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Micheál Martin and Enda Kenny at a Prime Time debate before the last general election Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland/PA

Micheál Martin wants a live TV showdown with Enda Kenny... but will the Taoiseach do it?

Fianna Fáil has approached Claire Byrne Live about facilitating a debate between the two party leaders.

FIANNA FÁIL IS seeking a live TV debate between its leader Micheál Martin and Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the wake of Joan Burton and Gerry Adams’s head-to-head on Claire Byrne Live last Monday night.

The party has asked RTÉ to facilitate a debate between Martin and the Fine Gael leader although no formal invitations have been issued to either party.

A Fianna Fáil spokesperson said such a debate was only fair in the wake of the smaller government and opposition parties, Labour and Sinn Féin, debating each other on Monday night.

The Taoiseach has been notoriously reluctant to participate in live TV debates since he was elected in 2011.

He was widely-criticised for failing to take part in any debates during the Seanad referendum campaign in 2013, including turning down an invite to a Prime Time debate.

Last Monday’s Clare Byrne Live programme featured a half-hour of debate between the Labour and Sinn Féin leaders with audience contributions throughout.

Fianna Fáil said that it is more than willing to participate in a debate with Kenny.

However no formal invitation has been issued to either of the two party leaders as yet, it is understood.

A spokesperson for Kenny declined to be drawn on what the response would be if the Taoiseach received an invite from RTÉ. But they added:

“Fianna Fáil have no policies, so what are they debating us on?”

RTÉ said that it is ”dedicated to giving all of the parties fair treatment” and did not rule out the prospect of organising a debate between Martin and Kenny.

However, a spokesperson added: “But there’s lots of different ways of covering politics.”

Analysis: Gerry Adams just got the better of Joan Burton on last night’s Claire Byrne Live

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107 Comments
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    Mute David Garland
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:07 PM

    Eight years! I highly doubt a woman carrying out the same offence over here would even do eight months

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    Mute Sylvia O'Regan
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:39 PM

    @David Garland:

    The courts would turn her into the victim. A suspended sentence and all the help she “deserves”. We have enormous sympathy for the criminally minded here. Britain has a bit of that too though. But not as pervasive.

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    Mute Peter Govan
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    Jan 10th 2020, 10:01 PM

    @David Garland: Ah no she would

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    Mute Anne
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    Jan 11th 2020, 1:06 AM

    @David Garland: knew it was England from reading the headline. Realistically probably wouldnt even get 8mths here

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    Mute Ciaran105
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    Jan 10th 2020, 5:48 PM

    Sick and weird 100%

    405
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    Mute Da Vid
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    Jan 10th 2020, 7:15 PM

    Why aren’t women who engage in sexual assaults on minors referred to as peadophiles?

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jan 12th 2020, 1:52 AM

    @Da Vid: Are they not? That’s what she is, though. Why wouldn’t they be? Sounds more like a sociopath though. Pretty shocked to read that she was 21. I thought at first they were all 16.

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    Mute Da Vid
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    Jan 12th 2020, 6:32 AM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: in all the headlines regarding this woman, none called her a peadophile. If it were a male who carried out these assaults, well then..

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    Mute Mick Hannigan
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    Jan 10th 2020, 5:54 PM

    People these days are truly messed up,

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    Mute Shane Barry
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:03 PM

    @Mick Hannigan: people have always been messed up.

    189
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jan 10th 2020, 7:10 PM

    @Mick Hannigan: what? All 7.6bn of us…..drama queen!

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    Mute Ger Healy
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    Jan 10th 2020, 8:43 PM

    @Paul Furey: You would after all these years commenting so regularly on the Journal that you might have upped your game a little and become a little more articulate….but sadly no, it seems.

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    Mute Thomas Claffey
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    Jan 11th 2020, 11:34 AM

    @Ger Healy: lol

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    Mute LittleBee
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:03 PM

    Shocking , those poors girls. I hope they get plenty of support and counselling and are able to deal with this so they can form healthy relationships in the future.

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    Mute Daniel Dunne
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:56 PM

    @LittleBee: So much for #TrustWomen

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    Mute Steph Ní Dufaigh
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    Jan 10th 2020, 8:35 PM

    @Daniel Dunne: what’s the connection here?

