Election 2024: Bread and butter issues dominate Fine Gael canvass in Cork's English Market

Amid the delicacies, ministers Helen McEntee and Paschal Donohoe and some of the party's Cork candidates heard voters talk about homelessness, policing, and the viability of small firms

Outgoing minister Helen McEntee weighing up the spiced beef with councillors Úna McCarthy and Shane O'Callaghan, Senator Jerry Buttimer, and minister Paschal Donohoe as they stopped to chat with Paul Murphy of Coughlan's Butchers in Cork's English Market. Picture: Dan Linehan

The stalls may be heaving with fresh meat and fish, with freshly-baked bread, infused olives, oozing cheeses, and exotic herbs and spices, but it was basic bread-and-butter issues that were raised with two of Fine Gael’s most senior figures as they led a whirlwind canvass through Cork’s historic English Market today.  

Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe heard calls for a tougher approach to crime, for safer streets, for more gardaí, for more supports for small businesses, before they were confronted by a man living in homeless accommodation in Dublin.