Presumably Enda Kenny does not want to create a political party to rival Fine Gael. But if he did, he couldn’t do better than the job he’s doing now.

We learned this weekend that not only did Mr Kenny make an electoral promise to protect Ireland’s pro-life laws, they actively courted the pro-life movement in advance of the last General Election.

Then, having cynically harvested as many pro-life voters as possible, he betrayed these voters by needlessly introducing abortion legislation, leaving them far more angry than they would have been had no promise been made.

Finally, once decided on pushing through this legislation, he has consistently refused to allow his TDs to vote with their consciences, something which is commonplace in most parliamentary democracies on sensitive issues such as this.

It is reported that Fine Gael TDs who vote against the Bill will be deselected, meaning they will not just lose the whip, but possibly their seats, and their livelihoods.

Mr Kenny seems to be almost daring these TDs to form a new party. Certainly, they would seem to have no other option if they want to stay in politics.

If this were only about abortion, that would be bad enough. But this Government seems to have set itself the target of being the most secular Government in Irish history.

First there was the closure of the Vatican embassy. Then there was the attack on the Seal of Confession. There is also the ceaseless pressure on the ethos of Catholic schools emanating from the Department of Education and the Government’s Forum on Patronage and Pluralism.

On top of that, there is the prospect of a referendum to legalise same-sex marriage and Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s plan to legalise surrogacy.

Figures indicate that something like a third of Irish people still go to Mass. But data suggests that Mass-goers are more likely to vote than the average voter, so this third of the population represents a much higher proportion of voters than a third.

Presumably a fair majority of these voters still feel a strong attachment to the Church. But these voters have been utterly disenfranchised by this Government and its ruthless secularising agenda.

Speeches made by Declan Ganley and Lucinda Creighton in the past week show that there are potential leaders for a new political movement and given the economic climate and the multiple broken promises of this Government, the appetite for such a movement likely extends beyond what one might call the Christian constituency.

Not only has Mr Kenny created the appetite for a new party, but with his strong-arm approach to those within his own party, he has created the raw material for such a movement as well. If a credible centre right alternative to Fine Gael does emerge before the next election, and proceeds to take votes, and seats from them, he will have no-one to blame but himself.