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Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald speaking during at her party's Ard Fheis last weekend. Rollingnews.ie
The week that was
'Diddly-squat for working families': Three winners and three losers from the political week
A Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, a former TD comes out of the woodwork and a government acting like there’s no housing emergency.
EVERY WEEKEND, OUR political team casts an eye over the events inside and outside Leinster House that have people talking.
This week saw the Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections formally kick off, whispers of another party leader potentially being in trouble, some unexpected teamwork and the seemingly never-ending row in government over how to regulate short-term lets.
So, here are our political winners and losers from the week that was:
The three winners of the week are…
1. Minister Dara Calleary and Senator Patricia Stephenson
It’s not every week that you see teamwork from a government minister and a member of the opposition.
Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson and Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary were full of praise for each other earlier this week having worked together to get an initiative over the line.
From next week, a free travel scheme will be put in place for survivors of domestic violence and their dependents.
Minister Calleary brought the plans to cabinet on Tuesday, just six months after Stephenson introduced a private members’ bill on the issue.
Having liaised with Stephenson, the Fianna Fáil minister agreed that such an initiative was needed, but that legislation was not necessary to implement it.
He thanked Stephenson for highlighting the issue.
Top marks all round.
2. Mary Lou McDonald
The Sinn Féin leader is one of our winners this week for successfully batting off suggestions that her position at the helm of her party is in trouble.
She also gets bonus points for putting the phrase “sweet feck all” on the Dáil record for the first time.
“The government has allocated diddly-squat – sweet feck all – for working families,” McDonald told the chamber on Tuesday as she highlighted that nearly 320,000 households were behind on their electricity bill in February.
It was a busy weekend for McDonald and her party, with the annual Ard Fheis taking place in Belfast.
Reports had swirled ahead of the event that party members were seeking a new direction, with anonymous party insiders telling The Sunday Times that McDonald would be toast as leader if Sinn Féin failed to win the seat in the upcoming Dublin Central by-election.
But McDonald was resolute: her leadership was not in doubt.
“There are no plans to change or replace the leader of Sinn Féin,” she told members of the media at the outset of the second day of the Ard Fheis.
“The decisions on leadership and who leads are made by the membership. That is a sign of the robust good health of Sinn Féin, that’s how we operate.”
Asked if she would lead her party in the next general election she said: “Yes”.
Her comments seem to have drawn a line under the matter – at least until after the by-election.
3. Michael D Higgins
Our last winner of the week is former President Michael D Higgins, who we learned returned €2.6 million to the State since the beginning of his fourteen-year presidency.
The details of the returns were released this week as part of a new document called 2025 – A Year In Review, which details Higgins’s work in his final year as president.
The returned money comprised of €1,310,491 in Oireachtas and ministerial pensions and €689,474 in presidential pay.
It also included unspent allowances over his two terms in office.
The three losers of the week are…
1. Former TD Jim Glennon
First up in the losers’ category this week is former Fianna Fáil TD Jim Glennon.
After a week of speculation and finger-pointing, Glennon revealed that he was the former TD who gave a character reference to sex offender and one time government adviser Daniel Ramamoorthy.
Glennon, a former Irish international rugby player, was a TD for Dublin North from 2002 to 2007.
In his statement, Glennon said he was “extremely naive” and that writing the reference was “an error of judgement”.
“I recognise that my actions may have added to the pain and distress already caused by the horrific abuse they endured, and I am deeply sorry for contributing to their suffering,” he said.
He added he failed to give proper weight to “the gravity of the crimes” and the trauma experienced by the victim and their family.
2. Jim O’Callaghan
Next on the list is Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan.
He may have been one of our winners last week, but his plan to cut supports for Ukrainian refugees in Ireland have been met with huge backlash this week from many quarters.
Under the change in policy, Ukrainian people who arrived in Ireland before March 2024 will no longer be entitled to State-contracted commercial accommodation, with the exception of “highly vulnerable” people or those with barriers to independence.
The move will impact a significant number of the 16,000 Ukrainian refugees who are housed in State-provided accommodation.
Labour TD Ged Nash was highly critical of the change, dubbing the plans “immoral” and “unethical”.
Meanwhile, Nick Henderson, the chief executive officer of the Irish Refugee Council said the move to “wind down” State accommodation to Ukrainians would be “really, really problematic”.
3. Ministers Peter Burke and James Browne
And last on our list of losers this week is Tourism Minister Peter Burke and Housing Minister James Browne for failing to get the regulation of short-term lets off the ground as promised.
A key part of the plans was due to go to cabinet on Tuesday, but was pulled at the last minute due to a disagreement between the two departments.
Sources in the Department of Housing maintain that the delay in getting the regulations up and running lies with the Department of Tourism, but sources on the tourism side of the house maintain that the issue lies with the Department of Housing.
All in though, it’s a failure on both sides to deliver on a long-promised reform that looks no closer to becoming a reality.
Would you ever just sort it out lads.
What do you make of the chosen winners and losers this week?
Poll Results:
I agree with the selection (432)
I agree with some of it (322)
I agree with most of it (259)
It's been a long week and I am tired even thinking about it (210)
I disagree entirely (198)
Tell us in the comments who your winners and losers are this week.
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