Media scrum follows Cowen to Navan

There was a media frenzy at Tara Mines last Friday for the visit of an Taoiseach, Brian Cowen. But were the country's assembled media excited about the massive €27 million investment in a new grinding mill at the mines which is part of the Boliden group's commitment to extending the life of the mine in Navan? Were they interested in Navan's biggest employer, Europe's biggest zinc mine and the fifth largest in the world? No they were not. The TV cameras, radio mics and reporters' notebooks were there for one purpose only - Willie O'Dea's decision to resign the day before. Sure there were one or two other questions - he expertly batted away questions about trauma services at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan by saying that services in the north-east were arranged on the basis of providing the best possible service, but the vast majority of questions were on Minister O'Dea's resignation and any possible Cabinet reshuffle. The Taoiseach was accompanied on his tour of the mines by Transport Minister, Noel Dempsey, Deputies Johnny Brady and Thomas Byrne and Cllrs Shane Cassells and Tommy Reilly. The local minister remained unruffled as reporters asked about a possible Cabinet reshuffle but must have been listening intently when his boss was asked about Dublin businessman Jerry Beades' call for the scalps of six ministers, including Minister Dempsey. The Taoiseach replied that he was the leader of the party. "It's my perogative as Taoiseach to lead the Government we have," was his answer. The Taoiseach was on constituency visit to Navan and Trim on Trim on Friday which kicked off with a tour of Tara Mines, where he arrived shortly before 2.30pm and was given a security badge with his name on it before being taken to meet miners and inspect the new mill where the mined zinc and lead are processed. When he emerged, he spoke of Tara Mines being Meath's largest private sector employer and paid tribute to the owners and workers on the major changes that taken place there. He told the assembled gathering he was impressed with the new grinding mill and the flexibility of the workforce which had taken on major changes as part of the efforts to secure the future of the Navan mine. As soon as he drew breath, however, he found himself negotiating the minefield of questions from the media about Willie O'Dea. Mr Cowen insisted Mr O'Dea had come to the conclusion that he must resign from the Cabinet without any coercion from him or the Green Party. The Taoiseach said his relationship with the Green Party and its leader, John Gormley, remained excellent and predicted that the Government would last its full term. Question after question about Mr O'Dea kept coming, and the Taoiseach's only escape was to move on to Trim where he held a private meeting with local businesspeople and Trim Chamber of Commerce.