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THINGS ARE GETTING tetchy between the coalition parties as they face into an election showdown in the coming weeks.
Tensions are appearing to show between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party in recent days, as expectations grow that Taoiseach Simon Harris will call an election next week.
The three government parties are making moves to distance and differentiate themselves from one another.
One area of contention, the new traffic strategy, which Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman told reporters yesterday he was getting “pushback” on from his coalition partners, as well as some other measures too.
Rounding on his government partners, he said:
“Look, my view was we work all the way to the end of Cabinet, to the end of this government, we continue to bring meaningful proposals forward. That’s what our party has done, that’s what I’m doing across my department. I’d no kind of sense that we were going to, you know, down tools two weeks out.”
The Green Party wants the Cabinet to sign off on a strategy – just before the general election is called – but Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will not sign off on the plan.
O’Gorman said party is not proposing any imminent anti-pollution tax, stating that it is merely a plan as to how to fill the gap of falling motor tax payments as drivers move to electric vehicles.
The minister said yesterday that the strategy just looks at “potentials”, stating “this isn’t a taxation document”.
The Taoiseach, when asked about the spat, said the Government is supposed to be “anti-carbon” and not “anti-car” as he ruled out adopting a new strategy to tackle pollution and congestion days before a general election is called.
Using language he might not have used some weeks ago, Harris slapped down the idea, stating that it was “not the right time” as the Government enters into its final days before an election.
Such discussions would usually be dealt with behind closed doors at the leaders weekly meeting, but when there’s only days left for this Cabinet, there’s no need for niceties.
“I think it’s very important that we recognise that there is still a need for cars in this country, and many people will have switched to electric vehicles. They need roads to drive on. Our public transport needs good road infrastructure as well.
“This government has neared the end of its time in office. I don’t think the Government has a mandate at this stage to come at the Irish people with a range of new charges and taxes, I’m not in favour of it, and any governments that I’m a part of won’t progress things around tolls and congestion charges.”
Meanwhile Fianna Fáil sources said the Greens are “great at playing the smaller party tricks when it suits them”.
It is understood that those in Micheál Martin’s party have been voicing their anger that money that has been left unspent on greenway projects can’t be diverted to shovel-ready road building schemes.
This is due to the Programme for Government’s commitment that spending on public transport would exceed investment in road building schemes by a ratio of two-to-one.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his Cabinet colleague yesterday, Finance Minister Jack Chambers championed his party’s advocacy for road building, hinting of the frustration his party has felt with Green Party around such issues.
“There has been a stop/start nature to certain roads projects in this government, which has impeded progress around certain roads projects across the country. And that’s been a point of frustration for Fiann Fáil in government. We obviously will set out our proposals in the context of infrastructure delivery over the next five years and in the Fianna Fáil manifesto,” said Chambers.
The game-playing between government parties appears to be expected, with O’Gorman stating:
I expect everyone’s elbows are going to be out over the next couple of weeks.
He said there is “no doubt” that there will be “clashes” over the next couple weeks.
While he defended the government’s record on delivery, O’Gorman said he believes the Greens participation in it has made it a better government.
With tensions rising between the parties and the calling of the election imminent, talk has turned as to when the Taoiseach will seek to dissolve the Dáil and when a polling day will be declared.
Harris said this week that he will not be “dilly dallying” around after the Finance Bill is passed and will provide clarity as to when the general election will be.
The bill is expected to be debated for four hours next Tuesday in the Dáil, with TDs voting on the bill on Wednesday night.
The draft Dáil schedule for Wednesday includes a number of other legislative items to be concluded, fueling expectations that the Taoiseach will travel to Áras an Uachtaráin on Thursday to seek a dissolution of the Dáil.
However, the president is scheduled to deliver the Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers’ Lecture next Thursday between 2pm and 4pm, meaning Harris could not travel to Áras an Uachtaráin to speak to the president between those hours.
The president is likely to be preparing for the speech in the hours before it begins, further ruling out the time available for Harris to travel to the Áras.
In addition, a press release from Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon confirms that the lecture will be delivered live online from the State Reception Room, which is the room that is traditionally used for any announcement of the Dáil dissolution.
The hiccup could mean the Taoiseach might have to wait until Thursday evening or early Friday morning to travel to Áras an Uachtaráin, unless Harris decides to pay a visit late on Wednesday evening.
However, further doubt on a Friday announcement has been cast with the Taoiseach confirming that he plans to travel to Budapest for an informal EU Council meeting that day.
What will the exact choreography of the week be? Harris said that is something that will become clear in the coming days.
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Can the minister please communicate to nursing home residents when they will get their freedom back, now that they have almost all been vaccinated? The fact that the most restricted group of people in the country are facing this wall of silence is a travesty. These are the very people who we were trying to protect. Why are we neglecting them so badly now?