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    Mute Paddy Dunne
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    Jan 10th 2020, 7:52 PM

    Why did they let a boy stay over with young girls for a couple of days ,I’d be thinking that would be a no no in the first place , that girl doesn’t look like she’s all there either ,

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    Mute joanne healy
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:38 PM

    Her IQ was certainly high enough to convince her victims that she was a boy.

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    Mute David Dineen
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    Jan 10th 2020, 9:21 PM

    @joanne healy: having an iq has nothing to do with being a predator, manipulation has everything to do with being a predator

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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Jan 10th 2020, 8:08 PM

    She looks nothing like a young teenage boy, she looks like the deranged woman she is with a baseball cap. How was she able to fool their parents? and why was she having sleepovers anyway? sorry im not victim blaming, its just so bizzare. Stuff of nightmares, really.

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    Mute Archdeacon Juan Guido
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:08 PM

    Lols

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    Mute Chris Keogan
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    Jan 10th 2020, 8:54 PM

    Call her what she is. A pedophile.

    114
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    Mute Paul O'Sullivan
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    Jan 10th 2020, 8:59 PM

    @Chris Keogan: well said

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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:23 PM

    There was a similar case in the UK a few years ago, remember watching a documentary about it, it was a teenage girl dressing up as a lad and assaulting other teen girls. Sick on so many levels!

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    Mute Christopher Mc Quillan
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    Jan 10th 2020, 5:51 PM

    Wtf

    69
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    Mute Lorraine mcafee
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    Jan 10th 2020, 9:27 PM

    Kids should only be friends with kids they have become friends with in school or sport or what ever camp etc they attend . The friends they play or talk to online should be real friends first not on line friends first . We all must pay closer attention to who they are playing with , it’s not easy but it’s our job.

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    Mute Jensen Bhroin
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    Jan 10th 2020, 10:52 PM

    Most sexual assault is committed by people known by the person. Parents, relatives, neighbours, friends etc. The concept of ‘stranger danger’ misses the point of actually educating young people on how to spot harmful behaviours/grooming and manipulation. Healthy relationship education as well as safe social media usage is extremely useful.

    Meeting people online can be great because you can connect with people with similar interests and hobbies that you might not meet in real life first. I made great friends online (and in real life) as a teenager. But teaching about internet safety and ensuring any meeting happens safely is also important.

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    Mute Scott Ott
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    Jan 10th 2020, 9:37 PM

    She is a pedophile.

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    Mute Martin Caulfield
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:51 PM

    Keep your children close

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    Mute Paddy O Rourke
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    Jan 10th 2020, 6:40 PM

    Girl who identifies as a man is a pedo. Gimp!

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    Mute Alan McArdle
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    Jan 10th 2020, 7:10 PM

    @Paddy O Rourke: woman who sexually assaults multiple children.

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    Mute Paddy O Rourke
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    Jan 10th 2020, 7:54 PM

    @Alan McArdle: sick twisted world we live in.

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    Mute Jensen Bhroin
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    Jan 10th 2020, 10:53 PM

    @Paddy O Rourke: there is nothing mentioned about her identifying as a man. Just that she dressed up as one as part of her manipulation.

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    Mute Marie McG
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    Jan 11th 2020, 3:19 AM

    Looks like Gollum with a cap.

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    Mute Punters Pal
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    Jan 11th 2020, 6:44 AM

    In Ireland she wouldn’t even get jail

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    Mute Irisheyes
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    Jan 11th 2020, 9:42 AM

    She is a peadophile! And in my opinion they should be shot. Waster of tax payers money and no use to society. If that’s too strong then put them all on an island somewhere together and they can molest each other.

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    Mute Shane Cormac O'Duibhleachain
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    Jan 11th 2020, 1:12 PM

    @Irisheyes: she is on an island the only problem is it is to close to ours.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jan 12th 2020, 1:57 AM

    @Irisheyes: Seems just to me. Rockall?

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    Mute Irisheyes
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    Jan 12th 2020, 9:02 AM

    @Shane Cormac O’Duibhleachain: lol yeah, a smaller uninhabited island if you want me to be more pacific

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    Mute Dave Stewart
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    Jan 13th 2020, 3:08 AM

    She must be very WOKE

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