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LAST UPDATE | 17 Feb 2020
THE FINE GAEL parliamentary party is set to meet today to discuss how it should proceed after it came third behind Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin in terms of seats in last week’s general election.
Members of the party including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney have consistently ruled out working to form a government with Sinn Féin.
However, a grand coalition seeing the party work with Fianna Fáil has been mooted as a potential option that could see the party return to government.
The meeting today will see it’s TDs take stock following a bruising election. Fine Gael’s 35 seats is the party’s fourth-worst performance ever, behind only 1943 (when it won 32 seats), 2002 and 1948 (31 seats) and 1944 (30 seats).
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, Fine Gael parliamentary party chairperson Martin Heydon said that the party would be willing to go into government “as a last resort” and that members of the party are “uneasy” about the idea of working with Fianna Fáil.
He said the responsibility lay with Sinn Féin to try to form a government in the first instance, and that Fine Gael is preparing for opposition.
“We are happy to discuss with other parties if necessary,” Heydon said. “The primary responsibility is not on us.”
When pushed on several occasions if Fine Gael was open to go into government with Fianna Fáil, he said: “We’re not ruling it out.”
Heydon added his party will play its part and that the public wouldn’t thank politicians if there was another general election in the near future.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics yesterday, former Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern said he “wouldn’t put too much money” on the two parties going into government together.
Ahern said if Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael form a coalition, it would need to involve the Greens and Social Democrats and “some sort of an agreement” with independents.
“If you don’t do that it won’t reflect change and it would also create a problem for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, particularly Fianna Fáil, because when you’re putting a government together, you have to look to the future as well,” he said.
Ahern went on to say that the public will be looking for a “programme for government that gets four years, that reflects the politics of the issues that were around in this election”.
“And the reality is the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael manifestos didn’t reflect that.”
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Congrats to all the winners.
We could do with some good news articles for a change. How about restaurants and takeaways that went above and beyond to service customers in a brutal 2020 year? Or best reviewed meal kits from 2020? Some many in that industry are doing their best. But it’s easy to call out the few bad apples.
@Keith Richardson: sorry my comment meant for Keith
@Keith Richardson: agree one of local takeaways offered free meals to people who needed a meal at start of lockdown 2.0 . always support them and throw a larger than average tip in to them.
@Keith Richardson: this is important public health information from the Food Safety Authority. It gets printed periodically in many Irish news outlets a for reasons of public health. The journal have been doing it for a long time.
Anyways you don’t have to look far for the kind banal pop journalism you’re raving about there. You can find “the best of this or that” literally everywhere
Personally I’d prefer to know if a restaurant/bar/cafe near was serving dubious food so I would know to avoid it. They don’t all get closed down immediately
Perhaps you are happy enough funnelling any old tripe down your gullet but I am not
A bit light on detail
@Denis Leane: the details would have been published at the time the order was made to close, the orders are published every month
@Brian Nevin: yea but we wanted to see particular names of premises’ printed here. Too much work to go searching
I’m thinking of opening a sushi takeaway. Anyone got a spare bedroom so I can get the cooking done?
@Levante Dublin: cooking? Sushi ? I thought that’s the beauty of sushi you only need a bedroom. No kitchen necessary. A knife and a cutting board and you’re made
@Levante Dublin: agree…. The Press love negativity…. what about all those bars and restaurants that abide by the law and are pristine…. probably 99+%
@Ian Forbes: reporting facts isn’t being negative. By default they SHOULD be pristine.
@Jakie McLean: sushi technically refers to the rice, I believe, which does need to be cooked. As such,you can get various types where all ingredients are cooked. Like with sushi involving chicken.
@Ian Forbes: News is news, it isn’t positive or negative
@Jakie McLean: rice!
@Ian Forbes: i look at it the other way, so many good restaurants and the little few bad ones. It’s a good news story.
@Levante Dublin: only need to cook the rice
Couldn’t we introduce a food hygiene rating as they have in the UK, as the activity of the Irish Food Safety Authority is not particularly transparent
@Jules: True story. I grew up in Coventry and as a kid every Friday we got food from the same chippy. I since moved to Dublin but I, and my three siblings, were back to see my mother who ill and hospitalised at the time. We did the nostalgia tour and went to the chippy for dinner. They had a half a star out of 5 rating…
@Jules: the food in the UK is muck. Their food quality and standards are deplorable compared to ours
@Denise Ní Cinnseala: what a silly sweeping comment
Cáitín
Name and shame
@Mark Gaffney: the names are on the FSAI website.
Gives new meaning to the phrase “dishing the dirt”.
Is there any within 5 km of me.? I feel hungry
Mostly Pakistani s
Is this a dirty article?
Where’s the ?
Name & Shame the business and its owners!
This will continue otherwise simple as!
which restaurants in Cork?
have your say