@Jason Shortt: Does anyone know how many people are considered vulnerable in the country? Serious question. If 20% of our population is expected to be vaccinated by end of March, then why will be still in lockdown? I’m not anti-lockdown or anything, just tired of it and trying to do the maths. Thanks
@HectorPickaxe: the vast majority of people who have died are in the over 70 bracket. At the last census, about 12% of our population was over 65. That would be 600k people. By the end of March, more than that number will have been vaccinated, according to the government.
@HectorPickaxe: Unfortunately, you’ll never get a proper answer to that question, as the default answer always is, ‘I’ll bring you to the ICU ward, and that will show you why we are in lockdown’ …. Problem is all the farcical regulations in place have been subjective from day one …. Your version of ‘essential’ or ‘vulnerable’ is different to mine …. There is pure logic to your question, but as nothing, including the vaccine, is 100% risk-free, the fearful and paranoid sector of the population will keep this going.
@Jason Shortt: while they are severely restricted they are at least on the radar . There are people who literally have not left their houses since last March . No one has been into their houses either and the only person the see is the Tesco delivery guy who leaves their shopping at the door and goes . These people see no one often struggle to get meds and food delivered timely at times and the service where people are supposed to do these things for you is frankly not good and many people have been told they can’t get their stuff collected . So no visitors worried about meds and food delivered and they were group 7 up to the review . And if family carers aren’t included then some of these people still won’t be able to leave their homes because if their carers get sick they literally have no one else to step in. This group have been forgotten and have extreme loneliness and mental health issues .
This is after Mehole accused Mary Lou of playing politics when she put this question to him. It’s like watching a really bad sitcom that for some unknown reason won’t get cancelled…
@Coli: and has a really annoying laugh track
@Coli: is Mary back out of hiding, she has been such a big help after winning the election last year and then hiding after it.
About time!! Home carers are front line staff.
No excuses for this shambles of working out the manner in which people should be prioritised.
Seems people in these situations have to call the radio stations daily to get their pleas heard instead of the health service automatically adding them initially .
Had a meeting with a company in the UK yesterday, Everybody who was on the call has had their parents AND in-laws already vaccinated (2 of 5 people on the call had just got it also). We continue…
WORST Health Minister ever. Just winging it all the time
@Damian Ryan: Agreed
@Damian Ryan: really, seeing every health minister has been accused of that last 20 years, how many health ministers have had to deal with a worldwide pandemic and a worldside vaccination program.
@Damian Ryan: Stephen Donnelly does not decide who is in line for the vaccine maybe u should check it out ,this is done by a Medical team separate from Government so that’s one he can’t be blamed for ,& I’m no fan but why always be knocking people who are working hard , I would say he has one of the hardest jobs in Government
Considering he claims that we’ll have a surplus of vacancies it’s about time he consider home careers.
@Eddie Michael: it’s not his brief as u should know he has no hand act or part in who or in what order the vaccine is given it has to be that way or there would be no end to lobbying all TD ‘S
I though this was well set before we are over 11 months and Ireland do not know who is vulnerable in this pandemic/endemic situation
They should be considered as a specific group and moved up the list, especially if the vaccines are not reccommended for their children.
@Marie Broomfield: But even if vulnerable adults get vaccinated they still can’t leave their homes until their carers get vaccinated anyway . For a lot of these people if their carers get sick they have no one to step in and many carers may not have recognized underlying conditions many have mental health issues arthritis and lots of other things that have gone untreated and undiagnosed because carers can’t put themselves first . So many are vulnerable themselves even if they aren’t officially recognized as such .
Only now? I despair at the incompetence
Is he going to ask nicely ?
Maybe he should consider closing the boarders to international travel to stop foreign variations of the virus from coming in. The south african, brazilian British and Nigerian DIDN’T ORIGINATE IN THIS COUNTY!!!! BUT YOU LET THEM IN SHAME ON ALL OF YOU m u p p e t s
@Gary Mullen: there will be,or already have been, spontaneous mutations here too. Ireland doesn’t have a special non-mutating virus in circulation. The variants you’ve mentioned have mutated in surprisingly similar ways. It’s possible when we identify a mutation here that it will be similar too. As we don’t have the genomic sequencing capacity of world leading countries for this technology – like the U.K.- our homegrown variants may be picked up overseas having already escaped our shores.
Asal Jack.
Carers do a heartbreaking, stressful 24/7 job and save the government millions every year. Many carers have not had a full nights sleep for years. If they get sick what happens to the patient. Shouldn’t even be questioned that carers need a vaccine as soon as possible
They are an ADVISORY committee. Meaning they don’t decide these questions, just advise those who do. Namely they advise the minister of health. If he doesn’t like their advice then he is free to not use it. But then it would be his job to explain to the group bumped from receiving the vaccine as to why they were bumped. This “will ask NIAC” makes it seem like it’s all on NIAC’s shoulders and assumes that unlike the minister of health, they don’t care about these carers. What a terrible comment. It tries to take the disappointment from those not next in line for the vaccine and shift it from the ones who are actually responsible to those who are not. The final decision here and it’s praise or blame, is in the hands of the minister.
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