ÉAMON Ó CUÍV has said it’s breaking his heart that Fianna Fáil has not made more progress in recent times, as the party’s internal woes continue.
Speaking this morning on Adhmhaidin on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Ó Cuiv said that he held an hour-and-a-half long meeting with party leader Micheál Martin last night amid what he said was “low morale” within the party.
The Galway West TD said that he outlined his concerns to Martin, and that there was an exchange of views in relation to Fianna Fáil’s direction.
Despite this, he insisted the issue was not the leadership.
What is breaking my heart is that the party has not made more progress because Fianna Fáil has an important role in Irish politics. Our opinions differ on what is needed by the party in order to make some progress, but that is natural in any party.
Video: Timmy Dooley insists that Micheál Martin’s leadership is safe…
A succession of poor polls has led to several party figures publicly voicing their concerns, including Ó Cuív, the grandson of party founder Éamon de Valera, and longtime internal critic John McGuinness, who told local radio last night that he would not be silenced.
Martin is said to admonished his critics at a parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday afternoon, but reports of him describing some behaviour as ‘pathetic’ have been downplayed.
Speaking to reporters in Leinster House today, justice spokesperson Niall Collins had strong words for McGuinness.
I mean John McGuinness just needs to put his shoulder to the wheel. You know it’s not always about John McGuinness. It’s about Fianna Fáil, it’s about people, it’s about us reflecting people’s concerns out there and working with community.
“That’s what we’re about. I mean, if others just want to continually talk about themselves, fine. But that’s not reflecting the issues that are out there in society.”
Yesterday, Limerick TD Willie O’Dea urged Fianna Fáil’s internal critics to stay off the airwaves and voice their concerns within the party.
But Collins insisted that “nobody’s gagging anybody” and added: “Everybody just needs to pull together. That’s the bottom line, y’know?”
He insisted that Micheál Martin is doing “a very, very good job and the last local elections demonstrated that”.
“There’s a lot been said and written about this for the last number of days and weeks and really it’s largely irrelevant to the pubic out there and the issues that the public are grappling with in terms of their every single day lives.
He was speaking at the launch of a Fianna Fáil bill aimed at tackling crime in Dublin. The party is calling for a specific Garda task force for the capital to be established.
Collins said that Fianna Fáil has published 88 bills and 27 policy documents in recent years, claiming this is “significantly greater than any other political party” and something that “often gets lost in the narrative” about the party.
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