TAOISEACH MICHEAL MARTIN has told Fianna Fáil that preparation for the 2024 local elections “starts now”, as the party prepares to launch a new plan for canvassing and campaigning.

Speaking at his party’s Cáirde Fáil dinner this evening, where over 1,000 party members were in attendance, Martin said that campaigning efforts for the local elections will be “earlier and more comprehensive than ever before”, with selection conventions beginning immediately.

He spoke at length about the importance of a full return to in-person campaigning, after the pandemic made canvassing and “day-to-day interaction” difficult.

Day to day in-person interaction with each other and with the public has always been the lifeblood of our party and something where no one can match us.

“When this is not possible you miss the perspective which only personal interaction can deliver and it reduces the number of voices which can be heard,” the Taoiseach said.

He added that one of the key messages from Fianna Fáil’s Ard Fheis earlier this month was members’ desire to get back on the doorsteps.

“For nearly two years we were not able to get out on the doorsteps doing the type of work which has always been our greatest strength and has been the reason why we have so often performed well ahead of expectations.”

“I’ve longed believed that there is a fundamental division between two separate views of politics. There are those who see politics as a game of who’s up and who’s down – spending their time focused on the confined world of Leinster House.

“And then there are those who see politics as a way to serve people, which involves activists working in every community and focused on addressing complex issues.”

‘Sniping and manoeuvring’

Setting out what he expects the party to achieve in the next two and a half years, Martin said: “When we next seek the support of the Irish people we will show them sustained progress.

“We’ll continue to do everything we can to show that constructive cooperation is possible across party boundaries.

Far too often in the past Irish governments have been defined in the public’s mind by sniping and manoeuvring. That’s how you lose trust and it’s how you lose the ability to work together on behalf of the people.

“Each party in government stood on separate manifestos and we have separate core priorities which link to our histories and the communities we represent. But we succeeded in negotiating an ambitious programme which respects each party and sets a framework for a government which can work for the people.”