Sombre mood at Fine Gael meeting as members reject coalition with FF
MORE than 130 Fine Gael members voted in favour of the party going into opposition at a sombre post- General Election meeting in Enniscorthy on Wednesday night.
During the meeting unsuccessful election candidate Michael D’Arcy Jnr was put forward as a candidate for the Seanad elections.
County director of elections Martin Lawlor said: ‘It was a big meeting. You’d expect that after a heavy defeat.’
He said Mr D’Arcy was unanimously nominated to be considered for a second term as a senator.
Addressing the crowd Mr D’Arcy said he was giving a speech he didn’t want to be giving, acknowledging that there was a fair tussle for the two seats, one which saw Paul Kehoe elected. He said it was evident even before the election that there was only going to be one Fine Gael seat in the county and that was to be Deputy Kehoe’s, adding that the party was now into a process of rebuilding for the new election.
Deputy Kehoe said the party had taken a heavy hit nationally, adding that he wasn’t going to comment one way or the other as to his preference for the make-up of the next government, adding that his preferred option would for the party to go into opposition. He proposed Mr D’Arcy for the Seanad, adding that he would wholeheartedly work to that end. A vote was taken of party members asking them if they favoured going into opposition and 125 out of 130 people voted for that option. A second vote was taken asking if members favoured a Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green (or another party) coalition, and there was a resounding 124 vote against this proposal. Deputy Kehoe abstained from voting.
Mr Lawlor gave a report on the election in question and answer format, outlining how the party got slightly over its quota in terms of votes. With around 17 per cent, it got 4 per cent lower than in 2016 when Fine Gael barely won two seats, Deputy Kehoe clinching victory by 31 votes from Sinn Fein’s Johnny Mythen on that occasion.
Mr Lawlor said a full review of the election in Co Wexford is being undertaken by the executive committee and when that is finalised another meeting will be arranged.
He said the overwhelming message from the electorate was that they wanted change and for Fine Gael to go into opposition. ‘ Three non Government supporting TDs were elected in Wexford. Three non Government elected TDs were elected in Waterford and two non Government TDs were elected in Kilkenny.’
Mr Lawlor said the mood at the meeting was one of acceptance. ‘People were realistic. You open the boxes, you count the votes and you see what has happened. You can whinge all you want. Big deal. Move on! Confidence and Supply clearly didn’t work.’
He said trumpeting the party’s Brexit and economic successes was never going to win over voters. ‘I felt housing and health we going to be the issues in this campaign and we were not in a position to deliver the results that people expected on housing quickly enough because you don’t have enough builders in the country and the planning process takes too long.’
He said the local authority lacks the intellectual ability and competence to build houses, adding that housing estates haven’t been built in the county since the 1970s.
Speaking afterwards Mr Lawlor said as Fine Gael is a weakened party with less county councillors, the likelihood of Mr D’Arcy being elected to one of the 11 Seanad seats, is less than it was in 2011. He said the county was spilt evenly for both Deputy Kehoe and Mr D’Arcy when it came to canvassing, adding that D’Arcy’s traditional district was North Wexford, New Ross south of the N25, Wexford, (as he had an office there) and down to Rosslare, with Kehoe having dominion over the old Enniscorthy district, including Taghmon and New Ross town. ‘Paul’s wife is from Taghmon so he got that area too. Numerically Michael D’Arcy should have been ahead based on a head count as on paper he had a bigger area and a more population.’
He said in the last four out of five general elections a non party candidate has been elected in Co Wexford.
‘In 2002 you had Liam Twomey. In 2011 and 2016 you had Mick Wallace and in 2020 you have Verona Murphy.
‘In terms of councillors you have two non party councillors in New Ross, Enniscorthy and Wexford, two in Rosslare if you include Jim Codd and one in Kilmuckridge. The only district you don’t have a non party county councillor is Gorey.’