Heavyweight Noonan would give FG frontbench much needed experience

IN 2004, when Enda Kenny was reshuffling his shadow cabinet, there was a lot of talk about Michael Noonan returning to the Fine Gael frontbench.

The timing seemed right. It was two years since Mr Noonan had stepped down as Fine Gael leader after the humiliating general election performance in 2002, in which the party lost 20 seats. Enough time had passed to allow some of the scars to heal and colleagues knew Mr Noonan was a heavyweight capable of adding political strength and cunning to the frontbench.

The two portfolios linked to Mr Noonan in the days leading up to the reshuffle announcement reflected this heavyweight status: justice and foreign affairs. In the event, however, Mr Kenny opted to appoint Mr Noonan to the frontbench “without portfolio” and named him chair of the Dáil public accounts committee at the same time.