Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Another failed Fianna Fáil candidate had a big go at Micheál Martin tonight

More headaches for the Fianna Fáil leader as a de-selected candidate hits out.

A FIANNA FÁIL councillor who failed to win the party’s nomination to run in the general election last night has heavily criticised Micheál Martin.

David McGuinness told RTÉ’s Drivetime that “fundamentally the issue of Micheál leading the party is on the lips of every single member in Dublin West”.

He said he did not know where the party is going under the former minister.

McGuinness, who twice failed to win by-elections in the constituency, was beaten by fellow Fingal county councillor Jack Chambers in a controversial selection convention in Dublin West last night.

Dublin West By Elections Results David McGuinness Mark Stedman / Photocall Ireland Mark Stedman / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Recalling a conversation he had with Martin on the phone last night, McGuinness did not hold back, saying:

“I told him out straight, I don’t know where Fianna Fáil is going, I don’t know who they are trying to represent. I told him there and then – I said there is going to be a huge cross-section of society across Dublin West who would have serious reservations about voting for the party on this basis.”

McGuinness failed to hold Brian Lenihan’s old Dáil seat for Fianna Fáil in a by-election when the former finance minister died in 2011. He also failed to win a by-election held last year following the resignation of independent TD Patrick Nulty over a Facebook messages scandal.

Having failed to secure his party’s nomination to run for the Dáil for a third time McGuinness said that the party does not “seem to have a strategy”.

“We don’t have a vision for the party. We don’t know who it is trying to attract in the electorate, and I don’t know how we are going to win back seats, particularly in Dublin, with this type of politics,” he said. 

McGuinness said that he was not particularly surprised that he was not selected.

He claimed he was at “the brunt end of a class divide” in Dublin West where some members in the Castleknock part of the constituency did not want to vote for him.

jackchambers-2-2 Jack Chambers Conor McCabe Conor McCabe

Of last night’s meeting of around 400 Fianna Fáil members in the area, McGuinness said: “One of the things the membership in that room had actually in common last night was that they were against me. But they are certainly against him [Martin].”

McGuinness is the second by-election candidate in this Dáil to fail to get elected and subsequently criticise Martin.

Last December, failed Roscommon-South Leitrim by-election candidate Ivan Connaughton called on Martin to go.

Speaking on the same programme this evening, Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesperson Niall Collins said that it was “not the case” that Micheál Martin’s leadership was on members’ lips.

He said that McGuinness had been beaten by Chambers “in a fairly open, democratic process”.

About last night: Jack Chambers has defeated David McGuinness in Dublin West selection

Read: There’s a big row over the battle to win back Brian Lenihan’s old seat for Fianna Fáil

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
39 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Philip Nolan
    Favourite Philip Nolan
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 12:34 PM

    As a very frequent traveller, I have used the scanners in US airports and could care less to be honest. I’ve seen people more exposed in their photo albums on Facebook. The queues for the scanners are much quicker than the standard queues, the person instructing you how to stand can’t see the scan anyway (the images are monitored remotely) and it’s not like they’re going to discuss your naked form with anyone you know! In Schipol recently, I was subjected to a pat-down that would have been classed as a sexual assault in the real world and I was livid about it. I’d rather have been offered the option of the scanner.

    43
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bertie SirCastic
    Favourite Bertie SirCastic
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 12:28 PM

    Guy in the xray could do with a Steak sandwich or two!

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Robert LYNCH
    Favourite Robert LYNCH
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 11:48 AM

    Great…NOT!!!… Dublin yet again are going to follow the example of London Airports it would seem… I personal have a problem with the level of intrusion and the general feeling of being treated like dirt that flying by plane has become. I am flying via London in a couple of weeks, but since I have now found out that this full-body scan is now mandatory there, I will no longer fly in our out of London unless it is my destination. As for the effectiveness of these scanners (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millimeter_wave_scanner), I have serious doubts in general that any of this treatment like cattle is improving anyone’s safety.

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gain & Sustain
    Favourite Gain & Sustain
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 12:28 PM

    Clearly you have something to hide, I think this system is great

    46
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute stephen corrigan
    Favourite stephen corrigan
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 3:47 PM

    1 question, bomb or scan?? Even drugs can be found so whats the problem.

