The Politics Fix

Simon Harris’s ‘row back’ on 250,000 new homes ‘soundbite’ could prove a slippery banana skin

Your essential end-of-week politics catch up: The Greens unexpectedly opening fire at Varadkar over asylum seeker beds

The Politics Fix

Taoiseach Simon Harris TD speaking at the update on Housing For All. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

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Jennifer Bray
Fri Apr 26 2024 - 12:34

The Big Story

It was another momentous week for the Stardust families with a long-awaited State apology delivered by Taoiseach Simon Harris in the Dáil.

Relatives and survivors said they felt they had “finally been listened to after 43 years” as they welcomed the belated apology.

Antoinette Keegan, a survivor of the blaze who lost her sisters Mary (19) and Martina (16), said the families were “overwhelmed” as State apology came less than a week after the inquest jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in every case.

After so long a wait, the affected families are understandably keen to see the Government’s words followed up with actions. In the coming weeks, each family will receive a personal written apology from Mr Harris. The issue of counselling was also being arranged by officials this week. One part of the puzzle that has not yet been ironed out is that of redress. While it is almost certain there will be some form of scheme, Ministers say they want to be led by the families and will hold consultations to get their views.

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Bust-up

Politicians from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are well able to have a pop at their Coalition partners in the Green Party, but this week it was the Green Party who were unexpectedly opening fire on former taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Minister of State for Integration Joe O’Brien said Mr Varadkar did not put enough pressure on Government departments to find beds for asylum seekers sleeping rough. He said he didn’t care if noses were put out joint by his comments (we didn’t have Joe O’Brien the rebel in our political bingo cards this year) and even said the much-promised communications plan on immigration had failed to materialise.

There was another bust-up in the Dáil on Thursday when proceedings were suspended following attempts by Solidarity TD Mick Barry to raise the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) not to prosecute the gardaí involved in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old George Nkencho.

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl told Mr Barry that “separation of powers means that in this House you do not criticise or comment on affairs of the courts or the DPP”.

Mr Barry had raised the case during Leaders’ Questions and said that Mr Nkencho’s “grieving, working-class, migrant family” would “now have to fight a long and hard battle for justice, even for basic information”.

Banana skin

In his maiden speech as Fine Gael leader, Taoiseach Simon Harris pledged to deliver 250,000 new homes between 2025 and 2030.

Sure, it was at variance with the Coalition’s own targets but Harris argued that anything less eye-catching would have been underwhelming for voters.

But what appeared to be a slight softening of the language at a housing press conference on Wednesday morning has caught the attention of the Opposition.

There, Mr Harris said 250,000 would be “roughly” the “landing zone” for these targets. He also said it was a “ballpark figure”. It didn’t take long for the Opposition to pounce. Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said the Taoiseach was “clearly more concerned about a soundbite than how he would actually deliver on this commitment.”

”It hasn’t taken long for the row back on these promises to begin,” he added.

As none other than Simon Harris said on Monday (when discussing Eamon Ryan’s Green Party conference warning on over-promising on budgetary promises): “people say things at their party conferences.”

This particular banana skin could prove slippery in the longer term.

Just ask Enda Kenny, whose famous 2007 general election promise that he would “end the scandal of patients on trolleys” was used as a stick to beat Fine Gael with by none other than the current Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, before the last election.

Winners and losers

It’s a heartbreaking and bittersweet victory, but the clear winners this week are the Stardust families who persevered in their campaign for justice despite decades of obstacles being put in their way. Simon Harris, in turn, delivered a solid State apology just weeks after being appointed to the role.

This week’s loser is not a person, but rather an entire continent.

The European Union’s (EU) climate service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Association (WMO) found this week that Europe is the fastest warming Continent, with temperatures continuing to rise at around twice the global average rate and impacting all countries. It pointed towards widespread flooding and severe heatwaves in 2023, in a series of extreme weather events made worse by climate change. Alarmingly, the three warmest years on record for Europe have all occurred since 2020.

The Big Read

Pat Leahy has a piece in Saturday’s paper on the beginning of the long war over the budget (no it’s not in your head – the budget kites are flying earlier and earlier every year.)

Jack Horgan Jones also has a piece looking into whether there a migration “back door” to Ireland over the border.

Hear here

London Correspondent Mark Paul told Hugh Linehan on the Inside Politics podcast about an Irish comparison to current position of the Tories

It’s like 2011 Fianna Fáil. The public have stopped listening and it doesn’t matter what you do, nothing is going to make a dent in the polls.

—  Mark Paul
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