Elaine Loughlin: Sinn Féin is keen to play but its team sheet is incomplete

Soaring in the polls, there is plenty of expertise among Sinn Féin's parliamentary party — but there are gaps too for a party seeking to field a team to take up ministerial office 

Soaring at 35% in the polls, Sinn Féin is now being talked about in the context of when it enters government, not if. 

But what exactly would a coalition led by Taoiseach Mary Lou McDonald look like?

As they gather for their think-in today, members are in a buoyant mood.

While Sinn Féin’s TDs and senators insist that speculation around who might gain a ministerial role after the next general election is “not on the agenda” right now, the party’s front bench has been ordered to get ready.

One senior source revealed: “Mary Lou has us all very, very busy working on programme for government preparation, not just coming up with policy because you can have all the nice policy you want, but the crucial thing is how do you implement those policies in the real world with different sectoral and vested interests, with the nature of the civil service.

“So, we are all busy putting those plans and programmes in place.

“One of the things Mary Lou is very insistent on is that we have to be ready when we go into the election, if there is any possibility of us being able to form a government on the other side, which we absolutely want, and the sooner that election happens, the better.”

Some Cabinet seats would undoubtedly fill themselves and controlling the departments of finance, health, and housing would be key demands for Ms McDonald in government formation negotiations with any potential coalition partners.

Pearse Doherty would take over in the Department of Finance.

However, whether the party could retain the position of Tánaiste to slot the Donegal TD into remains to be seen and would be dependent on the number of seats Sinn Féin can return and with whom they hammer out a deal to enter government.

Eoin Ó Broin, who has literally written the book on housing (and not just one, but two), would be  widely expected to be made housing minister, while David Cullinane has impressed as health spokesman and would be tipped to take on that portfolio in government.

Among SF's weak points is climate change

However, when you begin to drill down further, appointing ministers, at least to a number of departments, is trickier.

One of the areas where Sinn Féin has been seen to have significantly fallen down on is the climate crisis. The party had no opinion on what thresholds should be set for agriculture and other areas when carbon targets were being hammered out over the summer.

One TD said: “We went from being a small party who had decided to prioritise a small number of issues and they were health, there were housing, they were childcare, and Irish unity.

“In the last Dáil they were the four things we prioritised, and we had limited resources.

“There are other areas where the party just hasn’t had the ability or the capacity.

“Now, that’s not a justification, just kind of the reality of it.”

Of course, Ms McDonald will only be able to choose from those who the public decides to elect to the next Dáil, which may also provide her with opportunities.

Senator Lynn Boylan is one of the few members who seem to have taken an interest in the area of climate change and our requirement to move away from fossil fuels, so could be in the mix if she wins a seat in the lower house next time around.

What the party decides to do about the justice, defence, and foreign affairs portfolios will also be closely watched.

Just two years ago, Ms McDonald was forced to insist “the war is over” and that it is she who runs the party after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’s comments linking Sinn Féin to the Provisional Army Council.

At the time, Ms Harris agreed with PSNI intelligence that claimed the party is still being run by the army council. 

Handing over the minister for justice role to a coalition partner could be interpreted as Sinn Féin acknowledging that it cannot and should not have responsibility for the area, as whoever is chosen from within its ranks would undoubtedly be singled out for criticism and intense scrutiny.

Current justice spokesman Martin Kenny is seen as a quiet but solid performer, and being from the border region also could help if he were to be elevated to the ministerial role.

Members have also cited a number of new bright sparks within the party, with first-time TDs Claire Kerrane and Mairead Farrell being described as having “real substance” and ability.

“I think Claire has been a revelation,” one party member said. 

She is really confident, she knows her portfolio, she does details. She’s probably one of the most impressive TDs that we have out of all of our TDs.

Members from across the political spectrum have noted the chairwoman of the Children’s Committee, Kathleen Funchion, has reached across the party divide to progress measures.

Party members and a number of politicians from outside Sinn Féin suggest she would be good choice for Ceann Comhairle in any Sinn Féin-led government.

Other names that would be expected to form part of a Sinn Féin Cabinet are Louise O’Reilly, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, and Matt Carthy.

Whether they would stay put in their current roles, or moved elsewhere, will be up to their leader.

As one TD said: “I think it’ll come down to how many ministries we have. 

"If we have eight or nine ministries, then you can pick who the eight or nine ministers are; what portfolios they get will then depend on the negotiations that would happen with your coalition partners, whether they’re smaller parties, independents or whether it’s Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael or whoever.

“That’s the decision then that Mary Lou has to make. And that’s a very tough decision.”

Did you know?  

The Dáil chamber was originally a lecture hall used by the RDS, which had a capacity to hold 700 people.

When Michael Collins viewed Leinster House, he was convinced it was the only premises that could house the new Oireachtas as, with minimal alteration, the lecture theatre could accommodate the Dáil.

The floor was raised by 14 feet to convert it into the political chamber we know today. A basement under the floor of the Dáil now acts as a storage facility and contains archives and other material.

This week in years gone by  

1914

September 18: The Government of Ireland Act was given royal assent, writing Irish Home Rule into law 44 years after Isaac Butt founded the Home Government Association. However, its enactment was postponed until after “the end of the present war”.

1961

September 13: Irish troops serving as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo came under attack in what would become known as the Siege of Jadotville. 

The conflicting and disturbing reports coming from the region appeared each day in The Cork Examiner as more details emerged and updates were provided. 

On September 16, a statement from Taoiseach Sean Lemass was carried on the front page: “I know I speak for all our people in expressing very deep sympathy with the relatives of those gallant soldiers, and indeed with the relatives of all our men in the Congo, for whom these must be days of great anxiety.”

1984

September 14: A poll predicted that Fianna Fáil would have a landslide victory in a general election. 

Of those polled, 55% said they would be most inclined to give their first-preference vote to Fianna Fáil, which gave the party a 16-point lead over the combined coalition of Fine Gael and Labour.

2008

September 19: A 35-year-old man who claimed then defence minister Willie O’Dea had punched him in the stomach and grabbed him by the throat in a pub was convicted of making a false statement to gardaí. 

Matt Larkin of Altamira Court, Thomondgate, Limerick, was given a three-month suspended jail sentence in what the judge described as one of the “most bizarre cases” he had come across.

The hot topics  

Next moves. The Fianna Fáil summer shake-up saw Robert Troy demoted to the backbenches and Dara Calleary elevated to minister of state. 

All eyes were on Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Monday when he arrived to a housing event in Mullingar with none other than his now former junior minister, who got a lift in the back of the Government car.

Could this be a sign that there might be a way back for Mr Troy come December’s reshuffle?

You couldn't help but notice that Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrived at a housing event in Mullingar accompanied by none other than recently-demoted TD Robert Troy. 

Cost of living. The Dáil returns on Wednesday afternoon and Sinn Féin will be straight in with a motion which includes measures to help households with rising bills.

Show me the money. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath will provide an updated economic and fiscal position in advance of Budget 2023 when they appear before the committee on budgetary oversight on Wednesday evening. 

They will also be questioned on additional one-off measures for 2022.

Power is a drug. The Public Accounts Committee is always worth a watch, but it could be become more interesting with the recent addition of Alan Kelly. Could this mark his big comeback?