TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen's use of an expletive in a private exchange with Tánaiste Mary Coughlan in the Dáil yesterday followed a sharp verbal exchange with Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, in the chamber.
The incident happened shortly after Mr Kenny had insisted the Government had failed to honour promises to ensure that funding for palliative care is ring-fenced, and not spent elsewhere in the health budget.
It has marked a more confrontational attitude adopted by Fine Gael since Mr Cowen took over from Bertie Ahern.
Replying to Mr Kenny, Mr Cowen said: "Every morning, the problem with the Leader of the Opposition is that his party has not yet supported one initiative in regard to health service reform."
His remark led to a number of heckles from Fine Gael TDs, Richard Bruton, Brian Hayes and James Reilly, with the latter saying that Mr Cowen "should play the ball himself".
Clearly irked by Mr Reilly's barracking, Mr Cowen said: "For Deputy Reilly's attention, I can organise it so that every time his man completes a sentence, I can have people roaring and shouting on this side if he wants."
Mr Cowen's handling of the situation caused some surprise in Leinster House yesterday, with many believing that he should simply have ignored Mr Reilly, rather than issuing what sounded like a threat.
Supported by jeers directed by Fine Gael backbenchers at Mr Cowen, the Fine Gael leader said the Taoiseach "would not silence this side of the House", while Mayo TD Michael Ring said Mr Cowen was "the new statesman".
However, Mr Cowen, whose own benches stayed silent during the exchanges - presumably on Mr Cowen's orders - replied: "I will not be shouted down by the orchestrated tactic engaged in by the Opposition for months. That will not work with me."
Fine Gael, he said, come in "here every day of the week to suggest that the rate of growth in public expenditure is too high," yet it had also not supported one of the health reforms.
"I am simply pointing out that Fine Gael cannot have it every way," he said.
"We are either going to have reforms that bring better value for money and bring about a better service or we will have Deputy Kenny saying every morning that more resources are the answer and his finance spokesperson saying that we are spending too much. You cannot have it both ways," said Mr Cowen.
In his question that followed the heated exchange, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore highlighted the high price of diesel in Ireland and UK retail multiples' failure to bring their shop prices in the State into line with UK prices, even though sterling has recently weakened substantially.
Replying, the Taoiseach said the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, would hold talks with the chief executive of the National Consumer Agency this week.
Turning to speak to Ms Coughlan privately at the end of Leader's Questions, Mr Cowen was heard to use the word "f***ers", though, initially, observers were unsure whether he was referring to the Opposition, or someone else. However, once a digital recording of the exchange was edited to exclude background noise, it became clear that Mr Cowen - despite Opposition's assertions to the contrary - had not been referring to the Opposition.
It indicated that he said to the Tánaiste: "Ring those people and get a handle on it, will you? Bring in all those f***ers." - though the sentence here appears to trail off and become inaudible.
