Fine Gael are playing power games behind the scenes
THE first thing I noticed was the book on the table. It was a beautiful blue leather book bound with gold edging.
It was the Wednesday after the election and only my third time to walk through the gates of Leinster House.
But I will now never forget that moment when I walked through Leinster House to sign the Dáil register.
When we went in, the clerk of the Dáil, Peter Finnegan, said to me: “Mary, this is a very solemn occasion. Just before you sign, take a moment, because this is history. No-one can ever take this from you.”
With the 1916 celebrations to the forefront of all our minds, all I could think of was Éamon de Valera signing that book.
It was one of the most emotional days I have everexperienced. I couldn’t believe that I was finally there. But that excitement and emotion has now turned to frustration.
We are more than 40 days on since the election. Forming a Government does take time and it is something that cannot be rushed. But the public is getting fed up, the media is getting fed up and politicians simply want to get on with the job of serving the people.
No-one expected a taoiseach to be elected on the very first vote in the Dáil, but when we came back again last week there was a feeling that some of the Independents would have shown their hand. But they didn’t.
The only person to vote with a party was Michael Lowry, who had made no secret of his support for Fine Gael from day one.
I felt some more of the Independents would have shown their hand last Thursday. They did not and, as a result, we had a very difficult decision to make.
On Wednesday evening, myself and four other new deputies were all staying in Buswells Hotel ahead of the Dáil sitting on Thursday.
We were having dinner after a very good workshop session on the basic runnings of Leinster House when all our phones went off at the same time.
We got a message explaining what was on the table and that Enda Kenny had offered a partnership between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Independents. The Twitter machine went into overdrive.
Straight away, our discussion changed and was based on what this would bring.
We all accept that we need a government — this impasse cannot go on, and no-one has an appetite for another election, especially when you have had an eight-month campaign like me, but when we went to the people we offered an alternative — we gave a solemn commitment not to go into government with Fine Gael.
We have to represent the 25% of the population that voted for us.
A lot of people may say that there is nothing between us, that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are very like-minded, and it is true that we would be similar on a lot of policy issues.
But we in Fianna Fáil pride ourselves on representing everyone, not just certain sections of society.
Before Mr Kenny went into talks with Micheál Martin, he had offered a ministerial role to one of the Independents. We can only surmise who that may have been and it most likely was the position of minister for rural affairs.
We were being offered a deal but already some of the deals were in situ. That left a bad taste in all our mouths.
Frank Underwood of the House of Cards series on Netflix would be very proud of how Fine Gael are handling this and, in fact, House of Cards would have nothing on them. They want power at any cost. If you recall the Fianna Fáil ard fheis in January, Mr Martin said that the only thing Mr Kenny was seeking was a coronation, that he was looking to become the first Fine Gael taoiseach to be re-elected. I feel that is still the case and there are still a lot of power games going on.
We in Fianna Fáil, however, are taking our responsibility very seriously.
There are no hard and fast solutions at the moment, but we are very serious about forming a government.
I would love nothing more than a stable government because at this point there are major issues piling up that need addressing.
In my own constituency, paramedics went on strike last week. The housing list is getting longer, the hospital waiting lists for treatments are getting longer and longer, and all of these issues are not going anywhere. My office in Waterford city, which I have set up since my election, is inundated with calls and requests for housing and help with hospital waiting lists.
But we are still confident; we know some of the Independents come from the Fianna Fáil gene pool.
I really think it is time the Independents show their hand, they have to show it either to Fine Gael or to Fianna Fáil that they are serious about forming a government and they must show their hand as to which way they want to go.
They cannot play everyone and then walk away from it all.
We are still trying to form a minority Government with Micheál Martin at the helm.
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