Cowen holds meetings with TDs, Senators

THE TAOISEACH has held breakfast meetings with groups of Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators over the past month to discuss December’s budget and other matters.

Two hour-long meetings have taken place at Government Buildings, each involving about 10 TDs and Senators.

The Government spokesman last night said that such meetings were routine and ongoing and gave Brian Cowen an opportunity to brief backbenchers and also to deal with their queries and concerns.

One TD who attended the most recent meeting, Niall Collins of Limerick East, said that it had proved a very useful exercise, allowing him and his colleagues to give Mr Cowen feedback on the political situation and also to be briefed on the Governments work.

The meetings, which are described as informal, are to continue until the summer break and will resume later this year.

The €3 billion in cutbacks and savings targeted for the budget in December dominated the most recent meetings.

The initiative is seen by other TDs as an effort by the Taoiseach to be more accessible to his backbench TDs and to ensure that they are aware of the rationale behind some of the Government’s more controversial decisions.

One TD, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the meetings were an effort by the Taoiseach to shore up support in the wake of a spate of dismal support ratings in opinion polls.

The results of recent poll findings may be discussed at tonight’s meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.

The matter was broached following the latest Irish Times opinion poll earlier this month, which showed Fianna Fáil lagging behind both Fine Gael and Labour.

However, the matter was deferred because of the internal difficulties of Fine Gael.

A number of TDs and Senators are also expected to complain tonight about a spate of Green Party-backed legislation which will pass through the Oireachtas before the summer break, all of which will have a guillotine.

They include two pieces of animal welfare legislation, the Civil Partnership Bill and the Planning Bill.