Bruton hints he wants FG top job but is Enda staying until October?

RICHARD Bruton has given his clearest hint yet that he will put his name forward in the Fine Gael leadership race.

The Education Minister said he will not make his decision until Taoiseach Enda Kenny makes clear his intentions, but hinted: ‘I would like to play an important role in shaping the debate.’

He said: ‘There is no vacancy yet and I have said I won’t make any decision until Enda makes a decision. I am not saying anything at this stage.

‘I do believe we are at a turning point as a country. Everyone has to recognise that the changes in the US and UK are a serious turning point. We have seen bad politics from other parties muck up what were great opportunities,’ he told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny.

‘We are back in a place where there is great opportunity for Irish people and we need to make the right policy decisions.

‘I think this leadership period is going to be important for the whole country so we set out the policy signposts.

‘I am looking forward to trying to shape the debate. I do think that I would like to play an important role in trying to shape some of that debate,’ he added.

It comes after Fine Gael TD Noel Rock called for Mr Kenny to step aside and that now is the ideal time for a change in leadership given the UK snap election.

The Dublin North-West TD says the situation is ‘as close to ideal as it gets’, stating ‘it would make absolute logical sense to transition to a new leader now, for Ireland’s sake.’

It was widely expected that Mr Kenny would announce plans for the appointment of a new leader upon his return from an EU summit at the end of this month.

However senior figures in the party now fear that he may now attempt to remain on until Halloween.

Mr Kenny will today become the longest-serving Fine Gael taoiseach, surpassing John A Costello’s record of 2,233 days in office.

A number of TDs yesterday told the Mail that they will quiz Enda Kenny on his plans if he does not address the matter at the party’s next parliamentary meeting.

That meeting is scheduled for May 3.

However there is speculation that he may be attending a foreign trade mission that week meaning that TDs might not get the chance to grill him until the following week.

One Fine Gael TD said last night that the party was becoming ‘increasingly tired’ of the uncertainty around Mr Kenny’s plans after he previously said he would deal with the matter.

‘Enda asked to be trusted by the party and that he would deal with the matter effectively and conclusively after the St Patrick’s Day trip to Washington.

‘There is nothing effective and conclusive about this situation.

‘There is a growing sense of angst again about Fianna Fáil potentially pulling the plug, which could happen at any time, and we still do not know where we are at with the leadership issue. People within the party are getting truly fed up with the uncertainty.’

One TD said his colleagues were afraid to make their views public, as Mr Rock did, for fear of being labelled as disloyal by party colleagues and derail their future job prospects.

One senior source pointed towards the fact that the national executive of the party has already put in place arrangements for a leadership election.

The Irish Daily Mail previously revealed how Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar are expected to go head to head in at least four different national debates in a bid to become Taoiseach.

A meeting of the national executive of the Fine Gael party earlier this month made a number of decisions on the upcoming leadership election. Among them was the decision to hold between four and six regional hustings around the country.

‘I’d like to play an important role’