Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Joan Burton speaks to reporters today. Daragh Brophy

Joan v Mary Lou: That one-on-one debate won't be happening anytime soon

She didn’t give an outright “no” – but Joan Burton left reporters in Dublin in no doubt this afternoon that the pair wouldn’t be clashing in a TV studio anytime soon.

DON’T EXPECT TO see Joan Burton and Mary Lou McDonald squaring off one-on-one in Vincent Browne’s studios (or anyone else’s for that matter) before the next election.

Asked this afternoon whether the mooted encounter would take place, the Tánaiste pointed out that she regularly debated the high-profile Sinn Féin TD in the Dáil – and said that as a party leader, it was Gerry Adams she should be debating, rather than anybody else.

“I’m the leader of the Labour party. I’ll be debating with Gerry Adams,” she told reporters, at an event to mark International Women’s Day in Dublin city centre today.

She said she had already debated the Sinn Féin leader, and that given the “gap in terms of his understanding of the economy here in the Republic” there was “an awful lot more to debate with him”.

Speaking at her party’s Ard Fheis yesterday, McDonald re-iterated her challenge to debate the Tánaiste “anywhere, any time”.

“Joan Burton challenged me to a debate, both Vincent Browne and RTÉ offered to facilitate the debate, but Joan has changed her mind,” she insisted.

Asked about offers from TV stations to hold a debate, Burton again referred to the fact that she had recently taken on Adams one-on-one on Claire Byrne’s RTÉ show, adding that if any other proposals came in for debates with the SF leader, the party would “look at them and give them due consideration”.

Burton told reporters at the Labour conference last weekend that she was happy to debate the Sinn Féin deputy leader on the economy “to see if she has any plans to get people back to work”.

dddd

The pair have frequently clashed on a Thursday afternoon in the Dáil, when the Tánaiste usually takes questions from the deputy leaders of opposition parties.

There have been some particularly robustentertaining and newsworthy exchanges between the two most prominent female politicians in the country in recent times.

Read: Tánaiste tells Mary Lou to ‘get real’ and ‘stop spreading Sinn Féin lies’

Read: Sinn Féin wants Mary Lou to be Taoiseach and people to not ‘throw around’ the Irish flag

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
74 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
    JournalTv
    News in 60 seconds