Fine Gael leadership contender Simon Coveney has called for calm in the party and again said Taoiseach Enda Kenny should be given time to plan his own departure after he returns from visiting US president Donald Trump in the White House on St Patrick's Day.
The Minister for Housing said there were some within the party such as Pat Deering, Alan Farrell and Noel Rock who were showing "a lot of impatience" and were issuing ultimatums to Mr Kenny to indicate when he was going to step down. He said he didn't believe that that was the correct way to proceed.
"I have said the Taoiseach should go to Washington for St Patrick's Day: that is a very important event for Ireland. There has been a lot of preparation for that and I know he wants to do it. I expect that after that we will see a process in place that will manage an orderly transition," he said.
“He deserves the time and space to do that, and I am not going to start laying down timetables or conditions. I am certainly not going to support anybody who suggests that we should be forcing the issue . . . and I don’t expect that process of transition to start until after St Patrick’s Day.”
Mr Coveney said he hoped Fine Gael vice-chairman Pat Deering would not proceed with tabling a motion of no confidence in Mr Kenny, given Mr Kenny's confirmation that he planned to address the parliamentary party on the issue on Wednesday.
“I really hope that there isn’t a motion of no confidence. If there is, it will only be supported by a very small group in the party . . . I think the vast majority of people in the parliamentary party now want to give the Taoiseach the time and space to manage a transition within the party.”
‘Small minority’
Mr Coveney said that after talking to many of his colleagues, he believed people would be happy to allow Mr Kenny to outline his plans on how he proposes to manage the transition in leadership “in a way that is dignified and professional”.
“I think with his statement on Wednesday, the vast majority of the parliamentary party will be comfortable with that; and as a result, I would be hopeful that we are not going to face any more ultimatums or threats coming from a small minority within the party which I don’t think is helpful,” he said.
“And I expect that message will be very clear by the time that parliamentary party meets on Wednesday, so I hope it doesn’t happen and I don’t think it was the right thing to do to lay down ultimatums to a party leader that has been in place for 15 years and Taoiseach for the last six years.”
Mr Coveney said last week had been a difficult period for the Government but that it should not continue this week with “too much talk about leadership”. What was needed now was “a period of calm both in Government and in Fine Gael”, he said.
He said there was currently no vacancy for leadership in Fine Gael and that he believed that he – and others – would only start campaigning in earnest when Mr Kenny outlined his plan for a change in leadership.
"I am not getting into a leadership contest today because we don't have one today . . . I think it [the leadership contest] will only start in earnest when there is an agreed process in place," said Mr Coveney who was launching a €100 million social housing project by Cork City Council in the city.
‘Unified Cabinet’
Asked if Mr Kenny had wished him well in his leadership bid, Mr Coveney said: “One thing I can say is the Taoiseach is not going to be publicly taking sides in this – his role is to manage an orderly transition. He’s given leadership many times in the party and I expect him to do so on this as well.”
Stressing that Mr Kenny enjoyed the support of "a unified Cabinet around him at the moment", Mr Coveney said he didn't believe a change of leader in Fine Gael would cause Fianna Fáil to withdraw support for the Government and trigger a general election.
“I think Fianna Fáil have made their intentions very clear. Let us not forget when the programme for government was put in place and the ‘confidence and supply agreement’ was negotiated with Fianna Fáil, it was very clear at the time they were agreeing a process with the Fine Gael party,” he said.
“Obviously it [the deal] was with Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader but I think people like Jim O’Callaghan and others have made it very clear that their agreement is with Fine Gael. They want to see a stable Government focusing on delivering that programme.”
