Sinn Féin announces reshuffle of front bench
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald announces her front bench on Tuesday afternoon. Pictures: Stephen Collins/Collins
Sinn Féin has announced a reshuffle of its frontbench, with party leader Mary Lou McDonald pledging to move on the party’s policy on issues like housing and health.
Announcing her new front bench, Ms McDonald said her party would “hold this government to account at every turn”.
A number of TDs will remain in their current positions, including finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty, housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin and health spokesperson David Cullinane.
Ms McDonald defended the decision to retain the trio in their respective portfolios.
“If any other party had Pearse Doherty in finance and Eoin Ó Broin in housing and David Cullinane in health, they wouldn’t change them either,” Ms McDonald said.
However, Ms McDonald acknowledged the party’s policies needed to move on and “nothing ever stands still”.
“The circumstances in which we live move on, so no policy platform is going to stand still. Whether that’s housing, whether that’s health, whether it’s the policy work that we did in the arts,” Ms McDonald said.
Questioned if this meant Sinn Féin would be moving on issues like the help-to-buy scheme, which it pledged to abolish, Ms McDonald said the party would retain the basics of its existing housing plan.
“But, of course, everything that we look at we will modernise and update,” Ms McDonald said.
However, she criticised the inflationary nature of schemes like help-to-buy, saying that they are an “admission of failure” by the government.
Pressed further if Sinn Féin’s position would change on the scheme, Ms McDonald said it would not, but she said her party “lived in the real world” and encouraged people to access the schemes.
“We want people to be in a position to buy their home… We talk in very big numbers, they’re concerned with number one, they want a house,” Ms McDonald said.
“So I get that people work up their calculations, people are going to avail of these schemes and they should do to assist them in purchasing their homes.”
Ms McDonald said a government which relies on schemes like help-to-buy as long-term support had “raised the white flag of surrender on affordable housing”.
The broader reshuffle includes Cork South Central TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire being moved to mark Tánaiste Simon Harris in foreign affairs and defence, while Cavan-Monaghan’s Matt Carthy will take over responsibility on justice.
Mairéad Farrell has also been moved, going back to her previous position as spokesperson on public expenditure and infrastructure.
A number of other changes have been made, including Pa Daly moving to cover climate, environment, energy and transport, as well as Rose Conway Walsh marking enterprise.
Claire Kerrane will take on children, while Louise O’Reilly moves to social protection.
Darren O’Rourke will be given responsibility for education and youth, while Martin Kenny will take up agriculture. Donegal’s Padraig MacLochlainn will remain as the party’s chief whip.
Two first-time TDs have also been appointed by Ms McDonald, with Louth’s Joanna Byrne covering communications and Clare’s Donna McGettigan going to higher education.
Ms McDonald said while the party needs to do better, she insisted Sinn Féin was a serious contender to go into government. She highlighted that Sinn Féin had more seats in the Dáil than Fine Gael and the Regional Independents — both of whom are in Government.
“We’re serious about taking on this Government, we’re serious about standing up for those who rely on us, we’re serious about making Ireland better,” Ms McDonald said.
She said Sinn Féin’s ambition in the next general election would be to win more seats and to create a “real belief” that there is an alternative to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in government.
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