I would not object to FF sharing power with SF, says O’Keeffe

FORMER Junior Minister Ned O’Keeffe said over the weekend that he would have no difficulty with Fianna Fáil sharing power with Sinn Féin after the next election.

The maverick Fianna Fáil TD congratulated the Taoiseach on Fianna Fáil's rise in support in the latest opinion poll, but he warned that the party was losing support to Sinn Féin, which has 12% of the national vote. Mr O'Keeffe said the day may come when Fianna Fáil will have to be pragmatic enough to do a deal with any party.

"I will have no difficulty next time if we get 77 seats and we want 84 and the Taoiseach rings me up and says 'look, I am having talks with Fine Gael, Labour or Sinn Féin'. I won't object," the Cork East deputy said.

And Mr O'Keeffe said he would not have any difficulty working with any party since Fianna Fáil has already worked with the Progressive Democrats. He made his comments to RTÉ during a special dinner to celebrate his 21 years in politics attended by the Taoiseach in Mitchelstown.

But Mr Ahern has repeatedly ruled out forming any coalition with Sinn Féin until the IRA has disbanded.

Asked if Fianna Fáil should go into government with Sinn Féin, even if the IRA does not disband, Mr O'Keeffe said: "I don't know I have to take the goodwill of Gerry Adams and his people that they have disbanded and that they have done a lot of good work on the IRA side in Northern Ireland, there has been no difficulties that I can see on the streets."

He warned the party about the latest growth in Sinn Féin's support now at 12%, according to the latest TNS MRBI poll.

He said this was because Sinn Féin was working the housing estates.

"If we don't work the housing estates and the terraces instead of going after big businesses, we will shrink into a very small party," warned Mr O'Keeffe.

And if Fianna Fáil loses the support of the marginalised, who have been the backbone of the party, they will be in great trouble, he added.

Mr O'Keeffe had to step down as Junior Agriculture Minister three years ago following allegations that pigs on his family farm were being fed meat and bone meal.

And the Taoiseach had to rebuke him publicly last year for his frequent criticism of the Government.

But at the celebrations of his 21 years in the Dáil on Friday night in Mitchelstown, all these differences seemed to have been forgotten, with Mr Ahern denying that relations were cool between himself and Mr O'Keeffe.

"We are all big enough to deal with these things and Ned O'Keeffe and I have always been good friends for more than 21 years," the Taoiseach said.

He praised Mr O'Keeffe as a man who is animated by his beliefs and has the best interest of Fianna Fáil at heart.

"He has never been accused once of being boring or uninteresting if the colour is fading from modern politics it is not his fault," Mr Ahern added.