Yes, we’ll support FG for the duration of Brexit – but we want this Government gone
FIANNA Fáil leader Micheál Martin last night defended his decision to support Fine Gael through the Brexit process, despite telling party delegates at Citywest he ‘wants this Government gone’.
In his keynote address at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, Mr Martin said failures by Fine Gael ministers must take second place because of the existential crisis posed by Brexit. Mr Martin also surprised members by warmly praising his predecessor Bertie Ahern in his speech. In the past, he has been highly critical of Mr Ahern.
Mr Martin was forced to deny at a press conference yesterday that discontent in Fianna Fáil over the confidence-and-supply arrangement was a threat to his leadership.
In his speech, he told delegates that his support of the Fine Gael minority Government was in the national interest.
‘We want this Government gone but we refuse to expose our country to the massive risk of having no functioning government at this moment of great threat,’ he said.
‘That is why we took the step of extending the Confidence and Supply Agreement and it is why Ireland’s hand in the Brexit talks remains strong,’ he added.
‘Every one of our members wants to get out on the doorsteps and sell a message of what a new government can do for our country.’
‘It’s a difficult decision for us, but it’s the right decision and it reinforces the fact that Fianna Fáil is putting the national interest first. We have to manage the immediate fallout of Brexit and by every available piece of evidence we don’t have a moment to waste,’ said Mr Martin.
Mr Martin said Brexit ‘has been devastating to politics in Northern Ireland, but the problems started long before Brexit, and they still have to be dealt with no matter what happens with Brexit’.
Mr Martin criticised Fine Gael’s neglect of the peace process since taking office while also criticising Sinn Féin and the DUP for the continued shutdown of the Northern Assembly at Stormont.
‘The last seven years have seen a relentless decline in the political situation in Northern Ireland. Everyone knows that the core issue has been with the DUP and Sinn Féin, who ran the Executive like a closed cartel looking after their own,’ he said.
Meanwhile, despite seeking his resignation from the party in 2012 over the Mahon Tribunal findings, Mr Martin paid specific tribute to Bertie Ahern for his commitment to securing peace on the island of Ireland when he was Taoiseach.
‘Bertie Ahern showed incredible leadership in bringing about the Good Friday Agreement, securing its ratification and putting in place a precious peace,’ he said.
However, after explaining why the party was keeping Fine Gael in power, he went on to criticise Leo Varadkar’s party.
Mr Martin said that Fianna Fáil was determined to offer people a real alternative to Fine Gael’s ‘out-of-touch and arrogant government’. ‘The only thing ministers are passionate about is using public money to promote themselves,’ he said.
During his 30-minute address, Mr Martin severely criticised the Government’s mishandling of major issues such as the National Children’s Hospital and promising €3bn worth of tax cuts when people are experiencing dire shortages in services.
‘We can see this in the sorry tale of the new children’s hospital and a massive overrun which may be the tip of the iceberg,’ Mr Martin said. ‘The Government toured the country, advertising plans for projects which
might start in 10 years’ time, but they have gone missing every time the reality of rising waiting lists and missed targets have been exposed.’
Mr Martin highlighted a sore point for Fine Gael – that the party has lost its reputation for fiscal rectitude, adding: ‘While they are massively overspending in some areas, in others they refuse to spend the money allocated to desperately needed services’. And alluding to the housing crisis, he said Fianna Fáil was determined to return to the days when the State fulfilled its basic duty of making sure that all citizens would have the chance to buy or rent a decent place to live.
Mr Martin said the current Government is ‘out of touch and out of ideas. Today there are unprecedented waiting lists and there is a near complete lack of basic leadership’.