Dark clouds for Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin in byelections
James Cox
Here, we take a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Dark clouds for Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin in byelections
It's safe to say that both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin were both very unhappy with their showings in the Dublin Central and Galway West byelections last week.
Sources in both parties indicate that the results have worsened unrest at the leadership of Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
With this in mind, there's little surprise at the pair's fiery exchanges over issues such as the Occupied Territories Bill in the Dáil this week. Attention on anything but the byelections.
For McDonald, the pressure is more intense.
Whispers about her leadership have been constant recently, and her failure to successfully bring in a Dublin Central running mate does not bode well for future elections.
The party put all its resources behind Janice Boylan, but this did not prove to be enough. She polled well in first-preference votes, but transfers were not as kind to Boylan, and in the end it was a convincing win for Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats.
In Galway-West, Mark Lohan, a former Sinn Féin councillor, was never really in contention.
Fianna Fáil fared no better. Even on the first count, neither of the Fianna Fáil candidates received double digits. The party tried to portray the emergence of Cillian Keane, 24, in Galway as one for the future.
However, sources within the party hinted at more unrest at Martin's leadership.
He will get his wish to be in office during Ireland's EU Presidency, which starts on July 1st.
The odds of Martin being party leader when the taoiseach rotation takes place on November 27th, 2027 are not in his favour, despite his continued insistence that he will lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election.
Boost for the Social Democrats
Daniel Ennis' convincing win in Dublin Central was a huge boost for the Social Democrats. They are now in a very strong position with 12 TDs in the Dáil.
They suffered with the Eoin Hayes/Palantir scandal, and certainly missed party leader Holly Cairns during her maternity leave, but the future looks bright for the Social Democrats.
With Sinn Féin floundering, Ennis' result shows the party is well positioned to take up a more prominent position to the left in Irish politics.
Cairns' popularity is showing no signs of slowing down, and she regularly comes out in opinion polls on political leaders.
A welcome win for Fine Gael
Seán Kyne's win for Fine Gael will be a very welcome win for the party. He defied the usual norm of government parties doing badly in byelections.
Tánaiste and party leader Simon Harris called Kyne's win “a victory for centrist politics”.
“What I take from this is a small sense of encouragement that people will respond to politics that is about trying to deliver solutions, politics that is trying to not be angry or loud or shouty but actually trying to work hard to deliver,” Harris said in Galway on Sunday.
“I think that’s a victory for centrist politics. I want to lead the centre in Irish politics, I want to make sure the centre holds.”
Martin and McDonald clash in Dáil
Now to the aforementioned exchange between Martin and McDonald in the Dáil.
During Leaders’ Questions on Wednesday, the Sinn Féin leader claimed the Government had made a “cruel decision” in October’s budget that left disabled people 1,400 euro “worse off”.
The party on Tuesday brought forward a motion calling for two financial measures for people with disabilities; an emergency €500 payment and the immediate introduction of a permanent Cost of Disability scheme.
She said: “It is consultation after consultation for you, report after report, when you know exactly what the issues are, what needs to be done, and yet you tell disabled people to wait.”
Martin responded saying the last budget saw one of the “largest ever in disability services, up to 20 per cent of an increase”.
He called Sinn Féin's argument “disingenuous”.
He added: “It is not that simple. We are looking at a potential one million people who identify with a disability in the census, that’s about 22 per cent of the population.”
Mainly positive messages to Taoiseach after Trump meeting
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was told he "did Ireland proud" in messages from the public after his St Patrick's Day meeting with US president Donald Trump at the White House.
Martin's meeting with Trump came at a dangerous times in international relations.
Trump had recently attacked EU allies in meetings, including an extremely awkward exchange with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. The US had also recently launched its war on Iran.
However, Martin stood up to the diplomatic test and managed to push back on Trump's criticism of migration into the EU, while he also defended UK prime ministe Keir Starmer.
The majority of messages to the Taoiseach after the meeting, seen by BreakingNews.ie following a Freedom of Information request, were complimentary.
On the evening of St Patrick's Day, one person thanked Martin for his "professionalism and dignity".
"I would like to sincerely thank Taoiseach Micheál Martin for his recent visit to the White House and for representing Ireland with such professionalism and dignity. The relationship between Ireland and the United States is incredibly important — not only culturally, but also economically — and his presence there underscored just how vital that connection remains."
Abroad
Tony Blair has warned Labour against forcing out Keir Starmer without having a proper policy agenda to follow him, as he launched a criticism of the UK government’s time in office.
The former prime minister, who is the only Labour leader to win three UK general elections, argued the government needs a “fundamental reset” less than two years since it won the election.
US president Donald Trump, who turns 80 next month, said "everything checked out perfectly" after having his physical on Tuesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, following a year of public attention on apparently minor health issues.
