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FIANNA FÁIL HAS said its leader Micheál Martin has accepted an RTÉ invitation to a head-to-head debate on the referendum to abolish the Seanad on 1 October.
While Martin said this morning that he has officially accepted the invitation, Kenny did not appear keen when asked about the matter today.
Speaking to the media in Dundalk today, Kenny is reported to have said that Martin was looking to generate publicity for himself and said it was not a question of leaders deciding on the matter.
A spokesperson for Taoiseach said this afternoon they had “nothing to add” to what Kenny said to reporters in Dundalk.
RTÉ is proposing to host a Prime Time Leaders’ Debate on Tuesday, 1 October and sent out invitations to the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael this week for the debate in front of a live audience.
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In a statement, the broadcaster said: “Micheál Martin has today accepted this invitation and we are awaiting a decision from An Taoiseach.
‘Best inform’
“RTÉ Current Affairs felt that Prime Time could best inform the audience with two key programmes of different styles devoted to the subject.
“The first, which has already taken place, involved authored reports and a 4-person panel, and a final debate to involve the two leading political figures on either side of the campaign, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and the Leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheál Martin.”
The Taoiseach has said the Dáil, as “the most public forum in the land”, is the place to debate the referendum and quipped on Wednesday that he did not want to embarrass Martin by participating in a TV debate.
Martin said today that he is hopeful that the Taoiseach “may yet realise the importance of a proper public discussion of his proposals”.
The Fianna Fáil leader added: “The only reason for refusal that the Taoiseach has given to date is his fear of causing me embarrassment.
“While that may well be the outcome of the debate, it is no reason to avoid having one in the first place.”
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This has happened and failed before. It’s my personal opinion that the housing system was flawed. People were permitted to make homes here for decades. They should only have ever been temporary accomodation with a maximum 2 year occupancy. The dept allowed this to get out of hand and now their only solution is to boot people out on their ears. There are hardship cases here and elderly people who don’t want to leave the only home they have ever know for decades. The dept have no comprehension of peoples attachment to their homes. While not every case may be genuine there are elderly widows who have been living there for decades and this crass scaremongering public eviction statements from the dept quite frankly sicken me. There are better ways to approach this.
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