Micheál Martin attacks ‘drifting’ Fine Gael

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has launched a strong attack on Fine Gael claiming the Government they lead is “drifting” and lacking ambition or urgency.

Mr Martin has also hit out at the British Government describing their reaction to the Brexit referendum as “little short of shambolic”.

Delivering his annual Wolfe Tone commemoration speech at Bodenstown, Co Kildare, Mr Martin said the Fine Gael-led minority government is “failing to engage with the issues”.

“In area after area, it is failing to tackle problems with the urgency or ambition which they need. This has nothing to do with them being in the minority. Ministers have absolute freedom to use the immense resources available to them to set out concrete strategies for the future. Instead, they are constantly reactive and failing to engage with the issues.”

Highlighting failures in the hospital system, he went on to describe former Health Minister and Fine Gael leadership hopeful Leo Varadkar as “PR obsessed”.

“The huge increase in hospital waiting lists has been met with near silence by Government. The replacement of one PR obsessed minister with a more careful successor has simply confirmed that the Government has no health policy. It’s now time to put the priority where it is most needed — building our public health system.”

Turning to focus on Brexit, Mr Martin said the result has its root in decades of hysterical euro-scepticism but added that none of those who argued for Brexit prepared plans for actually achieving the result “other than the arrogant belief that the world, including Europe, would rush to trade with Britain”.

“The cabinet ministers responsible for Brexit have been cavalier and grossly unprofessional. They have been making it up as they go along.”

Mr Martin added that the fall of sterling is “undermining Irish exporters and already costing jobs”.

“Ireland has to push for actions which can soften the potential short and medium-term destruction which Brexit may involve. We can’t wait for another two and a half years before businesses and communities receive support to either replace lost markets or to be competitive in spite of the massive fall in sterling,” he said.

Responding to Mr Martin’s comments Government chief whip Regina Doherty said that people know better than to “swallow Fianna Fáil’s twisted version of reality”.

“I was disappointed, but not surprised, to hear today’s claim from Micheál Martin that his party had succeeded in blocking what he called Fine Gael’s increasingly right-wing agenda and focus on tax cuts for the wealthiest,” she said.

“It is thanks to Fine Gael’s careful economic management of recent years, and the work of the Irish people, that we now have the resources to target investments in key public services and reduce taxes.”