Ahern and Hutch comments a bad reflection on Irish politics
James Cox
Here, we take a look at the issues likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Ahern and Hutch comments a bad reflection on Irish politics
Anti-immigrant comments have become the story of the Dublin Central by-election, a bad reflection of politicians trying to draw votes from the darker sentiments of a small pool of voters.
One incident involved a former taoiseach, the other a figure who the Special Criminal Court has named as the head of the Hutch Gang, a Dublin-based, international organised crime group.
Both Bertie Ahern and Gerry Hutch insisted their comments were not racist.
Hutch, said “illegal immigrants”, including Somalis, who were “mooching” their way into the country, should be interned in the Curragh.
Responding to criticism over his comments, Hutch told The Irish Times: "If I said something that was racist, I apologise. We were in the club and I was talking to a lad and a few things came up.
“I’m not racist. I have friends – Indians, blacks, whites, all colours. I’m certainly not racist.”
He added: "I will say if you come into Ireland and you have no paperwork, you should not be put into a hotel and given a few quid... Listen, there are people coming into the country and we don’t know who they are. I don’t think they should be put into hotels and given money. I’m not into that."
After being met with an anti-immigrant rant on a doorstep while canvassing for Fianna Fáil in Dublin Central, Ahern singled out Congolese immigrants and expressed fears over the "next generation" of Muslims.
“The ones I worry about are the Africans," he said.
Speaking to the Irish Independent afterwards, Ahern said he rejects racism "in all its forms".
“This is not who I am, and it’s not what I stand for,” he said.
“My comments were never intended to target or demean any group of people, and in particular I should not have singled out any one nationality or group of people. That was wrong.”
The comments were certainly an unwanted distraction for Fianna Fáil, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin distancing the party from its former leader, adding they could not "physically stop" him from canvassing.
The comments from Ahern and Hutch highlight and ugly, and growing, side of Irish politics, with political figures faced with how to react to anti-immigrant and far-right sentiment among a small cohort of voters.
The best stance is of course to condemn these views. Ahern's initial response was that he was not aware he was being filmed, but that reply leaves a lot to be desired.
Dublin Central Sinn Féin's to lose?
Sinn Féin losing the Dublin Central by-election could put Mary Lou McDonald’s leadership under pressure, according to a political analyst.
The TG4/Irish Times Ipsos B&A poll found Sinn Féin councillor Janice Boylan leads the way on 21 per cent.
Daniel Ennis, the Social Democrats candidate, follows on 18 per cent, with Gerry Hutch on 14 per cent.
Political scientist Theresa Reidy told Newstalk that there is a lot riding on the result for McDonald, particularly given Dublin Central is her constituency.
“There really will be a lot of pressure if this doesn't work out in her constituency,” Reidy said.
“Dublin really matters; this is Mary Lou's heartland and party leaders, if they're going to be successful, if they're going to take their parties into Government, they have to bring in running mates.”
ANALYSIS Gerry Hutch and Bertie Ahern performed ‘Lanigan’s Ball racism’ Read more .
Galway West by-election
Polling Galway West suggests Fine Gael Senator Seán Kyne is the favourite, with 17 per cent support.
He is foloowed by Independent Ireland's Noel Thomas who has 16 per cent. Galway City Councillor Helen Ogbu has the support of 12 per cent of voters
RTÉ payments scandal
The Taoiseach and the leader of Sinn Féin have clashed in the Dáil over the governance of RTÉ.
Opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald said RTÉ top brass “believe the rules don’t apply to them”, while “working people playing by the rules” had been “abandoned by Government”.
She called on the Government to “sort this out” as she demanded “accountability and consequences”.
It came after it was revealed that Derek Mooney has been at least its ninth highest-paid presenter since 2020, but had not featured in annual lists as he was classified as a producer.
The development brought comparisons to the financial and governance scandal that rocked RTÉ three years ago, following underdeclared payments to host Ryan Tubridy.
Abroad
The Trump administration has announced the creation a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies of the Republican president who believe they were mistreated by the Biden administration justice department.
The “anti-weaponisation fund” was announced by the US justice department as part of a deal to resolve Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the internal revenue service (IRS) over the leak of his tax returns.
Andy Burnham will be Labour’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election, the party has announced.
Burnham said he was “proud and humbled” to be selected, and vowed to ensure the voices of people in Makerfield were “heard loud and clear”.
If he returns to Parliament, Burnham is widely expected to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, but the British prime minister has insisted he will not “walk away” from Downing Street.
