FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has brought some of his most prominent critics in the party back into the fold in his reshuffle of the party’s junior spokesmen and women.
Two of the leading dissenters, Brian Hayes and Denis Naughten, have been awarded with prominent portfolios in the junior shadow cabinet.
Mr Hayes has been appointed deputy spokesman for finance, with responsibility for public expenditure, replacing Kieran O’Donnell, who has been moved to enterprise and employment.
In a change to the previous set-up, there are now two deputy finance spokesmen. The other is another critic of Mr Kenny, the Meath West TD Damian English, whose focus will be on banking and credit.
The appointment has been received by colleagues as a comeback of sorts for Mr Hayes, a TD for Dublin South West who is highly regarded by colleagues and is seen by some as a possible future leader of the party.
Mr Naughten has become the deputy spokesman on health, and will concentrate on primary care and disability.
There are 23 appointments in all, covering almost all backbench TDs in the party.
Bernard Allen, Jim O’Keeffe and Bernard Durkan already hold chairs of Oireachtas committees and were thus not considered, while Olywn Enright and PJ Sheahan were not considered because neither is likely to stand in the next election.
The Waterford TD John Deasy was offered a deputy spokesman position but declined, said the party spokesman.
Several Fine Gael TDs, mostly those who voted against Mr Kenny in June, said yesterday that they did not envisage any challenge against his leadership, notwithstanding the party's falling support levels in The Irish Timesopinion poll last week.
The TDs, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the issue will be discussed at the weekly parliamentary party meeting in Leinster House tomorrow evening.
But none said that any challenge would be made. The only way it could happen, said one TD, was for Mr Kenny’s strongest supporters in the party to persuade him to stand down.
That was not likely to happen, he said.
The Irish Timesunderstands that Mr Kenny will use the party's president's dinner next Saturday as an opportunity to address all the issues and challenges confronting the party, including the opinion poll which showed the party lagging behind the Labour Party and Mr Kenny enjoying a satisfaction rating of only 25 per cent.
The Fine Gael leader has used the dinner as a platform for major policy speeches. He made the controversial announcement at last year’s dinner that he intended to abolish Seanad Éireann when in government.
The unannounced policy change provoked shock and anger among some TDs and Senators. Mr Kenny was portrayed by them as being over-reliant on a small cabal of advisers and not consulting sufficiently with parliamentary colleagues.
Mr Kenny said last night that these appointments would strengthen a team that was preparing to enter Government.