If McDowell and Harney could crack these two areas, the PDs would be freewheeling come the general election in 2007.

But after a week when the government's performance on crime and health has come under fierce public attack, many PD figures must be questioning the wisdom of the decision by the party's two stalwarts to take on such difficult departments.

Health's reputation as the 'Angola' of politics is well known. But Nora Owen or John O'Donoghue could attest that . . . when it comes to fire-fighting, crisis management and generally being blamed for things over which you have no control . . . Justice runs a close second.

PD strategists probably felt things couldn't get too much worse for the party after the savaging of the hospital A&E services by respected actor Brendan Gleeson on a highlycharged Late Late Show last weekend. The sheer emotion coming from Gleeson meant that the story would dominate the public airwaves for the coming week.

But then Michael McDowell set nerves jangling even more within the party by walking into a political storm when he compared Richard Bruton to Goebbels. All in all, it's been a rough few days for the junior coalition partner.

While public outcry over crime levels tends to rise and fall, there appears to be no let-up in the public perception that the health service is in crisis. Harney deserves enormous praise for volunteering to take a job that literally nobody else wanted, but the harsh reality is that, 18 months on, there is no discernible improvement in the key area of A&E.

While, publicly, the Tanaiste remains upbeat that she can succeed, many of her party colleagues believe she is becoming frustrated at the lack of progress.

More cold-eyed political observers believe she underestimated the challenge that faced her in the Department of Health. The view of many commentators when she took the job was that if Harney couldn't reform the health service, nobody could. But what if it turns out that indeed nobody can take on the vested interests and reform the health service? What then for Harney and the Progressive Democrats?

Harney's reputation as a politician of integrity and courage has shielded her from some of the fall-out from Health. Callers to radio shows last week said they believed Harney was trying her best. But, with an election just over a year away, the time for her to deliver meaningful improvements to the health service is fast running out.

If those improvements are not delivered, will it, to quote one PD source, "be seen as a PD failure"?

Harney and McDowell, as leader and party president respectively, also have crucial roles to play in the PDs' election preparations. Both were key figures in the party's success in 2002 when it doubled its seat numbers to eight and denied Fianna Fail an overall majority.

Harney gave a brilliant performance in her eve-of-election Prime Time appearance on RTE, while McDowell's 'Single Party Government? No Thanks' campaign was inspired.

But people in the party are concerned that, because both ministers have to be so immersed in their departments, it will leave little time for party matters. One source close to the party questioned whether, if every ounce of their energy is going into such demanding briefs, there would be time for strategy and new policies.

The one positive for the PDs right now is that, regardless of difficulties with health and crime, most of its eight deputies are reasonably well placed for re-election.

However, the optimistic predictions from within the party after the 2002 election . . . about eight TDs simply being a starting point to grow the party . . . seem like a long time ago.