Cowen refutes FF leadership rumours

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Brian Cowen last night insisted there was "no truth" in reports of a secret deal between himself and Bertie Ahern over the leadership of the Fianna Fáil party.

Mr Cowen denied reports of an agreement that he would take over as leader of the party when the time came for the Taoiseach to gave up the post.

"There is no truth to it and I don't know how many times one has to say this for it to be no longer a distraction," the deputy leader of the party said at a Yes to Nice campaign launch in Dublin.

"So whether having said it on a number of occasions, whether I sing it from the roof tops or go in and cut a CD and have it put to music and have it put out there on radio every half hour, I can assure you that the leader of our party, the Taoiseach of this country, has our full support and will be continuing on with his leadership responsibilities.

"There are no secret deals with anybody," Mr Cowan added. He told the Ogra Fianna Fáil launch that one of the real issues facing the country is the Nice Treaty referendum. In a hard-hitting speech he challenged the No campaigners to spell out the economic basis of their argument: "Some of the No campaigners are currently trying to run a scare campaign on employment. These are exactly the same people who have said exactly the same thing in the past. They were wrong then and they're wrong now."

The Fianna Fáil campaign director said that only by voting Yes would Ireland ensure a treaty which guarantees a continued independent taxation policy. He said the president of the employers' organisation, IBEC, had warned that a Yes vote was for continued influence and involvement a No vote was about isolation. At the same time Social Welfare Minister Mary Coughlan has hit out at those warning that a Yes Vote on October 19 would open the floodgates to immigrants from the former East Bloc. Speaking to Irish immigrant groups in Philadelphia, Ms Coughlan saluted the legacy of the Irish Diaspora and said things may have come full circle.

"Unfortunately scare mongering and playing to low prejudice have marked a political debate that should instead be about bettering our nation and the condition of our people and their future," Ms Coughlan said.