Taoiseach 'absolutely' confident in his position as party leader
Taoiseach Micheál Martin received his second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. Picture: Julien Behal Photography
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has rejected any suggestion about his leadership of Fianna Fáil being in doubt, despite his party’s disastrous performance in the Dublin Bay South By-election.
He said it is still his intention to become Tánaiste and will lead the party into the next General Election.
The party’s candidate Deirdre Conroy achieved its worst-ever by-election result, winning just 5% of the first-preference votes.
Speaking in Cork, Mr Martin said he does not anticipate any questions in the coming days about his leadership.
This was despite his own TD Jim O’Callaghan saying the party “would have to think” about Mr Martin leading Fianna Fáil into the next General Election.
Asked if he now anticipated questions about his leadership: "No, I don't,” he said.
When challenged by reporters about whether he was confident in his position as leader, he responded: "Absolutely. There is no issue."
Responding to the result, Mr Martin said: “I'm very clear in terms of by-elections. I'm not going to comment specifically, I've made it very clear at the outset when I was elected Taoiseach what I intend to do.”
“I intend to lead this Government, my focus is on Government, the people of Ireland, getting through Covid-19, recovering our economy and jobs, prioritising healthcare and housing. These are the issues people are concerned about.
"During the transition, I will become Tánaiste, and it is my intention to lead the party into the next General Election,” he said.
He insisted canvassing during the campaign was very positive.
“We were well received. I was well-received personally, it was a positive campaign all round.
"Deirdre Conroy is a councillor for just two years, she wouldn’t have had the same established profile as some of the other candidates. I thank Jim O’Callaghan for the efforts and the contribution he made,” he said.
Commenting on the winner, he said: "Ivana Bacik is an accomplished parliamentarian in her own right, as a senator and has a long and distinguished record in academia also.
Dismissing the loss, Mr Martin said this would be the 30th by-election since 1990, this will be the 27th time the opposition has won.
“Governments rarely win by-elections, they are not in any way markers for a general election, we know that through the most recent experience. This constituency wouldn’t have been our strongest, it never has been.
"I can recall in 2014 we ran John Lahart in Dublin South West, we got just 8%. Two years later, he topped the poll, albeit with a geographical difference.
"More or less, it illustrates that by-elections are in no shape or form a marker in terms of what happens in subsequent general elections,” he said.
Speaking outside the count centre, Mr O'Callaghan, who was director of elections for the by-election, admitted the party's performance was "disappointing", but said that now is not necessarily the time to change the party's leader.
Mr O'Callaghan said that Fianna Fáil does not "understand the scale of the problem in housing".
However, Mr O'Callaghan, who is the sitting Fianna Fáil TD for the constituency, said that the party would "have to think about" whether Mr Martin should lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election.
Asked if Mr Martin's position was secure, Mr O'Callaghan said that he "would think that it is".
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