Fianna Fáil is in a “good position” to retain the majority of its local authority seats in next month’s local elections, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said, despite the latest opinion poll suggesting his party is trailing Fine Gael and Sinn Féin.
Mr Martin was speaking in Dublin as Fianna Fáil launched its local election campaign and manifesto.
Fianna Fáil, which is running 365 candidates across the State, is the largest party in local government. It won 279 seats in 2019 and also took the most seats in the 2014 local elections.
The latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll has support for Fianna Fáil at 20 per cent, three points behind Fine Gael and Sinn Féin.
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Asked if Fianna Fáil was about to lose its position as the largest party in local government, Mr Martin replied: “I remember when we achieved that crown in 2014. The commentators in the first hour after the local election and the count were predicting a desperate day for Fianna Fáil”.
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He added it was “going to be challenging for us because we got 27 per cent on the last occasion” but that the party has defied predictions in the past.
“Local election polls and general election polls are different ... there’s a personal dimension to it as well in addition to a party vote, so I think we’re in a good position to retain the majority of seats that we have,” he said.
Asked if he accepted the party would lose seats, he said: “I’m not accepting anything. I’m going out there in a robust fashion. I think we’ll do the very best we can to retain the seats we have and gain extra seats.”
The Tánaiste said Fianna Fáil’s “priority” remains housing and the manifesto pledges to “protect and extend” the Help-to-Buy scheme and other initiatives such as refurbishment grants for vacant and derelict homes. It also promises to “strengthen the powers of the local authority to evict tenants for extreme anti-social behaviour and set basic standards for the upkeep of properties”.
The manifesto also includes a commitment “to not oppose social and affordable housing projects”. Mr Martin accused political rivals of opposing housing projects, such as those at O’Devaney Gardens in Dublin 7 and Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock, for “ideological reasons”.
Put to him that people from all parties, including his own, have opposed housing projects, Mr Martin said: “Given the housing crisis we’re currently in we are committing to people not opposing housing projects. Now people may want to amend certain designs and so on like that, that’s legitimate, but not the actual project itself.”
Fianna Fáil’s manifesto also promises to “build safer communities” including introducing a dedicated police force for public transport and boosting funding for crime prevention officers to support neighbourhood watch groups.
It says the party would fund a “brighter streets” campaign to improve public lighting in each local authority and set up a coastal erosion fund in areas affected by the problem.
Fianna Fáil also wants to reinstate the previously abolished town councils for places with a population of 7,500 or more and to make the annual Culture Night a quarterly event.
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