Minister defies Leo over Sinn Féin deal
Daly stands by comments as Taoiseach lashes party
JIM Daly is standing by his suggestion that Fine Gael could go into coalition with Sinn Féin – as Leo Varadkar takes a swipe at them. The junior minister repeated his praise for the party on radio yesterday, hours after being slapped down by the Taoiseach’s spokesman, who sternly declared it was ‘not an appropriate thing to say’.
And the tensions between him and his party leader looked set to grow after Mr Varadkar lashed out at Sinn Féin, calling it a sectarian and anti-EU party.
Mr Daly, who is Junior Minister for Mental Health and Older People, told Today With Seán O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 that he would object to Sinn Féin policy. He said: ‘I would regard their stance on things like the 9% VAT rate on the hospitality Stance: Minister Jim Daly industry, which is hugely important to me in my West Cork constituency, as incompatible.’
But he added: ‘I don’t speak for the Government. These are my personal views. But I would make the point that a lot of my colleagues would share the views that I have. You cannot say you will not do business with Sinn Féin simply because they are Sinn Féin. You must have a valid reason. They have a legitimate mandate and the people who vote for them are real people, citizens of this State, so they have to be acknowledged.’
He had earlier declared, in a magazine interview, ‘I have no ideological objection to Sinn Féin being part of government.’
He also said: ‘Politics is the art of doing, and who knows? But if I was asked if I would like to see Fine Gael going into government with Sinn Féin after the next election, the answer is No.’
Mr Daly previously clashed with Mr Varadkar when he said the elderly should pay whatever was needed to keep themselves warm, running their heating 24 hours,’ before seeking reimbursement from the State.
Meanwhile, speaking from Galway, Mr Varadkar said Sinn Féin was ‘a eurosceptic, high-tax and sectarian party’.
‘They want to increase VAT and thus increase the cost of living for everyone.
‘They don’t want to give any tax breaks to middle income people, they are euro-critical or eurosceptic at a time when we need all our friends around Europe,’ he said. ‘And they are very nationalistic at a time when we should we should be internationalist.’
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald joined the fray last night, describing the Taoiseach’s comments as ‘a bizarre outburst’. She said: ‘The Taoiseach is well aware of Sinn Féin’s opposition to sectarianism and discrimination in all its forms.
‘He is also well aware of our position on Brexit and that we believe the future of all of Ireland is within the EU.’
She added: ‘The attempts to exclude Sinn Féin and to dismiss our mandate lack any credibility and are an insult to the hundreds of thousands of Sinn Féin voters across this island.’
‘Many colleagues share my view’