Water charges, job creation, fixing the State’s finances and a host of local issues including a future for the cross-Border Narrow Water bridge project have dominated a day of campaigning by the Taoiseach.
Mr Kenny began the day in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, before travelling to Cavan to support his party's two candidates, Jim Higgins and Maireád McGuinness in the EU parliament election.
Mr Kenny then went to Monaghan town for the first of two town-centre walkabouts in the northeast.
In Monaghan yesterday he was met by local councillors in the town's diamond, some of whom spoke privately of their concerns that gains made by Fine Gael in the last local and Dáil elections are under threat by opposition parties.
The Irish Times was told of expectations of a "Shinner tide" – an advance by Sinn Féin that could echo the gains made by Fine Gael at the last election.
Mr Kenny did not give interviews in Monaghan, where he concentrated on a brisk and enthusiastic walkabout along Dublin Street where he met many locals, children and business people. He allowed one heckler a short hearing before getting on with meeting people and posing for photographs with schoolchildren.
Affordable
In Dundalk the Taoiseach rejected assertions that voters would use these elections to challenge the Coalition over water charges: "We are working on the details to make them as fair, as affordable as possible so that we can have an entity, Irish Water, which can borrow off the Government books to provide infrastructure to deal with treatment works [and address] the leaking of 40 per cent of the water supply. It will also provide the metering concept and an understanding of the conservation of water."
He admitted some sections of society were vulnerable, such as the sick and elderly and families: “The Government will focus on these people to make charges as fair and as affordable as possible.”
He insisted the Coalition was fixing the State’s finances and returning to international markets in an orderly way.
More than 1,200 jobs a week were being created and the business climate was improving – a message he repeated throughout the day.
He insisted the Narrow Water bridge project, which lost its promised EU funding because tender prices came over expectation, was not dead. “The difference between what came in and what allocated was just too great,” he said.
The issue would be raised at a forthcoming meeting of North-South ministerial meeting in June which he would chair.
At an election rally in Navan, Co Meath, Mr Kenny said the election was the most important to the EU parliament in 40 years following the growth in its powers following the Lisbon Treaty.
Water charges were needed which would be affordable and fair, he said and they would be “the last imposition” on the people.
Turning to the next Dáil election, the Taoiseach said he expected to approach the electorate on two main areas. “Have we fixed our finances and put people back to work? At that election I expect the answer to be positive,” he said.
