A chance for change

A rare opportunity for Ireland to end the hegemony of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments looms closer as the 26 County general election campaign enters its final stretch.

A television debate on Monday saw Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin (pictured, right and left) form a tag-team of support for ‘politics as usual’ against a trio of challengers in the form of Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald, Aontú’s Peadar Tóibín and Richard Boyd-Barrett of People before Profit.

Although ten registered political parties were represented, it was the scene of the two leaders of the civil war era parties, side by side, sniping back with arrogance and petulance which brought home the choices available to voters next Friday, November 29.

Richard Boyd-Barrett stated that his ambition is to see a government without either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, calling for a left government “for the first time in the history of this State”, a result which will require a major swing in the polls.

Peadar Tóibín, seen by many as the strongest performer of the night, urged voters to take advantage of “a real opportunity for change” as he demanded accountability in government.

His exposure of Taoiseach Simon Harris over the National Children’s Hospital drew one of the more bizarre moments after Harris blankly denied that it was he who signed off on the disastrous contract for the National Children’s Hospital. Despite being the Minister for Health at the time, he insisted the contract was signed by the overall government.

Mr Boyd-Barrett was strong on the government’s refusal to impose sanctions on Israel over Gaza, an issue on which Micheál Martin was scrambling. He also made a forceful defence of immigrants who he said had been scapegoated for the lack of housing and public services in the country.

Mary Lou McDonald told viewers that ‘100 years of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is long enough’ and that the upcoming election is “the opportunity of a lifetime”. The Sinn Féin leader said that housing is the party’s number one priority and that ‘a whole generation of people [have been] locked out of home ownership’.

And in a separate interview, Ms McDonald insisted that her party is “running to win” the election.

Talking to Virgin Media, the leader of the Opposition promised that all those earning up to €100,000 will be better off under a Sinn Féin-led Government.

And she hit out at a new Fine Gael video ad which claims Sinn Féin would smash the State’s ‘piggybank’ and steal the contents as a “barefaced lie”.

It was a cheek, she said, given the litany of scandals over government waste. Instead she promised to double national savings provision, and to maintain a surplus on the country’s account.

And following a series of strategic and organisational setbacks and scandals for her own party, she again refuted claims she is controlled by a cabal of inept party officials.

She insisted: “Nobody tells me what to do. I take my decisions, I take my counsel.” Despite being surrounded by the same officials for over two decades, she insisted she was the leader of the party. “Where there is a decision to be taken, I take it.”

Ms McDonald was also asked whether, as Taoiseach, she would attend an “IRA funeral”, a reference to a recent controversy over Sinn Féin leaders attending British Army commemorations, but not republican ones.

“As Taoiseach, I would be very conscious that your duty and who you represent goes way beyond your immediate republican or Sinn Féin base, and I would do everything very, very mindful of that.

“The issue of what funerals you attend, this is a question of what is your relationship with the person. Because the funeral of a republican is not necessarily what you’re depicting as an IRA funeral. It can simply be the funeral of somebody that you know and who has died.

“But I just want to reassure you that I would be very, very sensitive to the fact that you are, as Taoiseach in that office, representing the population and the people very broadly, balancing that with the fact that I am an Irish republican and I will be at republican events.”

A total of 685 candidates, including 248 women are contesting the election. Fianna Fáil have the most candidates at 82, followed by Fine Gael at 80, Sinn Féin 71, Aontú 43, Green 43 and PBP–Solidarity 42.

Last year the number of TDs was increased from 160 to 174, with an increase in the number of constituencies from 39 to 43.

Twenty-nine TDs are not seeking re-election, including 20 from the main government parties.

Urgent Appeal