Party options: Fianna Fáil Ministers Micheál Martin, Mary Hanafin and Noel Dempsey, have firmly ruled out a coalition deal with Sinn Féin, or seeking its support to stay in government, after the general election.
Fianna Fáil would go into opposition rather than go into government with Sinn Féin if that was the only post-election option open to the party to keep it in power, Minister for Communications, Noel Dempsey, said yesterday.
Asked at the daily Fianna Fáil election press conference if the party would reconsider its position given that Sinn Féin has gone into a powersharing government in the North and has shifted on its economic policies, Mr Martin said he hadn't examined the Sinn Féin economic policy published on Sunday in detail.
"But it seems a Damascus type conversion from what I have picked up and the observations on it. Our position is that we will not be going into coalition with Sinn Féin." Asked if Fianna Fáil would change its position when it did get the opportunity to fully examine the Sinn Féin economic document, Mr Dempsey said: "Not from the interview I heard on the radio on Sunday." He said the interview with Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was "all over the place" and it was clear he did not realise what his economic policies were.
Mr Dempsey said during the interview Mr Adams did not give straight answers to straight questions. "You [ the media] have the job to ask us tough questions whether it is on tax, stamp duty, or whatever else and we have an obligation to make it as clear as possible what our policies are. I certainly had no clear idea what his policies were except that he was fudging."
Asked again if Mr Adams laid out clearly to Fianna Fáil his party's policies, and if those policies were compatible, would the party reconsider, Mr Dempsey replied: "They are not and that won't be happening." Apart from their election economic policy, Mr Martin said the "broad substance of what Sinn Féin has been articulating for some time on the economy and jobs" has to be looked at. "That's the basis on what we have made our considered position that we will not be going into government with Sinn Féin seeking their support. Ms Hanafin said: "We don't believe for one moment that would be acceptable to the Irish people."
Asked if the numbers dictated that Fianna Fáil needed Sinn Féin to go into government would it go into opposition rather than do a deal, Mr Dempsey said: "If that's the only way that we would get into government, yes. We are not negotiating with Sinn Féin." In relation to possibly going back into government with the Progressive Democrats, Mr Martin said it was not for him to pre-empt what the decision of the electorate would be.
"We would be happy to negotiate after the election but the Taoiseach made it clear that that will not be with Sinn Féin." Mr Martin accused smaller parties who believe they may be in power after the election of "arrogance". As things stand in opinion polls Fianna Fáil have the largest percentage share of the vote and people with 11 or 12 per cent of the vote are trying to dictate what the Irish people are going to do.