MacSharry bitter over Cabinet seat snub – Martin
THE Taoiseach has hit back at suggestions that his predecessor Leo Varadkar is ‘running rings’ around him, following comments from within his own party.
Micheál Martin came under fierce criticism at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Thursday afternoon, with Sligo-Leitrim TD Marc MacSharry calling on him not to do joint press conferences with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
Mr MacSharry told the online parliamentary party meeting that ‘our man can’t handle it’ and that Mr Varadkar was ‘running rings’ around Mr Martin during a blistering assault on his leader.
However, Mr Martin dismissed the comments during a visit to Cork yesterday, saying Mr MacSharry is just disgruntled because he didn’t get a seat at the Cabinet table.
‘To be very clear, from the very outset since I formed the Cabinet and appointed my Ministers, Marc MacSharry has made it clear that he is dissatisfied. He’s entitled to his views,’ Mr Martin said.
‘I disagree, of course, with them and I focus on the issues of substance such as dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic; dealing also with the challenges of Brexit; and focusing on bringing a million people back to our schools in the last number of weeks, which I think is a very significant achievement.’
Mr MacSharry also reportedly criticised Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Ronan Glynn during the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, saying that the daily Covid-19 briefing should be halted as the medic was ‘scaring the bejaysus’ out of people.
But Mr Martin said yesterday: ‘One point I would like to make, where I would seriously disagree with Marc MacSharry is his comments in relation to the Chief Medical Officer in that we should take him off the screens or somehow disappear him from public view.
‘I think that was something I couldn’t quite comprehend because the Irish people want to hear from the CMO, they value and respect Dr Ronan Glynn and his predecessor Tony Holohan, because in a global pandemic people want information, they want reassurance.
‘Those societies that value public health advice have done best so far in this global pandemic.
‘Those that endeavour to relegate the views of public health experts have not done as well in mortality, or in terms of dealing overall with issues of Covid-19.’
Higher Education Minister
Simon Harris also defended Dr Glynn in the wake of Mr MacSharry’s remarks.
He said yesterday: ‘The Acting CMO has saved lives. The Acting CMO is someone that we’re indebted to as a country.’
Mr Harris said Mr Glynn entered the job in difficult circumstances and added: ‘I know from my time as minister for health how incredibly hard he’s worked. I can only imagine how exhausted he must feel.’
Asked about the disquiet at Fianna Fáil’s parliamentary party meeting Mr Harris said: ‘Of all the things that concern me, the content of internal party wrangling... not one of the things I’d lose sleep over. I’ve lost sleep about a lot of issues this year... That hasn’t been one of them.’
Minister Harris said: ‘Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party are working together in a partnership Government.
‘We have Brexit to deal with, we’ve got Covid to deal with, the reopening of schools, the whole process of getting people, the National Recovery Plan, the Budget...
‘I’m sure no one in Fianna Fáil would appreciate me commenting on their meetings.’
He insisted the Government is ‘bedding in well’.
‘I think we’re beginning to get our teeth stuck into the big, important, meaty issues that people want to see us tackle, and that I know will be the priority for all of us serving in Cabinet,’ he said.