Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell chased me into a lift to bellow about treachery. I reminded her that she was handed her seat by the Taoiseach

ON MONDAY, I said Enda Kenny should consider setting out a timeline for his future. Rather than being an explosive statement though, it was simply an act of logic. It’s simple really: at various points this week, we looked to be only 24 hours from a general election. In charge of our party going into that election is a man who – while having achieved much – has explicitly stated time and again that he didn’t want to lead our party in the next general election.

People saying my remark on Monday, given where we are now, was ‘calculated’ are wide of the mark. I didn’t consult with any potential future leader before making them: I was asked a question by a journalist, considered how I felt and talked honestly, and signed off by saying they could of course put my name to it. I don’t regret that.

I avoided being personal in my remarks about Enda Kenny’s leadership because, well, it’s not personal. He’s a nice, decent, humble man – and the three conversations we’ve had since, while a little awkward, have been good natured and professional. I don’t want to see him hounded out, but I do want to see an honest conversation within the party.

There comes a time when we must look forward. We have an opportunity over the next few weeks. While we say we’re proud of many things we’ve done, we can now have a vibrant discussion about what we’re going to do next.

And we can only do the exciting things because of what we’ve achieved, indeed what Enda Kenny has achieved.

REGARDLESS of who it is, we can now look to the future as a party. Where we mould Ireland for the future, shake off the Fianna Fáil and austerity Ireland shackles of the past as best we can and strike for the modern, vibrant Ireland that we know we can be. Some, though, seem to associate a conversation about the future with borderline treason. Perhaps this is an electoral ploy, perhaps a stalling tactic, but certainly it misses the point. Some reactions were muted, others noisier: Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell chased me into a lift to bellow about treachery, before being reminded she had her seat handed to her. There was also a gaggle of Fianna Fáil TDs roaring ‘Judas’ and other things at me in the Dáil bar. It’s all fine. Saying what you believe is important and, given every Fianna Fáil leader change has taken place while they were in Government, perhaps their memories are short.

Some of my colleagues seem to perpetuate the idea that the failed motion of no confidence gives the Government six months of safety: this is simply not true. History shows us that. We need to be election ready, and right now we are nowhere near that point.

The point where we are least at risk over the next six months in terms of an election is today. Right now. With each passing day, that risk grows. As such, it is entirely appropriate and reasonable to begin this discussion now. It’s actually foolish not to. That’s why I kickstarted it.

And frankly, given the party was already talking about itself, it’s clear that we should conclude that conversation, rather than letting it lapse for a few weeks or months, only for us to pick it back up again when the risk of an election rises.

People are already fed up of Fine Gael talking about Fine Gael. There’s a compelling need to get this over with rather than pausing and resuming. For me, the most disappointing aspect of this whole week was the off-the-record briefings: the people who supposedly have their convictions but won’t back them up by putting their name to them.

This was already an out-of-control problem within Fine Gael, and before my intervention at least 20 members supplied off-therecord quotes before I made my modest statement with my name beside it. Yet, I was criticised heavily, often by the same people supplying the off-the-record quotes. Some of the criticisms, whispered behind closed doors to journalists, have been personal and nasty – and all because I gave a pretty straightforward truth. But no matter.

From 2011, the party was accused of suffering from a surplus of spin. Now, it seems, our new problem is suffering from a deficit of spine. This week, I said what I thought. Some people don’t like that, but it’s what I was elected to do. The Taoiseach is our leader, he has done a good job, and I wish him well, but the simple reality is we need to prepare for the next election, be it weeks or months away.