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A FIANNA FÁIL senator has written to all the party’s councillors calling for Micheál Martin to stand down as party leader.
Senator Keith Swanick told party colleagues that Fianna Fáil needs “fundamental, root and branch change” and can no longer be dictated by a “monocratic agenda”.
The letter – seen by TheJournal.ie – was sent prior to the publication of the latest opinion poll showing a dramatic surge for Sinn Féin as it opens up a 15-point lead on Fianna Fáil.
In the election last month, Fianna Fáil won 38 seats, Sinn Féin won 37 and Fine Gael won 35. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have ruled out working with Sinn Féin, but beyond that we are no closer to forming a government over three weeks after polling day.
Swanick’s intervention is the first from a member of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party calling for Martin to resign.
In his letter, he said that the public don’t see Fianna Fáil “in its current guise” as representing the change called for in the election.
“Our loss of core identity and values is reflected in the polls,” Swanick said. “Not only have we lost our appeal to younger people, now lifelong supporters have had enough.”
Swanick accused Martin of having an “inner circle” with ordinary Oireachtas members feeling disconnected from.
He said: “The concerns and ideas of many Oireachtas Members often fall on deaf ears.
There should be no place in modern-day political discourse that facilitates a monocratic agenda.
The Mayo senator then called for Martin to go.
“It is time that Micheál Martin makes the honourable decision to stand down as Leader of Fianna Fáil and allow a new phase of renewal and reform to commence,” Swanick said.
His immense contribution to the Party and public life should not be underestimated. He is steeped in the tradition of Fianna Fáil and his work ethic is unquestionable. This is not an irresponsible demand even given the current negotiations surrounding Government formation.
Swanick added that the electorate will reward Fianna Fáil if they’re “brave enough” to make the tough decisions and “again offer a real alternative vision for the people of Ireland”.
Fianna Fáil is due to resume talks with other parties this week, including Fine Gael, about the possibility of forming a new government. However, that government won’t be in place when the Dáil sits on Thursday.
With reporting from Christina Finn
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Ironic that Googles company motto when founded was “don’t be evil”, but no matter how well intentioned any endeavor, eventually the owners sell out, shareholders take over and the faceless, no individual accountability means they will fu*k you over in any and every way they can imagine to get rich and when the gravy train ends and it all comes tumbling down the architects are long gone.
Data is the new oil, the most valuable commodity on the planet, with enough of it you can do virtually anything.
@Sean Fahey: that was a very long first sentence.
Won’t have to worry about them soon. What with the UK now out of the EU, GDPR doesn’t apply to them, so it’ll make sense for the likes of Google, Facebook, Yahoo, etc to relocate over there, where the UK government will welcome them with open arms and they won’t have Data Commissioners up their ar5e.
@MunsterPI: doesn’t matter where they are located, GDPR still applies in the country where it is implemented.
@DJ François: If they are in a jurisdiction outside of the EU they can tell the EU where to stick their €20m or 4% of global turnover award! Tech & internet companies can be located anywhere in the world to provide their services. If UK is smart, it will drop its Corporation tax to 12% or lower, hype up that GDPR no longer applies, if SF get near power in the Republic and follow through on their tax the multinationals promise, the tech giants will be out of here like butter off a hot knife. When you look at it with Johnson, Brexit and the left surge this general election is shaping up into, Ireland is facing a perfect storm regarding the multinationals we rely so much on.
Is this not just PR following the comment from Germany’s federal data commissioner reported yesterday? There seems to be more investigations started than complete. In fairness, it must be difficult conducting fair personal data processing investigations in these types of companies.
General Data Protection Regulations are a more significant threat to free speech than political correctness.
The onus is now on the person seeking information to prove that they have a right to access it, the authorities are using General Data Protection Regulations like a sword rather than a shield. A lot of information previously available to all is no longer accessible, making researchers work more awkward and expensive to carry out. We need a right to access information similar to that available to all citizens of the USA.
@Pat Coyne: GDPR = General Data Protection Racket. Or as I heard someone so eloquently call it, a Chancers Charter.
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