Story of the Week
It was a busy week on the presidential election campaign trail, beginning with the first televised debate on Monday night. Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly proved the most adept debater, but the episode was something of a lacklustre first direct clash between the three candidates.
Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys did not have any hiccups, but made the least impact, as she largely stayed out of the fray. Jim Gavin, Fianna Fáil’s political newcomer, probably exceeded expectations for his very first debate. However, he appeared anxious at times and there was much commentary on the effusive hand gestures he made as he sought to emphasise points.
As the week went on though, there were a series of gaffes by the Gavin campaign. Drone footage was shot without the appropriate permissions having been secured for two events, which was embarrassing given Gavin’s day job as a senior figure at the Irish Aviation Authority.
RM Block
Meanwhile, Gavin has frequently highlighted his service as an Air Corps officer during the campaign, but there were more red faces during the week as Fianna Fáil removed some Gavin-campaign social media posts relating to the Defence Forces - including one featuring uniformed personnel - as it is an apolitical organisation.
Humphreys did a radio interview with RTÉ on Wednesday where she denied Tánaiste Simon Harris had pressured her to drop controversial disability reforms contained in a Green Paper during her time in the Department of Social Protection, saying: “I decided that myself. I’ve worked very hard to help carers and disabled people.” She said she did consultations with people, “And there was genuine concerns out there on the Green Paper. So I did not proceed with it.”
Ellen Coyne followed Humphreys on the campaign trail in Co Louth, where the candidate pressed the flesh with Tidy Towns volunteers and encountered a former Fianna Fáil TD who is backing her presidential bid. Meanwhile, by Thursday, Catherine Connolly was defending her hiring of a woman, Ursula Ní Shionnain, who had a conviction for unlawful possession of firearms to work in Leinster House. A prominent member of the socialist republican Éirígí group, Ní Shionnain was convicted by the Special Criminal Court and served four and a half years of a six-year sentence. Connolly told RTÉ Radio that Ní Shionnain worked for her for six months in Leinster House. “She was absolutely perfect for the job, and I took her on,” she said. “I’m particularly proud that I represent a society that gives people a second chance, a society that shows care and compassion. It’s really important.”
She said Ní Shionnain had served her time, had been released early, and had been a model prisoner. Asked whether she supported Éirígí, which campaigned against the Belfast Agreement, Connolly said she did not. The left-wing parties supporting Connolly’s campaign all backed her on the issue, while Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were highly critical of her. The week will be bookended with another television debate, this time on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, on Sunday. Viewers can perhaps expect a livelier affair than the candidates’ first TV outing, given the events of the past week.
Bust Up
There were more shots fired in the bike shed wars in the Dáil on Tuesday when Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald challenged Taoiseach Micheál Martin over a tender for a bike shed at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) with a maximum value of €100,000. As Marie O’Halloran reported, McDonald claimed the tender is “outrageous” and called it “bike shed Groundhog Day” in the wake of the controversy last year over the €330,000 bike shelter at Leinster House.
Martin accused McDonald of going for a “cheap headline” and said it was the Opposition who wanted the bike shelter in Leinster House. He said it “shouldn’t have to cost €100,000 to provide a bike shed”, but also said it would be for hospital staff cycling to work and asked: “Are we saying workers shouldn’t have facilities in an active travel context to reduce traffic congestion?”
Work associated with the tender for the proposed shed at the NMH includes destroying the existing bike shed, removing rubbish and any tree stumps present, as well as making improvements to the ground. The new shed which will also include sensor lighting.
Amid Opposition heckling, Martin said many infrastructural projects had come in on target and on time. He told Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty to “go away and design a bike shed for us and give us the costs. We’ll take it away and see what we do with it,” and added: “Cop yourself on. For God’s sake.” Here’s Miriam Lord’s take on the row.
That’s all very well, but does any of this affect me?
The budget is just days away (on Tuesday), but you would barely know it, given the dearth of kite-flying by Ministers on what they might be securing for their departments in the big political set-piece of the year. As for what has emerged so far, it would probably be wise for people not to expect a massive difference to their bank balances next year.
For one thing, and as Political Editor Pat Leahy reported, no changes to personal tax bands and credits are planned, meaning the effective reductions in income tax – worth more than €1,000 to many workers in recent budgets – will not be repeated this year. Meanwhile, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary appears to have a fight on his hands just to match the €12 increase in weekly social welfare payments that were delivered last year.
Meanwhile, Opposition parties have ramped up pressure on the Government over the anticipated lack of electricity credits for households in the budget. They all unveiled their respective alternative budgets this week, and almost all of them include an energy credit or something similar. Sinn Féin is proposing a €2.5 billion cost-of-living package, including €990 million to provide €450 in energy credits for all households. The Labour Party, meanwhile, is proposing the introduction of a targeted energy income tax credit worth €400 that would cost €270 million and support more than 675,000 households. While once-off measures such as electricity credits that have been a feature of recent years are expected to be dropped, the Coalition has promised targeted support for the most vulnerable households. But the budget may be underwhelming for many when it comes to how much cash they will have in their pockets in 2026.
Banana Skin
The budget features here too. It has been very well-flagged by Government that what will be announced on Tuesday will not be of the order of the kind of giveaways seen in recent years. However, the cost of living is still a major concern for households, so this year’s budget comes with increased peril of a possible backlash as the Government seeks to rein in spending amid the current economic uncertainty.
One potential flashpoint is the proposed VAT cut for hospitality, restaurants and pubs. It is a very expensive measure that is a big part of the reason there seems to be little space in the mooted €1.5 billion tax package for income tax cuts. All in all, it looks set to be the trickiest budget for years.
Winners and Losers
North Dublin commuters are winners, of sorts, this week, as the long-awaited Metrolink rail line from Swords to the city centre via Dublin Airport was finally given the greenlight by An Coimisiún Pleanála. They will not start popping champagne corks just yet though, as the metro - first proposed a quarter of a century ago – is not anticipated to begin operations until the mid-2030s.
This week’s losers are Irish taxpayers in general, as the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (C&AG) annual report highlighted a range of issues uncovered by the State watchdog. The report criticised the Office of Public Works (OPW) for its role over more than 20 years in a yet-to-be-built children’s science museum, which may end up costing the State in excess of €70 million. It also set out how a provider of emergency accommodation overcharged the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) by €7.4 million. The provider has refunded amounts totalling €1.5 million to date. And the C&AG also found that An Garda Síochána spent €590,000 on hotel accommodation over three nights for members policing the May 2024 Uefa Europa final in Dublin, of which €248,500 was spent on accommodation that was never used.
The Big Read
Pat Leahy will have a big read in Saturday’s newspaper on the political landmines to look out for in what is expected to be a tight budget next Tuesday.
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American carnage: Keith Duggan at the Ryder Cup
On Wednesday’s Inside Politics podcast, presenter Hugh Linehan chatted to our Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan about the “American carnage” at the Ryder Cup. Some commentators have linked the boorish behaviour of US golf fans to the ascendancy of Trumpism. Is that justified?
