TG4 poll has made me more determined than ever to win a seat.

"The party had a good vote in Cork South Central when Pearse Wyse and Pat Cox held a PD seat there. The challenge for me now is to establish a relationship with the community and I am confident I can do that."

Private cross-party polls have reportedly shown Mr Minihan doing much better, with one putting him in contention for the fifth seat.

The constituency will be bitterly fought, with the five TDs - Fianna Fail's Mr Micheal Martin, Mr Batt O'Keeffe and Mr John Dennehy and Fine Gael's Mr Simon Coveney and Ms Deirdre Clune - under pressure from Mr Minihan, former Labour TD Mr Toddy O'Sullivan and Mr Dan Boyle of the Green Party.

Mr Minihan is an outspoken party chairman who believes that the Fianna Fail Ministers of State, Mr Willie O'Dea and Mr Ned O'Keeffe, should be transferred to other Departments following recent controversies. He also believes that the ail TD for Dublin West, Mr Liam Lawlor, should cease to be a member of an Oireachtas committee.

There have been times when Mr Minihan's statements have caused unease among PD Ministers, not least when he criticised the nomination of Mr Hugh O'Flaherty to the European Investment Bank.

Mr Minihan believes it is necessary for him to take an independent line sometimes, because of the danger that a small party can lose its identity in government.

"I also acknowledge that it is difficult for the smaller party's Ministers to be critical of Government decisions and policy. A government has to be run on the basis of consensus.

"However, I feel that if the current Coalition is doing something wrong, I have a duty to speak out and a party identity to maintain."

The PD chairman comes from a Fianna Fail background. The Minihans were staunch followers of Jack Lynch, and broke with the party when he was succeeded as leader by Mr Charles Haughey in 1979. They eventually followed Mr Des O'Malley when he founded the ????????????PDsail.

Mr Minihan admits to being suspicious of Fianna Fail. "The party has a chequered history. There are some very decent people in the party, but the facts of its history speak for themselves.

"Some members of the party have let their public roles down. So, of course, one would look at them with a jaundiced eye. In saying that, I am not trying to portray myself or my party as holier than thou."

He remains hopeful that the Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, will return to the PDs, describing the negotiations with him last year as "challenging and trying."

The talks went on for months, with Mr McDowell, a former PD TD for Dublin South East, making some radical proposals, including a change of name for the party.

"It is untrue that we rejected Michael's proposals. Personally, I would not agree with them all, but I would be in favour of many of them. Many party members would feel the same.

"But I could not have a situation where somebody would set down preconditions for rejoining the party. Had he rejoined, I have no doubt that a senior position would have been created for him.

"It would have been a matter for me to recommend it to the party, and I have no doubt it would have been accepted. There is plenty of room for him in the party. It is his natural political habitat."

Mr Minihan believes that his party has a future nationally. "We have delivered on our agenda, in areas like taxation, the minimum wage and increasing the old age pension. We do make a difference in government, and I think voters will appreciate that at the next election."

He is also concerned about local issues in his native Cork city, not least the traffic congestion. The kind of proposals put forward to ease the traffic congestion in Dublin should apply in Cork, he says.