Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ALMOST FOUR YEARS ago to the day, Enda Kenny left the Castlebar count centre as a local hero, overseeing a historic election victory for his party with four Fine Gael TDs, including himself, elected in Mayo alone.
The Taoiseach-elect departed his hometown bound for Dublin and the RTÉ studios where Richard Crowley’s grilling prompted Kenny to drop his now infamous “Paddy likes to know what the story is… ” line, a sentence that he has often been reminded of and not usually in a positive way.
Tonight, Kenny brings his party back to his constituency as he opens the Fine Gael national conference, kicking off the conference/ard fheiseanna season that will dominate the political news cycle in the weeks ahead.
All parties are on an election footing now so expect to hear lots of high rhetoric not least from a party and a leader desperate to do something it has never done before: win a second term.
Ahead of all that, the Fine Gael leader was back in RTÉ last night for his first time Prime Time interview since becoming Taoiseach. That it was actually happening was news in itself and indicative of his now reluctance to engage in meaningful and forensic one-on-one broadcast interviews. Kenny has been more willing in recent months though that hasn’t necessarily helped to change the perception of him.
Even one of Kenny’s own backbenchers remarked privately to us this morning that their party leader had been less than impressive as Miriam O’Callaghan sought answers last night.
If that’s the view inside the tent, one wonders what the public thought of it all.
The truth is that Enda Kenny has become increasingly disliked across the country in recent months. Those reporting back from the doorsteps say he has become a lightning rod for criticism over everything from water charges to specific budget cuts.
People feel like he’s led a government which has broken promises and inflicted harsh austerity that has crippled living standards. It’s all a far cry from this time four years ago when in its first few months the coalition, and Kenny particularly, basked in the glow of Queen Elizabeth and Barack Obama’s historic visits.
The coalition and its leader could do no wrong. They secured a bailout interest rate reduction on the coat-tails of Greece. While the decision to reduce their own salaries and scrap ministerial cars and drivers led to it being hailed as a government that was in touch with its citizens’ struggle.
All that has changed utterly as the months and years have rolled on and the government and Kenny in particular are perceived as increasingly out of touch. Much of that has to do with what happened last year, where a series of controversies did untold damage to Fine Gael, Labour and mainstream politics in general.
There was the botched medical card review, the disaster that was Irish Water and the numerous garda scandals. Fine Gael paid for some of those controversies at the polls where its local election strategy was, in the words of Frank Flannery, “one of the worst”. Only Europe and the retention of its four MEPs provided a saving grace.
Kenny sought to get to grips with it all throughout the year. The medical card review was swiftly halted and the bumbling James Reilly was replaced with the more assured Leo Varadkar. Meanwhile, the architect of Irish Water, Phil Hogan, was dispatched to Europe and Alan Shatter was practically told he had to go from the Department of Justice.
But of all the controversies that damaged Kenny the most perhaps McNulty-gate was the worst. This obscure ‘inside baseball’ story gripped Leinster House for weeks and to the watching public it reeked of stroke politics and cronyism that Fine Gael had explicitly pledged to get rid of.
It typified the extent to which the coalition had lost it way since the departure of the Troika in December 2013. Kenny’s reputation rightfully took a battering from the controversy and his apology “for the perception between politics and appointments” remains unsatisfactory.
So far the buzzword for 2015 has been “quiet” and that’s the way Fine Gael and Kenny like it. There has been nothing major that has derailed the coalition from its relentless focus on jobs and the growing economy.
Still there are potentially explosive landmines ahead, not least the Fennelly Commission and its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the departure of Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan. That Kenny refuses to disclose whether he was one of three people recalled to give evidence to the commission only adds to the concerns about his actions.
Despite all that, he has avoided any serious talk of a potential heave. Varadkar, Simon Coveney and lately, Frances Fitzgerald, have emerged as potential successors but none of them are likely to mount a challenge before the election.
All of which means Kenny leads his battered party back home this evening to what is sure to be a warm reception (anti-water charge protesters aside) from the Fine Gael faithful. It will not be as rapturous as four years ago but then after the events of recent years that was never likely.
Follow @oconnellhugh and @TJ_Politics for coverage of the Fine Gael national conference in Castlebar this weekend.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Poor children, how can someone take advantage of them. So young and innocent. Why is the perpetrator of the abuse not being punished. No mention of that.
“Tusla brought an emergency change of foster placement to the attention of the District Court” – wtf?
Social workers should have absolute power to remove a child from care if they suspect any form of abuse.
I prefer if they got it wrong each time than to leave a single child in danger just once!
@Jim Buckley Barrett: Are you also in favour of separating children from their parents at the US/Mexico border until their identifies are confirmed and the authorities are sure the children aren’t bring trafficked? Genuine question.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: I would be in favour of parents not bringing their children to the US/Mexico border and exposing them to such a volatile situation. However, if authorities have to separate children from parents in order to determine the genuine reasons for travel, then it should be done in accordance with policy.
I recently heard a speaker who is a specialist on trafficking in the EU and was horrified to discover that many young and underage individuals are being brought to Ireland and the UK specifically as sex workers or in forced labor situations. Lack of money, English skills and proper documentation makes them particularly vulnerable.
@Rathminder: Don’t you know being against open borders makes you racist though. Asking for documentation is a racist attack.
@Toomasu Sumitsu:
I don’t think Rathminder was asking for documentation but rather pointing out the *lack* of it makes them vulnerable, which is true, apparent statelessness has a negative impact on just about everything, even healthcare. Unaccompanied minors should automatically be given temporary documentation
@Rathminder: remember that there are men in ireland buying these children. And not one sex buyer of under or over 18 year olds has been convicted. Less than 5 have been arrested over the last year.
I saw this because Ruhama have already jumped on the bandwagon of trying to re-exploit these poor kids for their own, totally unrelated, agenda.
Can we not stop finding such self serving wastes of space and allocate the same money to actually helping people, especially disadvantaged kids, instead?
The only thing I can think of to say about Tusla that is fit for polite company is:
“I TOLD YOU SO”.
Tusla are quite happy to leave children to be abused and neglected when it suits their mates. A certain ex Labour minister for housing would know a lot about this
@Colm Lyons:
That is absolutely true…Tusla are nothing but a highly politicised sick joke that uses the lives of vulnerable children as counters in a long running game of power and ambition.
Vulnerable children in Ireland have absolutely nowhere kind, compassionate, caring and dedicated to their best interests to turn in desperation.
Ireland is not a safe place for these, and many other children. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee their safety. We should be able to do better. Even one child trafficked in this manner is a travesty, if there was ever something worth fighting for surely it’s the prevention of sexual exploitation of small children.
It has to be one of the cruellest ironies that these wee children land on this sad rock and the agencies tasked with helping them use them for self-serving political gain, they produce lovely reports, presentations and tears. The abused are abused again by those tasked with saving them, the only ones who benefit are those making money from them, illegally, from donations or government grants.
It’s time we stopped playing politics and either do our damndest to help these children or don’t, but stop the pretense. Without them, all the other agencies wouldn’t have a reason to exist…
have your say