Eamon Ó Cuív: Lack of progress by Fianna Fáil breaks my heart
He made the comment following private talks with party leader Micheál Martin.
The Galway TD was called to Mr Martin’s office in Dublin for the conversation after he publicly said that Fianna Fáil was facing “demise”.
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that former tánaiste Mary Coughlan has shied away from trying to regain a seat in her native Donegal.
She told a local newspaper that now is not the time to re-enter public life.
Mr Ó Cuív denied that her inclusion in the constituency, now a five-seater race, would have damaged the Fianna Fáil brand.
“At the end of the day people come and go... what we need to be doing is to be constantly on the lookout for new people. The biggest problem we have in Donegal is that some parts of the county are now in with Sligo.”
Speaking to Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mr Ó Cuív reiterated his claim that party morale was low.
He said: “I spoke to the ceannaire [Mr Martin] last night for an hour-and-a-half about this matter and I was explaining my concerns about party matters, and he was presenting his own viewpoint on it. We have differing opinions on what is the best way for the party going forward, and that’s natural in any party.”
The meeting between the two comes after a tough week for Fianna Fáil. Aside from attention being focused on outspoken and critical TDs, the party lost one senator and one councillor. It is also plateauing in opinion polls at just 18% and faces pressure to win next month’s Carlow-Kilkenny by-election.
Asked if he wanted to be party leader, Mr Ó Cuív said: “It’s not about that, as I have said already. What breaks my heart is that we are not making more progress because I believe that the Fianna Fáil party is important for the political future of this country.”
Members of the parliamentary party said yesterday that Mr Ó Cuív was more disappointed in Fianna Fáil’s progress as opposed to having any personal agenda.
“He is a heavy hitter for us on rural development and the Irish language, and always up and down the country,” one member said.
Mr Martin told his parliamentary party meeting this week that he was sick and tired of members “sniping” from the sidelines. While not naming individuals, he went as far as to say that people were “juvenile”.
Party figures this week also expressed frustration that the internal bickering was distracting from the opposition party’s attempts to highlight issues such as mortgage debt and crime in the lead up to Fianna Fáil’s ard fheis at the end of this month.
The party yesterday published a bill to immediately establish a dedicated public order unit in Dublin to crack down on disorder and anti-social behaviour in the city.
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