Martin slams 'two-faced' Taoiseach
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has accused the Taoiseach of being two-faced and branded his jobs policy a failure.
Still reeling from Enda Kenny’s blistering attack, in which he deemed Fianna Fáil “toxic” and “cynical”, the party leader launched his own war of words.
“Every time Fianna Fáil is doing well and having an impact the usual suspects in Fine Gael and Labour start attacking even more,” Mr Martin said.
Launching Fianna Fáil’s annual ard fheis at Dublin’s RDS, Mr Martin also accused the Government of attempting to “power-grab” by rushing through the abolition of the Seanad.
He said while there needs to be a review of the upper house, the Government’s plans to get rid of it entirely would further remove scrutiny.
“They are proposing to drive out of the system the last element which has even the potential to be independent of Government control,” he said in his opening address.
“In a parliament which has failed to fully review policies in the past, they are proposing to halve the level of review.”
The Fianna Fáil leader added that the Government does not like to be challenged.
He said by attacking the opposition party, the Taoiseach had attempted to shift focus from his Government’s poor jobs performance.
“Their rising unpopularity and falling support shows that the public is not interested in their politics as usual,” he added.
“It wants parties which are focused on responding to the issues of today and the future.”
Earlier, as he revealed the Government had achieved 96% of the measures outlined in its Action Plan for Jobs, Mr Kenny said he would give its efforts an A grade.
He also said Fianna Fáil policies had left Ireland devastated following the economic collapse, and accused Mr Martin of failing to accept responsibility.
“Fianna Fáil’s economic policies will never be forgotten by those families and communities hardest hit by their legacy,” Mr Kenny added.
“Not facing up to their responsibility for Ireland’s economic crisis is just part of their opportunistic and cynical approach to politics which got us into this position in the first place.”
The Fianna Fáil leader said while he would not get into “personal sorts of descriptions” of the Taoiseach, he accused him of telling international audiences one thing, and the Irish public another.
“We know this was a global crisis of unprecedented proportions,” Mr Martin said.
“And I don’t think anyone is seriously suggesting that one political party on one island across Europe and the developed economic world is responsible for the global economic crisis, which he attempted to suggest this morning.”
Elsewhere, Mr Martin insisted that despite Fianna Fáil’s increasing popularity in the opinion polls, the party would not rush into Government if elected.
He said getting into Government was not his driving agenda because there is no point holding office just for the sake of it.
Mr Martin added that the party was not trying “to restore the old political balance”.
He said parties need to learn lessons from the past and change to reflect present day Ireland.
As the Fianna Fáil annual conference got underway, Mr Martin outlined plans for the party to discuss a range of issues, including reforms to public health services and changes to the Oireachtas.
The party will also consider its stance on new abortion legislation and the inclusion of suicide as grounds for a termination.
