THE FIRST GOVERNMENT TD to call for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to step down, Dublin Fingal’s Alan Farrell, has said that the sooner Kenny’s future is sorted out the better it will be for the party.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Farrell said that given the parameters for Brexit negotiations have now been agreed at European Council level, it is likely the issue of both Fine Gael’s and the country’s leadership will now be addressed.
In February, Farrell became the first Fine Gael TD to publicly declare Kenny’s leadership as being untenable in the wake of a gaffe-filled week regarding the government’s handling of the Maurice McCabe whistleblower controversy.
That controversy has since blossomed into a full-blown tribunal, chaired by Justice Peter Charleton, which began its hearings recently.
At a European Council meeting this weekend, Kenny appeared to dodge the issue of his leadership by answering a question on the subject in Irish, saying “I will talk to my party soon”.
Speaking this morning, Farrell dismissed the idea that the Taoiseach is deliberately stalling.
“I’m not convinced that it’s a deliberate tactic,” he said.
He is probably of the view that given the parameters for negotiating Brexit have been agreed at the weekend… that he will address the leadership.
Therefore i do expect that conversation to occur in a short timeframe in the next few weeks. I look forward to getting the matter dealt with as promptly as we can.
Farrell (most recently in the news himself for kicking off a sustained scandal involving Sinn Féin in early December by suggesting that two of their TDs had knowledge concerning the death of prison officer Brian Stack at the hands of the IRA in 1984), added that the fact Kenny is both Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael creates an “added incentive” for the matter to be resolved.
“I imagine this will place the parliamentary party in a difficult position as we will continue to talk about the issue from the media’s perspective which would serve as a distraction to our parliamentary business,” he said.
Therefore, the sooner the (issue is addressed) the better as far as I’m concerned.
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