The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, wants a new Cabinet post, but it is not clear if herdesires will be met, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.
Six months away from the local and European Parliament elections, politicians are already obsessively debating the Cabinet reshuffle expected afterwards.
Who will go up? Who will go down? Who will tread water before beginning the slow, inexorable slide that marks the end of a career in the political world.
So far, the most common speculation has Ms Mary Harney shifting from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ms Harney is a superb orator, possesses an international perspective, and would relish the trappings of power and luxury that come with the job.
She still has not totally shaken off the boredom with politics that afflicted her long before the last general election. The lassitude provoked talk that she was going to step down as leader of the PDs, move to Brussels to become a European Commissioner, or head for the corporate boardroom. "She started most of this by talking about possible resignation. She expected people to turn around and say 'Jesus, Mary. You can't do that'," said one PD.
"She was more than a bit taken aback when people began even to think about the post-Harney era. I think she got a bit of a fright," another told The Irish Times.
Clearly, Ms Harney would simply love Iveagh House, and she would be good at it, although Brussels would shudder at the prospect of the author of "Boston, or Berlin" playing a more prominent role.
Despite all of the speculation, it is not known if she wants the job. Traditionally Ms Harney has kept her own counsel. "She likes to surprise people," said one party member. However, she cannot go there unless Mr Brian Cowen, still the favoured successor to Mr Bertie Ahern, goes to the Department of Finance.
Mr Cowen's leadership ambitions have remained intact because he retains the support of the majority of Fianna Fáil TDs, not because of anything Iveagh House has done for him.
In farming parlance, he is the bull who is grazing safely and quietly in the top field ready for the day when he will be called into action.
Last weekend, one Sunday newspaper would have us believe that the deal is already done. Ms Harney goes to Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen to Finance, Mr Charlie McCreevy to Health etc. But there are more than a few problems with this theory.
Firstly, Mr Ahern has never made decisions earlier than he absolutely has to, and it is highly unlikely that he has done so now.
To bring such moves about, the Taoiseach will have to take on Mr McCreevy, the Cabinet's self-styled behemoth, who increasingly regards Merrion Street as his personal fiefdom. Such arrogance in a minister should lead to an inevitable, humiliating fall, but Mr Ahern has never shown much inclination to take on the jungle's strongest beasts.
Besides, Mr McCreevy's strategy of imposing painful measures on the electorate before easing off as the next election approaches is working.
Since he has no desire to become Ireland's next European Commissioner, he would have to become Minister for Health, since there is no other job with equal political gravitas to be had, assuming that he would not take over from Ms Harney.
The change, at first glance, is entirely logical. Mr McCreevy has complained for years about health spending and the lack of reform. Let him sort it out himself then.
The Cabinet now believes that Mr Micheál Martin is "too soft" to do the job, though it has to be remembered that some have an interest in his lack of success. Given Mr McCreevy's conviction that he alone knows best and his tendency not to listen to people, however, the politics of such a move would be madness.
If it happens, Mr Enda Kenny and Mr Pat Rabbitte should spend time on their knees in prayerful thanksgiving, as anybody who remembers Mr McCreevy's handling of the "Dirty Dozen" cutbacks during his time in the Department of Social Welfare will testify.
Though Ms Harney is interested in Foreign Affairs, the portfolio offers nothing to the PDs as they prepare to sell themselves once more to the electorate. During the Fianna Fáil/Labour coalition, the Labour Party's then leader, Mr Dick Spring, found international travel to be a major headache as he tried to keep an eye on his partners.
Though relations between FF and the PDs are on a different plane, only a fool would suggest that they have improved that much, as Fianna Fáil would prove within weeks if Ms Harney was mad enough to try.
Secondly, Ireland's period at the helm of the European Union presidency will have passed by the time Ms Harney entered Iveagh House.
The EU Constitution, however, may not be agreed. Ms Harney could make domestic political capital out of adopting a more confrontational role with our EU partners, though diplomats have ways of stymying ministers intent on ploughing new ground. If Ms Harney does end up there, it will be taken as the clearest signal yet by many in her own party that she intends to step down as leader in the short-term.
"Absolutely. There is no way that that could be read otherwise," said someone who has been close to her and who does not readily identify with her possible replacements, Mr Michael McDowell or Mr Tom Parlon.
Since she has raised the issue, Ms Harney clearly has to move on from Enterprise, Trade and Employment, where she has spent nearly seven years. The Department of Health would be a possibility, although it is fraught with political danger.
It already has reforms proposed, although they have yet to be forced through. The Department of Education could become the next "reform" challenge, as Ireland copes with globalisation and the disappearance of low-skilled jobs.
Ms Harney has done much in the Department of Enterprise to improve scientific research in universities with Science Foundation Ireland. The SFI could go with her to the Department of Education and Science.