THREE OF Fianna Fáil’s most prominent young TDs – Barry Andrews, Dara Calleary and Billy Kelleher – will be promoted to the party’s front bench today.
Newly-elected leader Micheál Martin has convened a meeting of senior TDs in party headquarters in Dublin at 2pm today, after which he is expected to name his new front bench.
Mr Martin contacted TDs at the weekend to inform them that he had a specific role for them. A source said in the main he did not tell the TDs what frontbench portfolio he had allocated to them.
The three deputies, all Ministers of State, were strong supporters of Mr Martin during the recent leadership battle. Mr Calleary, a TD for Mayo, nominated Mr Martin. Mr Andrews, representing Dún Laoghaire, was one of the first TDs publicly to support Mr Martin.
Mr Kelleher, a TD for Cork North Central, was one of several TDs who sided with Mr Martin during the earlier confidence debate within the party.
There were divided views among TDs contacted by The Irish Timesyesterday as to the deputy leader position. Most agreed that the position would go to Mr Andrews or his constituency colleague, Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin. Ms Hanafin contested the recent leadership election against Mr Martin, but has been regarded as a longtime ally of the Cork South Central TD.
Several TDs, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said yesterday Mr Martin may offer the deputy job to one of the Dún Laoghaire TDs on the condition that that deputy is prepared to move to the adjacent Dublin South constituency.
Dún Laoghaire is being reduced from five seats to four and it is accepted within Fianna Fáil that it cannot retain both seats – and that there is a possibility that it could lose its two TDs in the constituency unless one is prepared to step aside. The party’s one candidate in Dublin South is Senator Maria Corrigan, but there are some within Fianna Fáil who believe a high-profile candidate is required to guarantee its sole remaining seat.
However, both Ms Hanafin and Mr Andrews have said they will run in Dún Laoghaire and that this matter was resolved with party headquarters many weeks ago.
“It’s not going to happen. It is not a story nor is it an issue. It has been decided and we are all going to have to live with the consequences,” said a source close to one of the constituency TDs yesterday.
It is expected that the other two Ministers who contested the leadership, Brian Lenihan and Éamon Ó Cuív, will be retained as spokesmen in the portfolios where they are serving out their time as Ministers – Finance and Social Protection. There was a growing view among TDs yesterday that the other three Ministers – Brendan Smith, Pat Carey and Mary Coughlan – will also be spokespeople in the policy areas of their departments.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen is expected to decide on whether or not to run by tonight. A senior Fianna Fáil source in Offaly said Mr Cowen was still considering the matter, but would let his family and supporters know his intention ahead of tomorrow night’s selection convention. The source said it was possible the Taoiseach may decide to contest the election.
