Ahern eyes new dawn for Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil stands poised on the brink of a new beginning, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today said.

Refreshed and reinvigorated from its two-day think-in in rural west Cork, the party is anxious to prove its credentials as a caring, sharing organisation and determined to revitalise its support at the polls.

The Taoiseach acknowledged his party had lost touch with the electorate but has now vowed to start listening, to prioritise social policy and to become more active in local communities.

“Having achieved what we wanted to do in the last two years it is now time to move ourselves onto the next phase and that phase is improving services and making sure we have value for money,” he said.

“We are going to continue with sound, sensible fiscal policies and share the fruits of that with the less well off.”

His task comes in the wake of disastrous local election results, the worst in the party’s history.

He said it was now Fianna Fáil’s time to respond to frustrations and to win back support.

“The people are right, we may not like it but they are right,” he said. “We accept the verdict of the people and now we have to get on and prove it.”

Mr Ahern expressed confidence that the seminar in Inchydoney, which involved 110 TDs, Senators and MEPs, had been a huge success and would reap positive results.

He said the party was proud of turning an economic downturn around within two years and would now be targeting spending on the poor, the elderly and the disabled.

“We have to work hard at these things, we have to listen to people, we have to explain it and we will do that the length and breadth of the country, in every community and we are all very determined to do that.”

With a new mandate to listen, ministers left Cork in high spirits, confident the new Dáil term would mark a turn in the fortunes of the party.

The mood was jocular as the entire contingent lined up in the sunshine for the "family photo". Gazing out across the sandy bay, not even a lone protester fighting for social housing for single women could dampen spirits.

Fianna Fáil’s new caring side had already been launched and the Taoiseach offered her his hand, promising this was an area to be targeted.

Health Minister Micheál Martin said workshops conducted at the exclusive spa hotel had focused on the future. He claimed strong social conscience had always been a hallmark of Fianna Fáil but that it had been “reiterated and reasserted”.

With public finances back in good shape and even the chance of a small surplus in the next budget, Mr Martin said he hoped the party could now regain the support of the people.

The threat of an increasingly popular Sinn Féin was the source of much debate in Inchydoney but Mr Martin was confident the party’s economic model was outdated and posed no great danger.

“When competition develops we sharpen up,” he said. “Fianna Fáil is going to sharpen up.”

Galway-based MEP Sean O’Neachtain said Fr Sean Healy’s message, delivered in a keynote speech, had been heeded. “We must look after the socially excluded,” he said.

“Fianna Fáil is a party that came from that type of beginning and from time to time it’s important to reflect whether we are genuinely representing the people who put us where we are.”

It was widely acknowledged that Fianna Fáil’s grassroots networks had faltered in recent years.

“If you don’t have those structures in a party you are lacking,” Sports Minister John O’Donoghue admitted. “You can’t work with organisations on the ground unless you connect with the people.”

Certain party sources believe disastrous local election results in June came just in time, forcing the Government to re-evaluate its core structures. Others claim it was expected and could almost be seen as part of the grand masterplan.

Most believed lessons had been learned. The impending reshuffle will provide Mr Ahern the opportunity to rally a new group around him and prepare in earnest for the next general election.

As they made their way home, delegates were upbeat, confident that new faces in the cabinet, a strong economy and renewed determination to respond to public concerns will see the party move forward.

“It’s onwards and upwards,” said one as he ambled down to the sea.