AS THE DÁIL summer recess continues, we have been working through the list of newly elected TDs to learn more about how they are adjusting to life in Leinster House. 

Last week we caught up with Fine Gael’s James Geoghegan and Fianna Fáil’s Erin McGreehan, today we hear from Fianna Fáil TD for Roscommon-Galway, Martin Daly.

Following his election in November last year, Daly, a practising GP and former president of the Irish Medical Organisation, was quickly appointed as his party’s spokesperson on health and disability.

He spoke to The Journal by phone as he travelled from his GP practice to a constituency clinic in Roscommon, and told us how he is managing to juggle the two roles, why it was always going to be Fianna Fáil for him, and shared his concerns about a rise in racism in Ireland.

Is life as a TD what you expected?

“Yes. Well, I had been involved in local politics for a long number of years, and I understood the role of the TD pretty well.

“I always respected our TDs and senators and our county councillors as well-intentioned, hard-working individuals. So I was under no illusions that the job would be demanding and that it would entail considerable work and commitment.

“So there are no surprises there from my part. I was a busy GP in my career, and it’s very much like that in terms of the demands,” Daly said. 

Since becoming a TD, Daly has continued to “help out” at his practice, usually on a Monday or Friday morning when the Dáil isn’t sitting. 

He has worked at the practice in Ballygar in Galway for over 30 years, running it with his wife, Dr Myriam Mangan, and a business partner, Dr Clodagh Murray. 

In total, four doctors work at the practice, including him, but Daly said they could do with another one now that he is a TD. 

He says this work, and the issues he saw patients dealing with, has been one of the driving forces that led him to politics. 

Daly comes from a “long line of Fianna Fáil supporters”, and this is why the party was a “natural fit” for him. 

“I was born into a Fianna Fáil family and anything alternative to that would have been considered heresy,” he said, adding that he was involved in Ógra Fianna Fáil in his youth and has long canvassed for Fianna Fáil candidates long before he ever ran for election.

Peak and pit 

What has been the highlight of being a TD so far? 

“It’s a great privilege, number one, being elected by your constituency.

“So being elected was a highlight, but as a TD, I represented the Oireachtas at the United Nations on 22 July at a high-level intergovernmental meeting on sustainable development.

“I was a first responder from the floor for the panel for sustainable development, equality and health, and I have to say it’s not something, if you asked me 12 months ago, I would have expected to have done. And I have to say I was proud to be at the United Nations and representing the Oireachtas.” 

Daly on the campaign trail Martin Daly Martin Daly

Any lowlights?

“The plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“I do think that while the Irish government has gone out on a limb internationally to advocate for Palestinian people in Gaza, there are times I get depressed by the lack of progress.

“Ireland is a small country. We cannot do this on our own. We do need the big countries to act to prevent further genocide in Gaza. And that, to me, is the disappointment that has continued to persist during my time as a TD.”

In terms of what more Ireland could do, Daly said he would like the government to “do everything we can that would be effective in getting the attention of the Israeli Government in terms of how it is prosecuting the war and the occupation of the West Bank.”

Asked if he is in favour of including services in the forthcoming Occupied Territories legislation, Daly said:

“My concern is that anything we do should be effective and should have culture-changing behaviour in terms of the Israelis, and that we should also be careful that we don’t injure our own prospects in terms of our industry and our employment.”

He added: “I think our best hope is in influencing bigger countries. And we have seen a shift in the British position, in the French position and the Canadian position, and we need to continue to work through the powerful union of the European Union.”

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Daly added, however, that he has been “disappointed by the attitude of the European Union” in relation to Israel and Palestine.

Any surprises since becoming a TD?  

“Well, it’s not really a surprise, but it’s really reaffirmed my confidence in people in general. 

“The vast majority of people are trying to live their lives productively and happily, and looking for basic access to basic services and are extremely easy to deal with.

“It’s reaffirmed my faith in people, and I hope that I personally will be able to add to the constituency and advocate on their behalf nationally.”

Final musings

“One concern I’ve had since becoming a TD is the rise in racism.

“I’m half Indian by birth. My mother was an Indian doctor who came and lived in Ireland and practised here and raised her family,” Daly said.

“I am disappointed and dismayed by the rising racism. And I have to say, I was hugely and emotionally upset by the individual reports of assaults on the Indian community in Ireland.”

In recent weeks, the Indian embassy in Ireland has warned its citizens to take safety precautions for their personal safety after what it says has been a rise in physical attacks on members of the Indian community. 

Just this week, a family in Waterford spoke out about how their six-year-old daughter was attacked and racially abused and a man suffered head injuries after an early morning attack in Dublin.

Daly made the point that these communities have been invited in by Ireland to work and said that without them, the country “would grind to a halt at this stage”.

He plans to arrange a meeting with the Indian ambassador to Ireland to discuss the rise in racism. 

“I do think public representatives need to speak out about the value that our immigrant community bring to our society and our economy,” Daly said.

“There’s a role for government to educate people, but I also think there should be zero tolerance in relation to racism.”