Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, Green Party and Labour Party holding think-ins

James Cox

Four political parties are holding think-in meetings today ahead of the new Dáil term.

Fine Gael are meeting in Limerick, where the Irish Farmers' Association plans to protest, just as it did for Fianna Fáil earlier in the week.

The Greens meet in Waterford, Sinn Féin are gathering in Dublin, and the Labour Party in Maynooth in Kildare.

Mary Lou McDonald will lead her party's think in after returning to work following a hysterectomy over the summer.

After several months away from the political front line she will join party colleagues at the think-in event.

In an interview with Virgin Media’s Ireland AM show, Ms McDonald said she underwent the procedure on June 24th.

She said: “So I lost my womb, my ovaries. So it was fairly significant surgery.

“Fortunately it was done by keyhole, which is great because it aids your recovery.

“And more fortunately, that was it for me. I had the surgery, the growths, the tumours were removed, and I didn’t require any further treatments or therapies.

“So it was serious surgery, it knocks you off course, but I was extremely lucky.”

The Taoiseach has warned of the "dangers" of Sinn Féin taking power. He claimed it would not be good for the economy.

Speaking ahead of the Fine Gael think-in in Limerick this morning, Leo Varadkar claimed jobs and housing would suffer with Sinn Féin in government.

He told Newstalk: "They want to change our economic policy, they want to change our policy on trade and tax, they want to change our policy on Europe.

"All those policies actually are the things that have made Ireland successful in my view. If we have those fundamental changes which they are promising, I believe the economy will go south.

"There will be fewer jobs, lower incomes, and by extension there will be less money for things like housing and health."