'Not that much divides the candidates. People could change their minds up to the time of the vote on Monday' Fianna Fáil senators meet on Monday to choose their nominee for the coveted job of Cathaoirleach of the Seanad. Michael O'Regan, Parliamentary Reporter, assesses the contest.
A tight contest is expected between the four Fianna Fáil senators seeking the post of Cathaoirleach of the Seanad.
The party's 30 senators will choose their nominee in a vote presided over by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in Leinster House on Monday.
The Government's majority in the upper House means that the winner will be automatically elected Cathaoirleach when the new Seanad meets next month.
Following the election of the Fianna Fáil nominee for Cathaoirleach, Mr Ahern is expected to announce the appointment of the party's former deputy leader, Ms Mary O'Rourke, as leader of the Seanad. Mrs O'Rourke, a former minister, lost her Dáil seat in Westmeath in the General Election and was nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach.
Three of the candidates for Cathaoirleach are established senators. They are Mr Paschal Mooney, Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim; Mr Rory Kiely, Kilmallock, Co Limerick; and Dublin-based Ms Ann Ormonde, a native of Co Waterford.
The fourth candidate, Mr Terry Leyden, from Castlecoote, Co Roscommon, is a former TD and minister of State, who was elected to the Seanad in the recent elections after being out of national politics for some years.
Mr Leyden's late entry to the race caused some surprise and he is considered to be an outsider.
He told The Irish Times that he believed he had a considerable amount to offer if elected Cathaoirleach."As a minister of State, I gained considerable experience in dealing with the legislative process in the Seanad," he added.
"If I get the job, I would work to improve the profile of the Seanad and make it more meaningful to the general public."
Mr Leyden is understood to be receiving the backing of Mrs O'Rourke but it is likely that the established senators will look to a long-serving colleague to fill the coveted job.
Regarded as a very attractive post in Leinster House, it carries a salary of €83,607 and two official drivers paid for by the State. Other perks include a splendid office in Leinster House and extensive foreign travel.
The Cathaoirleach of the Seanad is also automatically a member of the Council of State.
Canvassing by the various candidates has been intensive.
Mr Kiely is drawing on his long service - he has been a senator, with the exception of a brief period in the 1980s, since 1977 - and is personally popular among his colleagues. He has used his extensive GAA contacts to lobby senators on his behalf.
Mr Mooney, who was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, has considerable media and presentation skills, as would be expected given his track record as a presenter of programmes on RTÉ radio.
If he receives the support of the other three Fianna Fáil senators in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency - Mr Marc MacSharry, Mr Eamon Scanlon and Ms Geraldine Feeney - it would give him a good base from which to work. However, there is no certainty that the senators will vote along geographical lines.
Ms Ormonde, a senator since 1993, comes from a family with a long tradition of involvement in Fianna Fáil. The election of a woman Cathaoirleach would undoubtedly give Fianna Fáil and the Seanad a public relations boost.
Senators say that the election is too close to call.
"Some of use are keeping our cards close to our chests," said one. "Not that much divides the candidates. People could change their minds up to the time of the vote on Monday."
Much will depend on how the new senators will vote, given that they do not necessarily have any personal allegiances forged over long service in the upper House. These include Mr Ahern's former adviser, Dr Martin Mansergh; Mr Timmy Dooley, Clare; Mr Diarmuid Wilson, Cavan; Mr Kieran Phelan, Laois; former TD Mr Michael Kitt, Galway; and another former TD, Mr Brendan Kenneally, Waterford.
Mr Ahern, meanwhile, is most likely to be relieved that it is the senators, rather than himself, who will choose the nominee for Cathaoirleach, given the jockeying for position. He can thank Mr Charles Haughey for setting the precedent.
In 1989, Mr Haughey, then Taoiseach, handed the matter over to Fianna Fáil senators when Mr Des Hanafin and Mr Sean Doherty both sought the post. Mr Doherty's name was eventually pulled out of a hat after they tied the vote.