Despite surviving a no-confidence vote in his leadership, it’s been a tumultuous week in politics for the Taoiseach Michael Martin.
Limerick Voice reporter Dara Ryan asked UL students their view on the future of the Fianna Fáil leadership, amid significant internal pressures facing the leader.
Tomas Swords a second year journalism and politics student in UL said he has “absolutely no confidence” in Micheal Martin.
“He’s riding on the coat-tails of generations that do vote for him and neglecting the ones that don’t. He appeals to the older generations who turn up on polling day but not to the younger generations whom he neglects.
“But this generation is unfortunately complicit in maintaining the status quo because we don’t turn up to vote and this needs to change. We are just as guilty as he is. We let it happen.”
Tipperary born student Colin Tuohy doesn’t think Micheal Martin will be removed before the end of his term as Taoiseach.
However he can’t seen him leading Fianna Fail into the next general election. He also agrees that younger generations need to use their vote if they wish to see change in the future.
Katie McNamara, a 4th year journalism student, believes the Fianna Fail needs a new leader and has also lost confidence in the party as a whole.
“It would have to be quite a big change (in leadership) to change my mind [about Fianna Fail] ,” she said.
“It’s never just one person,” She added “You can’t put all the blame on Michael Martin. I do think it’s a much bigger issue than just him”
Speaking about the recent protests Marina Sánchez Díaz, a 4th year journalism and politics student originally from Spain said “The government can’t just give the people everything they want. They have to find common ground.”
“At the end of the day, they work for us, we don’t work for them, and they forget that.”
Michael Healy-Rae’s resignation from his role as a Minister of State escalated pressure on the government.
The following day, Fianna Fáil’s three youngest TD’s James O’Connor, Ryan O’Meara and Albert Dolan issued a statement in which they said senior colleagues expect them to explain the Government’s difficulties.
Longtime Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick city Willie O’Dea also voiced his concerns in a recent interview with RTÉ Radio. “Judging by the reaction I’m getting from my own constituency and beyond, it appears that Fianna Fáil has been badly damaged by this recent debacle.”
O’Dea, who is the longest-serving current member of Dáil Éireann, lashed out at the government’s handling of the recent fuel crisis. “I’ve got people telling me they’ll never vote for me again because I’m representing the wrong party, a party they’ve totally lost confidence in.”
The criticism coming from the party’s youngest and oldest TD’s is a worrying trend for Taoiseach Mícheal Martin, although he shared that he “does not feel in any shape or form under threat.”
O’Dea finished by voicing the common theme of the last week: that many TD’s believe “The Government expects us to explain their problems to people. It’s about explaining people’s problems to the Government and getting the Government to act on them.”
As an independent TD whose support helped sustain the government’s majority, the departure of Michael Healy-Rae weakens its position and highlights the fragile nature of coalition politics in Ireland.
Although the government survived the confidence vote, it now faces growing scrutiny from inside Fianna Fáil suggesting the issue is far from resolved. TD’s Sean Ó Fearghaíl, Paudie O’Sullivan, and Senator Anne Rabbitte called for an “urgent” meeting to discuss concerns from inside the party.