Higgins takes a bite at the tasty meat in the sandwich of Government

NOT since Jesus himself multiplied five loaves for 5,000 famished followers have such a multitude of uses been found for two humble slices of bread.

It was the Moses of Irish politics, Michael McDowell, who kicked it all off when he returned from Mount Sion in Waterford with two massive slaps of bread.

The PDs, said he to a local party meeting in Waterford, were the tasty meat filling to FF’s bread in the sandwich of government.

Yep, a crumby metaphor. Also a crummy one. But just when we thought it was all beginning to go a bit stale, up popped Joe Higgins yesterday with enough fresh dough to keep old Mr Brennan happy.

During leaders questions, the Socialist Party TD asked Tánaiste Mary Harney about the pandemic of amnesia that had afflicted her Fianna Fáil partners in Government?

In a direct reference to Tom Kitt’s evidence to the Planning Tribunal, he asked was it convincing that “the chief whip of her Government could forget to tell the planning tribunal about a £2,000 donation from a wealthy landowner?” It allowed him an opportunity to air a recurring theme: “Speculators and bag men were crashing into each other as they arrived with donations to politicians. The chief whip accepts a donation, other Fianna Fáil TDs accept donations but then their memory fails. I refer the Tánaiste to an earlier period of the PDs in Government when the unreliable memory of a Government colleague, the late minister, Brian Lenihan, caused her to have him sacked from Government. “By those standards, Deputy Kitt’s memory lapse revealed last Monday would have the Tánaiste on Tuesday at the Taoiseach’s door with her carving knife, followed close behind by the Michael McDowell, with a silver platter to receive the chief whip’s head.

“What has changed in the meantime?”

Turning to Mr McDowell’s ‘PD meat’ flight of fancy, he said that it had reduced FF and Bertie Ahern “to a soggy lump of batch”.

“In West Dublin many people believe the PDs slipped into the sandwich under a leaf of lettuce and they hope it will be scrubbed better when the next one is being prepared.”