Tánaiste holds 'constructive' meeting with Cork TD after 'Jekyll and Hyde' comment

Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor said his frustration emerged after Mr Martin visited Youghal and he raised a number of issues with the Tánaiste but he claims none have been addressed

James O'Connor sought the meeting with Micheál Martin to 'clear the air'. File picture

Tánaiste Micheál Martin held a “constructive” meeting with Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor after the Cork TD complained that his expectations were not being met.

Mr O’Connor hit out at Mr Martin at a parliamentary party meeting last week when he said issues he brought to Mr Martin five months ago had not been resolved.

The heated exchange resulted in the Fianna Fáil leader branding the Dáil’s youngest TD as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character.

Mr O’Connor sought a meeting with the Tánaiste to “clear the air” and planned to reiterate his demands to the party leader over issues he had raised for his home town of Youghal.

A spokesperson for the Tánaiste last night described the meeting as “constructive”.

Despite numerous attempts, Mr O’Connor did not respond to queries following the meeting.

However, speaking to the Irish Examiner on Wednesday ahead of the meeting, Mr O’Connor said he had only been offered “lip service” by Cabinet ministers but praised Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and junior minister Jack Chambers.

Mr O’Connor said his frustration emerged after Mr Martin visited Youghal in February and he raised a number of issues with him but claims that none have been addressed.

He said Youghal has welcomed a significant number of Ukrainians and he had called for additional resources for the area, particularly for schools.

James O'Connor and Micheál Martin during the Tánaiste’s visit to Youghal at the start of the year. Picture: John Hennessy

Among the issues raised, Mr O’Connor had sought additional provision of Deis status for local schools in the area and said he was left “disappointed” that none were included in the programme expansion earlier this year. However, he admitted that Mr Martin did not give him an indication that he would ensure they received Deis status.

In Youghal, 11 organisations had received thousands of euro from the State’s Community Recognition Fund for areas that have welcomed a significant number of Ukrainians.

When put to him that Mr Martin is dealing with a number of issues, including demands from other backbenchers, Mr O’Connor said Cabinet ministers are “well able to look after their own constituencies” and referenced how 15 or more of the 310 new Deis schools were in Education Minister Norma Foley’s constituency.

The Cork East TD claimed he received a lot of supportive calls from his colleagues following last week’s meeting.