Five of the latter group got their spurs only last week.

Sixteen new Fianna Fail TDs were elected in 1997 when Bertie Ahern won the first of his three general election victories. Mary Hanafin is the only member of that 16 to have made it to the cabinet table. Up to last week, Conor Lenihan was the sole member to reach junior minister rank. Now, however, Lenihan has been joined by three colleagues from 1997. So of the 16 new TDs from a decade ago, one is now a senior minister, four are junior ministers, four have left Leinster House and seven remain on the backbenches. The latter group includes Sean Ardagh (Dublin South Central), Johnny Brady (Meath West), Sean Fleming (Laois-Offaly), Sean Maloney (Laois-Offaly), Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central) and Michael Moynihan (Cork North West).

Beverley Flynn was also a member of Fianna Fail's class of 1997 but unlike those still on the FF backbenches the Mayo Independent has a promise from Ahern of preferment in the near future.

The promotion situation has been much worse for the 19 new Fianna Fail TDs elected at the 2002 general election.

They all served as backbenchers during the life of the 29th Dail. At the recent general election, two opted out of political life . . . Tony Dempsey and Jim Glennon . . .

while another five lost their seats. This weekend, 10 of the original 19 remain backbenchers while two are enjoying the experience of having secured promotion last week from the Taoiseach.

Only Maire Hoctor (Tipperary North) and Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim) from the class of 2002 have got a ministerial job from Ahern. The others must now wait, most likely for a new Fianna Fail leader. They include Barry Andrews (Dun Laoghaire), John Curran (Dublin Mid West), Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West) and Peter Power (Limerick East). Needless to say none of the 19 new Fianna Fail TDs from 2007 got even a whiff of a ministerial position despite their ranks, including experienced individuals such as Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South), who was a special advisor to three Fianna Fail taoisigh, and Dara Calleary (Mayo), who has a respected business background.

The irony in Ahern's promotions policy is that in his time as Fianna Fail leader, he has not practised what he experienced himself. A first time TD in 1977, Ahern was appointed assistant government chief whip in January 1980 while two years later he got to sit at the cabinet table, for the first time, as government chief whip and minister of state at the department of the taoiseach and at the department of defence.

During the mid-1980s, when Fianna Fail was in opposition, Ahern was a senior frontbench spokesman. When the party returned to power in 1987 he was appointed Minister for Labour.

Applying the promotions criteria practised by Ahern to his own career, he should only have been considered for a junior minister job in 1987, the year he made full minister rank and a decade after he first entered Leinster House as a TD. The media release announcing last week's junior minister appointments referred to "fresh faces". The reality for many in Fianna Fail is that under Ahern they have had to wait for years in the knowledge that his restrictive and conservative appointments policy has stunted their political careers.