VOTE OF CONFIDENCE:THE OUTCOME of the vote of confidence in Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny may be determined by a group of seven TDs and Senators who have yet to declare their intentions.
As of last night, 33 members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party were expected to back Mr Kenny at a meeting scheduled for this morning, while 30 had either aligned themselves to the Richard Bruton camp or their support was being claimed by Mr Bruton’s backers.
Those whose intentions were unknown were James Bannon, Terence Flanagan, party chairman Padraic McCormack, Noel Coonan, Seymour Crawford, Senator Paul Coghlan and Senator Fidelma Healy Eames.
Mr Bannon had previously pledged support for Mr Kenny. However, in a move that signalled he could be shifting allegiance, when asked last night how he would vote Mr Bannon said: “I will vote in the best interests of the party.”
Mr McCormack was thought to be veering towards Mr Kenny, while Mr Bruton’s supporters were expressing confidence they could secure the backing of Mr Crawford, Senator Coghlan and Senator Healy Eames.
Frontbencher Charlie Flanagan yesterday confirmed he would vote against Mr Kenny. The Laois-Offaly TD said Mr Kenny had his support at the weekend but refused to state his position on Tuesday. Mr Flanagan, who informed Mr Kenny in the afternoon, became the 11th member of the front bench to publicly state he had lost confidence in the leader.
Limerick TD Kieran O’Donnell also declared for Mr Bruton yesterday. Mr Kenny appointed Mr O’Donnell, previously deputy spokesman on finance, interim finance spokesman after he sacked Mr Bruton from the position on Monday. Clare TD Pat Breen declared himself as a supporter of Mr Bruton. “This has been a very painful decision for me to make as I have worked very closely with Enda over the past number of years,” he said.
Dublin-based Senator Paschal Donohoe told Mr Kenny he would not support him and came out in favour of Mr Bruton. Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan said it would be inappropriate to divulge whether he was a supporter of Mr Kenny or Mr Bruton. He is expected to vote against Mr Kenny, however.
A declaration of support for Mr Kenny came from Waterford Senator Maurice Cummins. Mr Kenny asked for meetings with Senator Nicky McFadden from Athlone and Senator Healy Eames from Galway.
Dublin South East TD Lucinda Creighton, a strong supporter of Mr Bruton, said she and a number of others had been promised front-bench jobs if they declared for Mr Kenny. This was later described as a “lie” by Phil Hogan, a prominent backer of Mr Kenny.
On Tuesday, nine frontbench members joined Mr Bruton in saying they no longer had confidence in Mr Kenny. They were: Simon Coveney, Denis Naughten, Olwyn Enright, Olivia Mitchell, Fergus O’Dowd, Michael Creed, Billy Timmins, Leo Varadkar and Brian Hayes.
Mr Kenny released a statement through the Fine Gael press office shortly before 4pm, saying he fully expected to win the motion of confidence. “I look forward to winning the vote tomorrow and leading the party into another successful election as I have done on three previous occasions,” he said.
“I have been extremely encouraged, not only from the support I have received within the parliamentary party, but from members and supporters all over the country.