'They can't count': Fine Gael on the attack against Sinn Féin at Ard Fheis

Jennifer Carroll Macneill speaking at the Ard Fheis. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie

Fine Gael has gone on the attack against Sinn Féin at its Ard Fheis in Galway, with a junior minister saying “they can’t count” and “we’re not having them in Government.” 

Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said that the “masks slips” in serious and trivial ways and that Fine Gael “would not be lectured on democratic norms” by Sinn Féin.

“They can't count, she said. “They're not decent, and they shouldn't be in government buildings.

Sinn Fein can't count and I am sick and tired of Fine Gael and the Department of Finance and other people having to point out the actual cost of childcare, the actual cost of building a house, the actual way to balance a budget.” 

She said that Sinn Féin talks to businesses and tells them “nothing will change” but tells workers that “everything will change”.

“This isn’t honest,” she added, saying that Fine Gael would fight for “democratic values”.

Ms Carroll MacNeill’s was one of a number of speeches at the conference, which featured new leader Simon Harris as its keynote speaker ahead of his expected election as Taoiseach this Tuesday.