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TAOISEACH Brian Cowen and a number of his cabinet colleagues came in for a grilling from Fianna Fáil councillors at a special meeting in Tullamore yesterday.
Cowen, along with the tánaiste and enterprise minister Mary Coughlan, transport minister Noel Dempsey, education minister Batt
O'Keeffe and agriculture minister Brendan Smith were questioned about the recent budget at the annual conference of Fianna Fáil's National Councillors' Forum.
The conference opened with an address from Cowen who told the few hundred councillors this is no time for soft options or quick fixes. "In the days ahead our paramount responsibility must be to lead Ireland through the dark waters of this economic crisis, and restore the prosperity that our people worked so hard to win," he said.
"As we move towards an election year it is natural that people will become increasingly focused on the party's standing. But just as we saw in the last general election, in Ireland polls can change faster than the weather. The best way is for us to focus on doing our job properly, even if that means making hard choices."
Arthur McDonald, Carlow county councillor and vice-chairman of the councillors' forum, said, "What we are about is asking how the taoiseach and his ministers can help the embattled councillors get through the 2009 elections at a time when things are not going as well as they should be for Fianna Fáil. This recession is not of the councillors' doing, so to blame the local councillors doing work at a local level for national problems is wrong. That is what happened in 2004 when we lost 83 council seats."
A key issue of concern among Fianna Fáil's grassroots has been the procedure for selecting candidates for the local elections. McDonald said, "There is a lack of democracy in the local organisation due to the way the candidates have been selected."
Cowen addressed this issue in his speech: "We cannot approach next year's elections as we have done in the past… We must ensure that we field the strongest poss-ible candidate tickets."
He agreed that communications between party headquarters and the councillors needed to be improved and a full-time liaison officer for the nearly 500 councillors will be appointed shortly.
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Brian Cowan has simply got to go.... He has lost respect and the power required to lead the party. He is arrogant, and he seriously and consistently lacks effective communication savvy.
Fianna Fáil requires a complete overhaul after he is clearly challenged and swiftly removed as party leader; thereafter, removed as taoiseach also.
Just look at his cabinet selection....Brian Lenihan for the one is obviously NOT at all qualified to hold the Minister for Finance portfolio!
We cannot possibly reelect more of the same; all politicians have got to be made to realize that the Lisbon Treaty is a thing of the past. We are through with ever wanting to further discuss this useless issue! If the economy is bad, we can ill afford another referendum on this issue. We can never entrust our politicians with the privileged of somehow sidetracking the decision of the Irish people by conveniently attempting to ratify it in the Oireachtas.