Cullen’s home run

One-off housing will be one of the most emotive issues at the FF Árd Fheis. Luckily, Mr Cullen has a plan, writes Fionnán Sheahan.

YOU'VE GOT to hand it to Fianna Fáil. When it comes to pulling political strokes, the Soldiers of Destiny are a class act, in a league of their own.

Tonight and tomorrow the party faithful gather in Dublin for the annual conference steeped in political folklore the legendary Árd Fheis.

At the end of a week when the party's name has yet again been dragged through the mud, with Tom Gilmartin's allegations at the Mahon Tribunal dragging in a number of the party's leading figures in recent decades, including the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his predecessor Charles J Haughey.

The party also stands accused of severely undermining the electoral process by foisting an electronic voting system upon a reluctant public. Aside from that you have the perception that Fianna Fáil misled the electorate in the 2002 general election on numerous fronts.

Top of the agenda over the weekend, however, will be one-off housing and decentralisation, where the Government has blatantly orchestrated major policy initiatives in time for the local and European elections.

Neither of these contentious issues will be met with a hostile reception as Charlie McCreevy, Martin Cullen and Éamon Ó Cuiv will respectively be hailed as heroes delivering for rural Ireland.

While the Minister for the Environment pleads innocence by denying his announcement was linked to the Árd Fheis, it's an astonishing coincidence. One-off housing was labelled by the Taoiseach as arguably the "biggest issue in Ireland" after the FF Parliamentary Party get together last autumn and it was clearly the single greatest point of contention at the last FF Árd Fheis. Lo and behold, the day before meeting up again with the rank and file, the minister comes up trumps.

The grassroots proved their restlessness last weekend when the FF leadership's chosen European election candidate for Connaught-Ulster, Junior Minister Frank Fahey, was rejected in favour of the man who stood up to party headquarters, substitute MEP Seán Ó Neachtáin.

Just look at the timetable though for tomorrow morning.

As the RTÉ TV cameras go live at 11am, Mr McCreevy will be in full flow on his commitment to ensuring decentralisation goes ahead, in response to a supposed question from the floor put down by the Cashel cumann.

"Would the Minister consider including towns with a population of less than 5,000 in future decentralisation plans?"

The prospect of uncooperative civil servants threatening the electoral dividend to be reaped from decentralisation sparked Mr McCreevy into action last week.

Worried the Government argument was being undermined, the Minister engaged in an enthusiastic restatement of his commitment to relocate 10,000 civil servants around the country before the next general election that left nothing to the imagination. Then 15 minutes after the Minister for Finance takes his bow, Mr Cullen will take the plaudits on one-off housing when he responds to a conveniently posed question from the branches in Sligo and Meath. "Could the Minister for the Environment tell the Árd Fheis of any plans he has to change the legislation relating to the construction of one-off housing?"

Isn't it fortunate the organising committee of the Ard Fheis had the foresight to place a question on one-off housing on the agenda as it would have been quite embarrassing if Mr Cullen had not produced the goods in time.

THE timing of the announcement yesterday was a work of art and department officials even managed to spin out enough of the details to get an initial positive reaction from certain sections before the guidelines, and their knock-on consequences, were fully known.

Doubtless, Mr Cullen will be obliged tomorrow to defend his guidelines from criticism by An Taisce, the Green Party and their allies in the media and other pariahs.

Take note though that the minister won't be going into the details of his potentially awkward deliberations over whether any additional measures to ensure that septic tanks and wastewater systems are monitored and maintained regularly are necessary.

That's the flip-side of one-off housing and a factor that presumably can be kicked on until after the elections.

The Fianna Fáil Árd Fheis will turn into a veritable feast of appreciation for a party still working, building and leading as the local and European elections near.