Fianna Fáil TD says they will change how they do business following meeting

Vivienne Clarke

Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South Central, Seamus McGrath has said that he believes Wednesday night’s meeting of the parliamentary party to discuss Jim Gavin’s presidential campaign will be a “game changer” for how the party does business.

The lengthy meeting involved “frank, open, honest, robust, clearing of the air”, he told Newstalk Breakfast.

Mr McGrath said he was satisfied that party leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin had taken on board the depth of feeling among party members. “It was a very helpful meeting, very civil, not personal.”

“Going forward, we will be stronger after this.

“He (Mr Martin) did express regret and I think he made it clear that we are all devastated in terms of how this turned out and then look to the future in terms of how we ensure something like this doesn't happen again.

"So I am satisfied and after listening to all the views the Taoiseach did a wrap up at the end and I think he genuinely took on board the depth of feeling among the members.”

Mr McGrath said that the meeting had “never” been about Micheál Martin’s leadership. “It was about how we do business and I believe that will change now. There’s no question of a leadership issue at the moment.”

When asked about reports that presidential candidate Catherine Connolly used a taxpayer-funded allowance for €3,691 in spending described as related to “Syria” in her statement to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) for the year 2018, Mr McGrath said that ms Connolly “has questions to answer, the issue merits further discussion.”

The issue was significant and of concern. There needed to be full disclosure by Ms Connolly about how the trip was funded and for it to be described as research was “stretching it.”

Former Ceann Comhairle Seán O Fearghaíl has said party leader Micheál Martin connected effectively with members of the party and appeared to listen and take all the messages onboard.

“The room, while being full of anger, was also full of goodwill, because there was unanimity that number one, Jim Gavin and his family needed to be supported now with the aftermath of the trauma that they've been through, but equally so, Fianna Fáil needs to get over what has been an utter and absolute debacle,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

“This is about more than Micheál Martin. Was his apology enough? It may have been enough to resolve this particular situation.

“What has occurred around the presidential selection and the really appalling campaign is a symptom of how we've been doing our business as a political party for some time,” added Mr O Fearghaíl.

During Wednesday night’s meeting Mr O Fearghaíl told a story about Charlie Haughey at a restaurant where he made the selection for his guests, when asked about the vegetables, Mr Haughey said “they’ll have the same as I’m having.”

“My point is that for a period of time it would appear that the parliamentary party have been the vegetables. We have been told what to do, what to think, and we haven't been taken seriously.”

Mr O Fearghaíl said he did not have a “great degree of confidence” that the parliamentary party was going to change radically.

“I think there'll be a reaction, a reaction to the current situation, and then things were likely to go back to the way that they were.”

The situation would not have any impact on Micheál Martin’s leadership in the short term, he said. “I think our focus, our entire focus has got to be on leading the country through what remains of this year and implementing the provisions of the budget and preparing in this first half of next year for the EU presidency and then Ireland distinguishing itself."

Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity and Cork South West TD, Christopher O'Sullivan: “I think the general sense was that we take learnings from this, that we learn from the processes and that we implement those learnings in future, I suppose, elections of presidential candidates.

"I felt there is strongly amongst the parliamentary party a desire to move on from this”