Micheál Martin opens door to a general election before Christmas

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has opened the door to an early general election, signalling that he would not object to it if certain key legislation was passed in the coming weeks.

The Fianna Fáil leader, who was speaking to The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, did not specify any preference though he indicated that a date in late November or early December would be possible if certain bills currently before the Oireachtas, including the Finance Bill, were accelerated.

The move comes after repeated suggestions by the Tánaiste in recent months that he favoured a 2025 election.

He confirmed that despite intense election speculation in the political world over recent weeks, he and the other Coalition leaders – Taoiseach Simon Harris and Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman – had not had a discussion on the issue yet, though he indicated his willingness to do so.

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“If it’s the desire of others to do things earlier, we’d need to game that and people would need to work through the timelines around critical pieces of legislation,” he said.

“I think what people want is to complete work to make sure that there’s a solid bit of work done and that we end up, that we end the Government in a harmonious way, having worked together for four and a half years now.”

Mr Martin said the Finance Bill was essential and that Fianna Fáil was also committed to concluding the Gambling Bill. He would like to get the Mental Health Bill passed, he said, though he acknowledged there were drafting difficulties with the process that could delay it.

Asked if it was an accurate summary to say that if important legislation was accelerated and passed through the Oireachtas in the coming weeks, then he would have no objection to an election before Christmas,

Mr Martin said that was “a reasonable assumption and a fair assumption ... and I think the bottom line will be the Finance Bill.”

Mr Martin said that “a conversation is required between all three party leaders”.

The Tánaiste said Sinn Féin’s recent difficulties “go to the heart of how Sinn Féin as a party works, its culture, its tendency to protecting its own first and putting the party first.”

He said Sinn Féin opposes Ireland’s economic model, citing its opposition to free trade agreements such as Ceta, the EU’s trade deal with Canada.

While he insisted that the policy differences between Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil continue to rule out any possible coalition between the two parties, Mr Martin said he continues to have moral concerns about Sinn Féin’s culture, and its continuing glorification of the IRA’s campaign.

Sinn Féin had been “very dishonest and disingenuous in terms of maintaining the mythology”, he said.

“I will acknowledge there has been change and there’s been attempts made. But I think that fundamental point hasn’t changed.”

Mr Martin said Ireland could act unilaterally on trade sanctions against Israeli settlements, though he said there continue to be legal difficulties with the Occupied Territories Bill. The Government is likely to discuss the issue next week.

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