70 Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators have attended the first in a series of meetings today to discuss party policy ahead of the framing of their election manifesto.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, said a range of suggestions from backbenchers were heard at the four-and-a-half hour meeting.
Mr Martin said there were valuable suggestions about the reconfiguration of some Government departments, with some deputies backing the idea of a Department of Food and others suggesting Department of Consumer Affairs.
Other members he said raised the need for regional transport initiatives and tackling road safety, on which some TDs and Senators wanted figures who could communicate with young people centrally involved.
Mr Martin said ministers were emphatically in listening mood and there would certainly be policy changes arising out of today's session.
The meetings arose after some backbenchers expressed unease about the attitude of the party hierarchy towards their concerns about Fianna Fáil's prospects ahead of next year's General Election.
