Playground gives Bertie a taste of Dail games to come

In a week that sees the start of a new Dáil session, the Taoiseach got in a bit of early practice yesterday when he opened a new children's playground in his Dublin constituency.

Not even the Ceann Comhairle - well used to dealing with juvenile behaviour - could have imposed order after Mr Ahern cut the ribbon on the €110,000 facility at Liberty House, a flats complex in the north inner city.

But in other respects, the playground experience was a preview of what the Taoiseach can expect in the coming months: the swings and roundabouts, the see-saws, the inevitable slides, the hoops for jumping through.

The big difference is that the children of Liberty House are guaranteed a soft landing - thanks to the rubber play surface - an option not guaranteed to the underprivileged residents of Leinster House.

Not even the rubber floor, however, could persuade the Taoiseach to try either of the two sliding poles. He may have worked out that once you get on, the only way is down. For a man with popularity ratings as high as his, to risk the headline "Taoiseach in pole plummet" might have been tempting fate.

As it was, the MC at Liberty House was tempting it enough herself. In the sort of slip for which Mr Ahern is famous, she introduced a speech from the Lord Mayor as "the first of our extinguished guests".

Dermot Lacey was indeed nearly extinguished, in his official capacity, anyway, during the recent crisis at City Hall. He was certainly diminished, to the extent of losing the Labour Party whip; and, with the prospect of further censure from his party, he remains a threatened species.

But he was still extant yesterday, and the opening of the playground became a preview of the expected tussle to decide who officiates at the formal opening of the Spire of Dublin.

Yesterday, at least, the honours were shared. The two politicians also shared a gentle chiding from a nun called Sister Olive, the prime mover behind the playground project.

"It's not often I have the ear of politicians," she said, seizing several pairs in the vicinity, before complaining about the cut-backs in FÁS schemes. The Taoiseach listened dutifully, looking like a schoolboy in the principal's office. He even volunteered for swing-pushing duties.

But by then one of the event sponsors, McDonald's, had opened a catering tent nearby, and the children had deserted him and playground alike.