    22
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Robert LYNCH
    Favourite Robert LYNCH
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 3:51 PM

    Maybe I do. However what I have to hide is not going to bring down a plane, e.g. prosthetics including breast prostheses, and other medical equipment normally hidden, such as colostomy bags are all things that someone may not want the people around him/her to be aware of. I am sure you can think of a whole range of other things that are the private business of individuals and of no concern to airport authorities. However all these things will be viewed and displayed by this machine with little if in any improvement to airport security.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Terry Connolly
    Favourite Terry Connolly
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 12:30 PM

    love the belly button!

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute EM
    Favourite EM
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 12:47 PM

    If the image is as per the picture above then i’d have no issue with this tbh as it’s not particularly invasive.

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Denzer
    Favourite Denzer
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 1:33 PM

    Id be more concerned with the potential radiation effects. Had a quick look through the literature… There is Very little peer reviewed information supporting it as non genotoxic- as claimed by manufacturers. May not be a concern for those who take a couple of flights a year but there could be legitimate concerns from frequent flyers with prolonged exposure to the technology.

    20
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute starflyergold
    Favourite starflyergold
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 2:08 PM

    Germany trialled these in Hamburg and the machines produced an staggering failure rate. 61% of pax passed through without a problem, 31% had to be padded down (hard). In 54% of cases a false alarm was recorded. Result: significant delays in processing passengers.

    20
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Maura Murphy
    Favourite Maura Murphy
    Report
    Sep 1st 2011, 1:25 PM

    Germany has abandoned plans to use scanners at its airports and will not reconsider until the technology is more reliable and meets “high security standards,” interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Wednesday

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aidan M
    Favourite Aidan M
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 12:02 PM

    Stupid.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall Carson
    Favourite Niall Carson
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 5:06 PM

    What bunch of sheeple we have become. These are dangerous microwaves. Seriously read into this a bit more. There have been many problems with this in America. Not least the TSA agent who shot his colleagues because they made jokes about the size of his penis after a training scan.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute bob_mac_E
    Favourite bob_mac_E
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 1:55 PM

    Are xray machines not cancerous? Do the guards hide behind lead walls like a nurse at the hospital?

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute hjGfIgAq
    Favourite hjGfIgAq
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 2:06 PM

    @Bob – When I spoke to DAA earlier they were keen to stress that they’re not “x-ray machines”, in that their intensity is much lesser than a standard booth.

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fred FedUp
    Favourite Fred FedUp
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 2:09 PM

    Yep, they are cancerous…No, guards not behind lead walls, just eating up the radiation like it’s good for them and getting cancer..From Chicago, TSA heads now have cancer from operating these type of machines.. http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/30/did-airport-scanners-give-boston-tsa-agents-cancer/ So, we’ve option A – groping and pat downs to make sure we’re not “dangerous” or option B – an invasive scan that will shower you in radiation..Just great…This is 1984 people…

    19
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute hjGfIgAq
    Favourite hjGfIgAq
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 2:24 PM

    @Fred (and Bob): The machines that TIME article refers to are a different type of ‘booth’-style scanner than is being considered in Dublin.

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute gareth byrne
    Favourite gareth byrne
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 6:38 PM

    Jesus.These scanners are on TRAIL for 18 months in staff areas.Not been used in public areas.Which mean they are not coming in at dap untill ALL tests are carried out.What does it take for people to cop on.These are the times we live in.get used to it.

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paddy O'Reilly
    Favourite Paddy O'Reilly
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 9:13 PM

    Looks like milimeter wave scanners only penetrate the clothes and are stopped by skin. So why not just tape a load of contraband to your leg, then wrap it in pigskin (the most common human analog from Mythbusters). Sorted.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Oil Foster
    Favourite Oil Foster
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 8:14 PM

    Thank god for the Internet, giving people totally accurate and factual information.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bertie SirCastic
    Favourite Bertie SirCastic
    Report
    Aug 31st 2011, 3:09 PM

    Would be hilarious seeing Hugh Hefner pass through one off these the morning after…

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Patrick Halpin
    Favourite Patrick Halpin
    Report
    Sep 2nd 2011, 7:45 AM

    Hh

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      Next upNext up:
      News in 60 seconds