Coalition 'will go the full term': Micheál Martin rules out early election
Toiseach Micheál Martin at the Fianna Fáil Ard fheis, at the RDS in Dublin today. Picture: Kenneth O Halloran
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has insisted the historic coalition between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party “will go the full term,” ruling out an early General Election.
Speaking in an interview with the at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis in Dublin, Mr Martin said the glue which is holding the coalition together is the Programme for Government which needs a full term to be implemented.
He said he understands the concentration on personalities in politics, but said it is policy which changes things.
“It shouldn't be about personalities all of the time, although they are important and we're attracted to them in politics, and I'm not naive enough on that one. But ultimately, it's policy that dictates the pace and the intention that this government goes full term," he said.
"And that's important because policies can't be implemented in two years. But at least with four to five years, you've got a reasonable timeline, to change things.”
Mr Martin confirmed on Friday night that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will be staying put after the reshuffle in December and said he has begun to deliberate on what portfolio he will be taking once he leaves the Taoiseach’s office.
Mr Martin said the Mica levy on concrete will be reviewed as part of the Finance Bill, following the raising of concerns by his own backbenchers. He said the Finance Bill will examine the proposal which was included in last Tuesday’s budget.
“Obviously the details of this will be hammered out in the Finance Bill and obviously people want to make representations to us and submissions and we always listen to concerns,” he made clear.
He also said, however, the principle of a contribution is very important, as to ensure there is adequate funding there to support such redress schemes.
“But again, the principle is an important principle. When such a massive amount of expenditure is being allocated, we have to make sure that are revenue streams there as well to at least contribute to it,” he said.
Mr Martin confirmed that there was a disagreement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the run-up to the budget on Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s proposal for a third 30% rate of tax.
He said when you have three different parties in Government you are “bound to have differing views” on matters, but insisted the exercise was a positive one. He said such differences meant that several departments “went to the wire” in terms of resolving their budget allocation.
“We had a good discussion on it in the round and nothing is ruled out and we will examine it,” he said.
Mr Martin was speaking after it emerged Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was forced to “fudge” his budget speech’s reference to a 30% tax rate following a major behind-the-scenes disagreement with Fianna Fáil.
Several senior Government sources from across the coalition have confirmed that there was “a lot of political discussion” between the party leaders and senior ministers, with Fine Gael demanding a strong commitment to the tax rate in the context of next year’s budget.
However, Mr Martin and Michael McGrath pushed back, insisting their hands would “not be tied” before taking over the finance portfolio in December.
The refusal to be “boxed in” stems from a deep sense that such an additional rate of tax is not needed.
The has learned that the language in the section about the third rate of tax was subject to a considerable amount of back and forth and a compromise was reached.
Mr Martin said the budget had “gotten the balance right” in terms of long-term spending and once-off cost of living measures.
“We got the balance right because the taxation proposal were in line with the programme for government, but also the once-off measures then balanced it as well in terms of giving additional amounts to lower income groups,” he added.
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