DURING FIANNA FÁIL’S marathon four-hour long meeting today, the Taoiseach and other ministers faced criticism from backbenchers over the handling of fuel protests in the last week.

Yesterday, the government opened the public purse to the tune of €505 million for a support package which included further cuts to excise on petrol and diesel as well as a delay in the carbon tax increase. 

Fianna Fáil politicians told the Taoiseach that the government needed a better listening ear when it came to the concerns of the public. 

Much frustration was voiced, with those in the room stating that nearly every party member spoke at the meeting today. 

A number of party sources remarked how even those who usually stay quiet spoke up, with some sating that Micheál Martin has been fatally wounded in the eyes of middle ground TDs. 

‘Out of touch’

Overall, the meeting was “terribly, terribly critical” of how ministers handled the last week, said one TD, with another stating that the Taoiseach appears to be “very out of touch”. 

Fianna Fáil politicians outlined how they have been getting it in the neck from their constituents in the last number of days. 

A number recounted how they had heard from life-long Fianna Fáil voters said they would never vote for the party again after the last week. 

The meeting heard from elected reps from across the country who commented on the “many decent people” who were also involved in the protests around the country because of the impact fuel costs on their families and their contracting or haulage business.

Martin told his party that he fully recognised the anger and frustration of people  dealing with increased costs, costs which had increased over several years as a result of different international incidents.

He said the right to protest was sacrosanct but blockading ports and refineries could not be allowed.

He added that the fundamental right to travel could not be limited by any group and people had to be able to access appointments, their prescriptions, cancer treatment and their place of work.

The Taoiseach also emphasised that as an exporting nation we could not put at risk the hundreds of thousands of jobs that rely on access to our ports.

It is understood, Martin told the meeting that government should have held off on the first round of excise cuts announced in March and instead, announced a more substantial package when it was prepared, that included the farming and haulage sectors. 

‘Very narky’

The Taoiseach was told by one politician today that while party members know Martin to be an affable character, he can come across as being “very narky”.

This politician told the Taoiseach that it wasn’t going down well with the public.  

Former Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, who warned the government leaders a number of weeks ago about the mounting anger among the farming and haulage communities, told the Taoiseach today that if the situation had been dealt with when he flagged it, it would not have exploded in such a manner.

“In exploding, it’s now costing the taxpayer for €500 million and there is talk about what else can be done,” he said. 

In his contribution, Ó Fearghaíl said people are still furious, despite getting things like free school meals, free school books, and various increases in allocations.

He told the members that the founding fathers of the party did not have money to dispense among the people, but instead had a vision of a better Ireland.

He told the meeting the President Catherine Connolly talked about a vision for Ireland in her presidential campaign and it resonated with people.

The party can try and give something to “everyone in the audience”, but the former Ceann Comhairle said at the end of the day, what people relate to and what resonates with people is vision, and he believes this is Fianna Fáil’s biggest problem at present. 

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Tensions between O’Callaghan and McEntee

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan moved to address concerns about the statement he issued last week about the Defence Forces being called on to assist the gardaí with the protests. 

He told the meeting the statement about the Defence Forces was merely referencing the tow trucks that were in their control as private tow contractors were not available.

Those at the meeting, who were critical of the minister and how he possibly enflamed the situation, said that his statement should have made that more clear, as it indicated that there would be boots on the ground deployed to deal with protesters. 

Tensions remain between O’Callaghan and Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Helen McEntee, amid reports that she was not informed prior to the justice minister issuing his statement about the Defence Forces involvement. 

McEntee told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today that “things at a senior level can be improved”.

“I think with any kind of situation like this, what’s clear is that we need to always make sure we’re doing things in the most seamless way. I will say that I think things at a senior level can be improved. And I think that for any type of situation like this, we need to assess and to look at how processes were put in place,” she said. 

However, those within Fianna Fáil state that McEntee was not blindsided and that conversations about involving the Defence Forces were held in advance between the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and O’Callaghan on Wednesday.