A Cross-Party Love-in

There’s nothing like a bit of cross-party back patting – even if it is done in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

The latest love-in seems to be between Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and his Fine Gael counterpart Fergus O’Dowd.

At last weekend’s Fine Gael convention in Wexford, Deputy O’Dowd was vocal in his criticism of Irish transport policies and put forward the policies of his own party.

But Noel Dempsey was quick with the shot across the bows – thanking O’Dowd for his ‘unequivocal endorsement’ of the transport policies being pursued by him.

“Every ‘new’ policy that he suggested in his speech in Wexford is already being pursued by me. I am pleased that Deputy O’Down has listened so closely to me in the Dail as I have set out how precisely my reform of transport service provision will take place,” the Minister said in a rapidly-released missive.

And then for the winning punch:

“In the very unlikely event that Deputy O’Dowd ever becomes the Minister for Transport, we can all look forward to him continuing to implement my consumer-centred policies,” the Minister said.