Fianna Fáil warns Government to ‘back off’ on deploying Brexit to extend term
FINE Gael has been warned by Fianna Fáil to ‘back off’ in its attempts to suggest Brexit justifies an extension of the current confidence and supply deal into 2019.
Speaking to the Irish Mail on Sunday, Fianna Fáil foreign affairs spokesman Niall Collins said: ‘Ireland is an independent country and any election here will be decided by Irish domestic concerns; not the UK’s difficulties.’
Mr Collins was responding to reports of plans by Fine Gael to deploy a ‘Brexit guilt trip’ to ensure the government survives beyond the deadline into Easter next year.
In a significant move, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he wants to extend the agreement ‘because we will be heading into Brexit next March [then] we will be heading into local and European elections.’ The Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe also said stability, given the challenge of Brexit, will be critical next year.
Mr Collins, however, warned that: ‘The UK’s difficulty with Europe cannot be allowed dictate the Irish electoral cycle. There will be elections across a few European countries next year and they won’t be suspended for Brexit.’
Mr Collins said ‘Fianna Fáil has been fully supportive of Ireland’s national interests on Brexit, but parliamentary democracy cannot be suspended.
‘The UK Tories cannot be allowed dictate when we hold elections.’
We will, he warned, ‘support the government in all ways possible to get a result and given their uncertain performance that is not always easy.’
Other Fianna Fáil sources were even more scathing noting: ‘That old Green jersey Leo is brandishing at us is fairly tattered. There’s a lot of holes in it and it obviously hasn’t been washed in a while.’
Another source warned: ‘Sure, Brexit could go on for 35 years. This suggestion will bring us back to the 17th century where you couldn’t have an election until the king died.’
‘Fine Gael are walking us into a Brexit pig in a poke and we ain’t buying,’ they added.