Fine Gael very united behind Enda Kenny, says Simon Coveney

A senior Fine Gael minister has insisted there is no appetite for a leadership change in the party despite its disastrous election performance.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney dismissed speculation that a deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil hinges on Enda Kenny being removed as leader, and he said the party must not allow itself be distracted from urgent political goals.

Mr Coveney’s comments come as Taoiseach Enda Kenny is to respond in writing today to demands from the Independent Alliance in relation to Dáil reform.

Mr Coveney rejected suggestions that his remarks about water charges last week had damaged his future leadership credentials and he warned that the greatest danger now facing Ireland is a political vacuum.

“Fine Gael is very united behind our leader at the moment,” he said in Cork yesterday. “Enda Kenny leads the largest party in the country, we got the biggest vote and we have the highest number of TDs in the Dáil.

“It was not a good election for Fine Gael. There is no hiding that fact. We are still the largest party and with that comes responsibility and a strong mandate.

“Now is the time for us to be united, clear and strong in terms of putting a government together that we can either support or be part of.

“That is what the country needs and that’s what we have an obligation to do. The last thing we need in Ireland right now is another election. The attempts to put a government together are deadly serious.”

He said investments by companies such as Tyco in Cork could be at risk in a political vacuum.

“That has happened in other EU countries where they are looking now at maybe second elections. International investors and financiers are now more cautious about lending to certain countries as a result.

“The biggest risk to Ireland in terms of economic growth at the moment is politics — nothing else. There is lots of uncertainty outside Ireland already right now. We need a stable government in place to build on the hard-earned progress of the last five years.

“What we have at the moment is a very uncertain political landscape after an election where people have decided not to vote for any one obvious combination of parties in government.

“We in different political parties now need to figure out a way of putting a sensible, stable government together than can take the country forward.

“Some political parties [Sinn Féin] have said they have no interest in being in government which I find strange. Others are going to work towards finding a way to form or be part of the next government. Certainly, Fine Gael is in that category. We will take our time, we will talk to everybody who want to be constructive,” he said.