ANALYSIS:THE SUCCESS of Pearse Doherty in the Donegal South West byelection provides an opportunity for Sinn Féin to work towards becoming part of a "technical group" of seven TDs in the Dáil.
Questioned on the issue at the byelection count in Stranorlar yesterday, party leader Gerry Adams said: “Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and our team will look at all of that over the next few days.”
Other party sources were equally circumspect. The Sinn Féin TDs, now augmented by Doherty as the “fifth man”, would meet in the coming week, along with Mr Adams, to discuss the implications of the byelection result, including the technical group issue. A technical group requires a minimum of seven deputies. Sinn Féin now has five and Independents Finian McGrath and Maureen O’Sullivan have already expressed a willingness to discuss the issue.
Similar to a fully fledged political party, a technical group is entitled to certain privileges, including participation in Leaders’ Questions, generally the most high-profile part of the Dáil day.
It can also submit Private Members’ Motions and have a share of priority questions to Ministers.
Sinn Féin has already tabled a motion of no-confidence in the Taoiseach and setting up a technical group would mean that this could be brought to the floor of the House.
However, as of now, the party is not showing its hand. “It is a real live thing that we do have to look at,” senior party sources said yesterday.
A group of this type existed in the last Dáil from 2002-2007. McGrath, Independent TD for Dublin North Central said earlier this week: “I would be interested in having talks with Sinn Féin on the formation of a technical group. It worked very well in the last Dáil, where Independents, Greens and Sinn Féin shared speaking time but each party and Independent retained their own freedom of action.”
O’Sullivan also expressed an interest in discussing the matter with Sinn Féin. Her predecessor as an Independent TD for Dublin Central, the late Tony Gregory, was a member of the previous technical group along with McGrath.
There was little surprise in the end at the byelection result. The bookies got it right in keeping the odds short on Sinn Féin candidate Pearse Doherty.
As the tallies made clear their man was going to win, party leader Gerry Adams and the Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness arrived at the count centre in Stranorlar at about midday to savour the moment.
Although it would be unwise to draw too many conclusions from the count in a single constituency, a leading Fine Gael activist pointed out that the combined first-preferences for Doherty, McBrearty and Pringle showed the left pulling in more than 60 per cent of the vote.
The result means a further drop in the Government’s parliamentary majority.
The figures now stand at 82 to 80 and Brian Cowen’s dependence on Independents Jackie Healy-Rae and Michael Lowry is greater than ever.
The dissolution of the 30th Dáil is coming soon and Doherty must be considered a safe bet to hold his seat: nothing succeeds like success. Fine Gael also looks like a sure thing in this three-seat constituency. Fianna Fáil has fallen from the lofty heights of 2007 when it got two out of three and there could be something of a dogfight to be the third TD to represent Donegal South West.
The Fianna Fáil byelection candidate Senator Brian Ó Dómhnaill did not enjoy great luck in the campaign.
His Sinn Féin rival started off with a major publicity boost from his successful High Court action to force the holding of the byelection, but there was such a massive turnout for the Fianna Fáil selection convention in Glenties that observers began to rate Ó Dómhnaill’s chances more seriously.
Whatever chance the Fianna Fáil contender might have had was blown away like snow off Mount Errigal by the tornado of bad political and economic news from Dublin and the Government’s misguided response to international media leaks about the International Monetary Fund bailout. The message did not go down well in Donegal.
