Even Cowen manages a smile as the House turns mellow

DÁIL SKETCH:GIVEN THE number of times Fine Gael has presented their star candidate George Lee, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Dublin South campaign had got the formal go-ahead quite a while ago.

In fact, after all the high jinks and rows, the writs for both the Dublin South and Dublin Central campaigns were finally moved in the Dáil only yesterday.

And they provoked a most unusual sight – the Taoiseach actually laughed.

Brian Cowen’s smirk that turned into a laugh was prompted by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore’s remarks about the writs finally being moved. On Tuesday a very tetchy Taoiseach had criticised Labour’s calls for the Government temporarily to nationalise the banks, and particularly at Eamon Gilmore’s repeated references to “bank bailouts”.

And it irritated Mr Cowen to the extent that he told the Opposition, whose calling in life is to oppose, that they were only in it for the votes.

By yesterday however, with the campaign heating up outside the Dáil, the mood was somewhat mellower inside the chamber.

So when the writs were finally moved, Mr Gilmore noted the proposal that they be taken without any debate. They had already had two debates on the Dublin South writs, he said – one initiatied by Labour and another by Fine Gael.

But the Taoiseach started to smirk when the Labour leader said “the Taoiseach indicated very strongly yesterday that he does not like talk in the House about elections, a new disposition for the Taoiseach”.

But he added “the year in office has had a terrible effect” on him. Mr Cowen’s grin got slightly bigger.

“He used to love elections and debating elections and it is dreadful to see this happening to him.” At which point Mr Cowen laughed. “However, in deference to his desire not to discuss elections, I agree to have the two motions taken without debate.”

But the smiles fade quickly enough. There was an acknowledgment later by the Minister for Finance that unemployment, already at 380,000, could rise by another 250,000 by the end of next year.

But he said during Question Time that the European Commission and European Central Bank think what Ireland is doing to deal with its problems is great.

“What’s exciting the admiration of other European countries is the fact that we are prepared to take on that burden” of adjustment to being a competitive economy.

And he informed the House that Ireland has moved from having the highest labour costs – to having the second highest. What wonderful news!

Meanwhile, Minister of State Martin Mansergh made a pointed reference to Fine Gael’s star candidate. He welcomed “the entry into the political arena on the other side of a nationally known economic journalist”, who was finding the task of impartiality “too onerous”.