Taoiseach intent on Cabinet reshuffle and opens door to FG rebels

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has revealed it is his intention to have a Cabinet reshuffle, though he has not made clear when it will take place.

At the final day of the Fine Gael Parliamentary party gathering in Laois, he has also opened the door to a possible return for the rebels.

Last night over dinner the Taoiseach insisted this government would run its full term to the Spring of 2016.

Mr Kenny joked that he has an ambition to take DeValera's Rolls Royce out of the dungeons of the Aras, drive it down O'Connell Street on Easter Sunday of 2016 - get out and say "All is well, Collins sent me".

This morning in an interview on RTE, Mr Kenny revealed his intention to hold a reshuffle but would not say when.

He also said he would be flattered if he was offered the job of President of the European Commission, but he intended to fulfil the mandate given to him by the people.

On the rebels who were expelled for voting against the Government, Mr Kenny opened the door to them, shifting from a "no way back" stance to saying there would be "no easy way back".

[comment]Fine Gael Ministers Simon Coveney, Phil Hogan and Leo Varadkar said they all hope to have a position after any reshuffle:[/comment]

However, the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, said there had been no such discussions.

"If you look at history, it's generally been the case that you don't finish with the same 15 - or at least the same 15 in the same potions - as you did at the beginning.

"It's not something that's immediately on the horizon," he claimed.

Commenting on the remarks, Fianna Fáil's health spokesperson, Billy Kelleher, said the cabinet reshuffle can’t come quick enough.

His comments followed Health Minister James Reilly's earlier remarks that he will need a bailout in his department to deal with overspending.

"[Reilly] is very dismissive of overspends, but the reality is that if you can't manage a budget … services will whittle away, and people will suffer," he said.