The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, yesterday announced a wide-ranging front-bench reshuffle aimed at turning around the party's dramatic drop in recent opinion polls.
Mr Bruton promoted four TDs to his new front bench and freed others of departmental responsibilities to concentrate on general election preparations.
For the first time, Mr Bruton appointed a front bench director of policy and press, a position given to Mr Richard Bruton, and a director of organisation, a position given to Mr Phil Hogan. These posts will be part of a new management group which will co-ordinate front-bench work in the lead-up to an election. The party leader, the deputy leader and the chief whip will be part of the management group, which will meet every fortnight.
Mr Sean Barrett, who is retiring at the next election, has left the front bench. He is being appointed as the party's representative on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union, which deals with defence matters.
Those promoted were Mr Brian Hayes, who takes the important Northern Ireland portfolio, Mr Denis Naughten, who will have responsibility for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Charles Flanagan, who becomes chief whip with special responsibility for decentralisation and development of new cities, and Ms Deirdre Clune, who takes over Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands.
Only two of the front bench are unchanged. They are Mr Bernard Allen, spokesperson on Sport, and Mr Michael Noonan, spokesperson on finance.
Mr Bruton said he wanted to bring forward some younger people to help rejuvenate the party at a time when people wanted a change of government.
Asked about the appointment for the first time of a front-bench spokesperson on Northern Ireland, Mr Bruton said he did not think Northern Ireland was an issue which required the attention at the level of the leader "as much as it might in the past.
"We can give more effective time to the issue by having a spokesperson on the front bench dealing exclusively with it rather than having me dealing with it," he said. However, Mr Bruton made it clear that he was ultimately responsible for all policy areas and that he would still address Northern Ireland questions in the Dail.
Asked if Fine Gael would form a government with Sinn Fein, Mr Burton indicated that the possibility has not totally been ruled out.
But he said that matters were still evolving and there was a longer road to go before Fine Gael reached that position.
In relation to the Senator Liam Cosgrave issue, Mr Bruton said he was trying to find a resolution on the matter. "It is my intention that he would be in a position to be a candidate in the next election if matters could be resolved," he said.