How long will the Tánaiste be able to keep the peace in Cork after allaying TD's frustrations?
Cork East TD James O'Connor and Tánaiste Micheál Martin had what was described as a "constructive" meeting on Thursday evening which was designed to "clear the air" between the two men.
Peace reigns in Cork once more after the Dáil's youngest member had a "constructive" meeting with one of its most experienced.
Cork East TD James O'Connor and Tánaiste Micheál Martin had what was described as a "constructive" meeting on Thursday evening which was designed to "clear the air" between the two men. It was the second high-profile meeting between the two in the last two years aimed at assuaging Mr O'Connor's frustrations with different government decisions.
Back in 2021, Mr O'Connor had claimed he was "misled" about the contents of the National Development Plan (NDP), saying he expected a bypass of Killeagh/Castlemartyr and an upgrade of the Fota Road to Cobh to be included. He threatened to quit the party but held talks with Mr Martin, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan, and then-Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath to resolve the dispute.
He was told that the road would be progressed in the coming years, though colleagues cautioned at the time that it was merely a pyrrhic victory — the road was likely to proceed either way and Mr O'Connor's threat to take action up to resigning the Fianna Fáil whip was a card which can only really be played once.
At the time, Mr O'Connor was asked if he had been serious about his threat to resign the party whip on the issue and said that he would not make such a statement unless he was serious. “This is the issue that I fought my general election campaign on.”
He had a mandate from the people he represented “to get this issue resolved", he said. The message was clear from Mr O'Connor — this was an issues-based threat, not a heave against the leader.
Still, the Youghal-based TD, who got his first taste of politics as a Transition Year work experience student in Micheál Martin’s Turners Cross office, has never been seen as one of Mr Martin's closer allies in this Dáil term, leading to one such Fianna Fáiller — senator Ned O'Sullivan — to rebuke some in his party for leaking to the media and criticising Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
In an email sent last summer in response to a request for submissions on the future of the party by a group of backbench TDs, Mr O'Sullivan excoriated the group, of which Mr O'Connor was a convener.
In it, he writes that: "Constant leaking and drip-feeding to the press from members re party matters in general, and the leader in particular, is a major cause of worry."
Mr O'Connor said that the senator's intervention was "a little bit bizarre" but declined to go any further. Mr O'Connor had, in fact, defended Mr Martin just weeks before when Carlow-Kilkenny TD John McGuinness suggested that last year's ard fheis should see Mr Martin outline his plans to leave the leadership.
He said that last year was “not the time” for the leadership to be discussed. “It is very important that we have stability at the top. I do not agree with calls for him to go. I do feel when it comes to the party’s poll ratings, they are a concern and need a collective focus,” he said.
The relationship between the two had been quiet enough until last week's Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting. With Mr Martin being criticised over the party's polling, he and Mr O'Connor had what was described as a heated exchange where Mr Martin said O’Connor was a “Jekyll and Hyde” character.
That led to a demand for a meeting from the first-time TD, saying that he was "hitting his head off a brick wall” in his bid to address local issues. This frustration emerged after Mr Martin visited his hometown of Youghal in February, he said, as he raised a number of issues with him but claims none have been addressed.
He was frustrated that the town of Youghal has taken in significant numbers of Ukrainians, that a local school wasn't made a DEIS facility and said that ministers were "well able to look after their own constituencies” and referenced how up to 15 or more of the 310 new DEIS schools were in Education Minister Norma Foley’s constituency.
One backbench colleague had, he said, regaled how former taoiseach Bertie Ahern had solved two of five local issues before the TD had returned to their desk.
In the end, it was a 90-minute "constructive" meeting on which neither side would speak to specifics.
Asked about the meeting on RTÉ's DriveTime on Friday, he said that the meeting was a "chance to clear the air".
"He's known me since I've been a teenager, the joker will say that hasn't been that long ago. But, you know, I have great respect and admiration for [Mr Martin]. We had a good meeting yesterday."
He said that his voice and views are now being heard on the issue of accommodation for Ukrainians. He said that both men should stay "dignified" in their commentary on the issue but said that he is "looking forward to the next few weeks" to see if what he raised is delivered upon.
Whether it will be enough to ward off future disputes remains to be seen, but for now, the kingdoms of Cork East and Cork South Central are at peace.
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