“We’re not going to be treated like factory workers clocking in and clocking out.”

Sam Smyth paints a fantastic picture for us today in the Irish Indo of last week’s parliamentary party meeting for the Soldiers of Destiny. It was the last Fianna Fail meeting before the recess and one where, by all accounts, tempers flared and the rage boiled over particularly towards Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Brian Lenihan’s expense plans and – horror – the idea that their attendence at the Dail should be tracked.

It looksl like the dark psychology emanating from government is more than matched by the depth of ill-feeling in the backbenches and senate. There was little for the party to get their teeth into and in the dearth of positives, the disaffected rump – still small according to Smyth – managed to get a wide airing.

“There are groups now openly talking about change — not just a reshuffle in government but a reshuffle of the whole lot, including the leadership,” said a Fianna Fail backbencher last night.

The malcontents are a small minority now, but recent events have emboldened them to openly criticise the leader.

“We didn’t get a chance to show how we felt about the appalling performance of the party in the local elections before the meeting last week and all the pent-up frustration and anger burst out,” said another TD.

There has been a remarkably mute fallout since the disaster on June 5-7. The party fell well below their own spin projections,were set for skin and hair in the Dail but instead were bound together by a motion of no confidence. That did Cowen a favour by sending backbenchers to ground, until now.

The discontent was also directed at Brain Lenihan for his attempts to cut salaries and expenses and the proposed swipe card system for TD attendance.

The immediate focus of their anger was real cuts in their pay, allowances and expenses that will reduce many of the TDs’ incomes by as much as €25,000 a year….
But the TDs and senators were just as concerned about new checks on their attendance that could diminish their status and self-esteem.

It emerged in the course of the meeting that Finance Minister Brian Lenihan intended to introduce an amendment to the bill determining their salaries and expenses. The amendment gave Brian Lenihan, and his successors, the authority to set the expenses of TDs and senators. They accused the Finance Minister of deliberately concealing information from them.

The TDs also resented the idea of a swipe card that would keep track of their comings and goings at Leinster House and prevent claims for expenses from absent members.

One TD told party chairman Mr Lenihan: “We’re not going to be treated like factory workers clocking in and clocking out.”

Hold on, I thought if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear?

In a harking back to the Haughey era, the tone, divisions the opening rifts. Whether the summer brings a respite is an open question but for certain Cowen’s time looks to be spent – which should liberate him to act and behave as he wants, cast aside the advisors, but he appears incapable.