BRIAN COWEN strongly defended his mandate as Taoiseach in his first Dáil appearance since standing down as Fianna Fáil leader.

Mr Cowen claimed that it had been questioned by various Opposition leaders since taking up the office.

Many of the comments, he added, were quoted uncritically and peddled in the media as something that had some constitutional validity.

“It is a vacuous, stupid statement,” he added. “The Taoiseach – be it I or any other holder of the office – derives authority from majority support in this House.”

When Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty challenged Mr Cowen to put down a motion of confidence in himself, Mr Cowen described Mr Doherty as “a rookie”.

The bottom line, said Mr Cowen, was that what he described constituted the basis of authority.

To suggest otherwise to the Irish people, he said, was to show ignorance of one’s Constitution, as did suggesting it was only by election that a taoiseach was elected.

“There are taoisigh who have held this office who have had the same authority as those who won two, three, five or 10 elections,” he added.

“That is the position. If and when that is tested, the constitutional requirement and imperative is that the Dáil be dissolved and an election held.”

Mr Cowen said he was “a bit tired listening to the same old rhetoric being peddled that suggests this Taoiseach does not have a mandate in this Dáil”.

He was hoping, he said, that as the Dáil term came to an end, that basic respect and courtesy would be accorded to him, even if it came from the most unlikely quarters.

Mr Doherty said the Taoiseach’s mandate had disappeared on Sunday when he stood down as Fianna Fáil leader.

Speaking during the Order of Business, in advance of the Finance Bill debate, Mr Cowen paid tribute to the Green Party.

He said he had worked very closely with all of them in their various capacities and it would be remiss of him not to put on the record of the House his appreciation as Taoiseach, and previously minister for finance, for their work.

“I would like to thank them for the work they have done, wish them well for the future and, certainly, I would not allow political differences to interfere in any way with my personal relationships with the deputies with whom I worked so closely,” he added.

Mr Cowen said the general election campaign would have to be about what was on the pitch that all parties would have to play on.

“The pitch we have to play on is the economic recovery plan that has been agreed,” he added.

“It is not a departure from policy that is required, it is the full and effective implementation of the policy framework that has been set out for this country that I believe is what is required both domestically and internationally.”

Referring to the lead up to the the EU-IMF bailout, Mr Cowen said “the confidentiality of those preparations was totally in keeping with major financial decisions made from time to time”.

Green Party leader John Gormley, speaking from the Opposition benches for the first time since the Government was formed in 2007, said consistency demanded that other parties should at least abstain to ensure the passage of the Finance Bill.

They were embarking on an election campaign where people would give many false promises, he said. He added that giving false hope was worse than giving no hope.

Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said his party was was not part of any Opposition consensus.

The party challenged votes on the Order of Business but did not have the numbers to allow them to proceed.