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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been told to stop holding press conferences with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar because the Fine Gael leader is “hanging around him.”
uring a strong meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, Martin was criticized for not including his TDs and senators in the government’s decision-making process.
Sligo-Leitrim TD Marc MacSharry said that the relationship between the Taoiseach and its elected members was one of “teacher and student.”
MacSharry said that Fianna Fáil “has no leadership and not even management” today.
He said it is a “teacher-student relationship” in which the parliamentary party is expected to be “empty glasses eager to learn from the teacher.”
MacSharry said the Taoiseach should stop holding joint press conferences with Varadkar. “It’s circling around you,” he said.
He also said that regular briefings on the Covid-19 figures should end because they are “leaving the bejaysus” out of the public eye. He said ministers should take the initiative to inform the public about the latest guidelines.
MacSharry was also critical of how Fianna Fáil had treated party staff with many years of service after Martin was chosen as Taoiseach.
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Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry. Photo: Tom Burke
John McGuinness, TD of Carlow-Kilkenny, pointed out that the party chairmanship, held for years by Brendan Smith TD, should become a democratic office elected by the entire parliamentary party, rather than one appointed by the leadership.
He made a motion to that effect, which will move forward to next week’s meeting. Mr. McGuinness said that it was not a personal comment on Mr. Smith in any way.
He told the Taoiseach that he would be consulting with colleagues in the meantime, complaining that the leadership itself had consulted little with MPs.
Mr. McGuinness won comments in support of his views from Marc MacSharry, Barry Andrews MEP, Malcolm Byrne and Bill Kelleher MEP.
The latter requested an independent autopsy on the outcome of the 2020 elections, saying that he had written to the Taoiseach making such a call. MacSharry said TDs should participate in election review rather than outsource.
The meeting noted that there was an internal review of the result in 2011, but no results or reports were ever issued.
The deputy leader issue was mentioned, as if this post could also be filled by election within the parliamentary party, but Mr. Martin indicated that this was not going to happen during his term.
He is expected to announce a new deputy leader in the next fortnight to replace Dara Calleary, who resigned after Golf-Gate, and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is seen as the favorite to succeed.
Online editors
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