CRITICISM:FIANNA FÁIL TD Mary O'Rourke has compared a recent television performance by Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin to that of a "prim aunt" in a Terence Rattigan play.
Ms Hanafin took part in RTÉ One's Frontlineprogramme on Monday night, along with other general election candidates from the Dún Laoghaire constituency.
Ms O’Rourke later likened the line-up in the studio to the dramatis personae in a theatrical set.
The featured candidates were Ms Hanafin; Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews; Fine Gael TD Seán Barrett and Councillor Mary Mitchell-O’Connor; Labour Senator Ivana Bacik; People Before Profit councillor Richard Boyd-Barrett, and Independent councillor Victor Boyhan.
“You had the pater familias Seán Barrett looking good and speaking sensible. You had prim aunt Mary doing her thing very well. You had Barry who has found his voice and his mojo too doing very well,” Ms O’Rourke said.
“You had the lovely blonde [Ms Mitchell-O’Connor] who got a great acclaim from the audience. You had bold boy Richard and you had garrulous Ivana and you had the very nice local councillor [Mr Boyhan]. You had a mix like a play.”
Ms O'Rourke also told the Today With Pat Kennyshow on RTÉ Radio One yesterday morning that it was too late for Fianna Fáil to change leaders.
“I speak for myself, but I know I speak for a few more as well. It’s not that we have any overweening or overriding huge confidence in Brian Cowen as of now but it’s all far too late to make a change.”
The time for a change was “long gone”. It would have been better to have a general election last September. Ms O’Rourke also said she was concerned Mr Cowen would “go back to being silent and sort of withdrawn again”.
She said she had reared two sons and Mr Cowen reminded her of one of them, who she said was particularly bold when he was growing up.
