O’DEA SLAMS GOVERNMENT’S ERRORS
FIANNA Fáil TD Willie O’Dea has criticised a number of ‘silly’ Government errors over the last month, which he said ‘largely overshadowed’ some of the good work done.
Deputy O’Dea’s comments come as a poll yesterday revealed that support for Fianna Fáil is now at 20%, a drop of 2% since the General Election, which leaves the party in third place behind Sinn Féin and Fine Gael.
The Sunday Times poll found that public support for Sinn Féin stood at 30%, up 5% since the election, while support for Fine Gael stood at 29%, up 8%.
Support for the Green Party dipped 1% to 6%, while Labour also dropped 1% to 3%.
Social Democrats, Solidarity People Before Profit and Renua were all on 1%.
Speaking to Newstalk’s On The Record, Deputy O’Dea said that things such as the economic stimulus package and the Government’s plan to reopen schools ‘have been overshadowed, or largely overshadowed, by a number of rather silly errors underpinned by pretty poor communication’.
Among the things that Deputy O’Dea took issue with was the junior minister pay controversy, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar being allowed an aide-de-camp, and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney being granted the use of a State car.
On the issue of the extra €16,000 in allowances being given to the three Government ‘super junior’ ministers, Deputy O’Dea said that this was ‘bound to play badly with the public’ in a time when people have lost their jobs.
When question as to why he voted for the increase, he said that he was bound by the party whip and if he had voted against it, the Government would have passed it anyway and he would be expelled from his party.
When asked if he believes that the Government will last five years, Deputy O’Dea said: ‘The Government has the opportunity still, certainly in the life of the Government, they have the opportunity to put a system in place whereby these things are minimised and if they can do that then I think they will last.’