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EVERY WEEKEND, OUR political team casts an eye over the events inside and outside Leinster House that have people talking.
For the second week running, much of the chatter has been dominated by the two byelections.
So, here are our political winners and losers from the week that was:
1. Janice Boylan
Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan probably breathed a sigh of relief when the TG4/Irish Times Ipsos B&A poll revealed that she was the frontrunner in the Dublin Central byelection.
There’s been lots of hot takes about whether Sinn Féin might slip up in Mary Lou McDonald’s own backyard, but with Boylan leading out on 21% in first-preference votes, the party is probably happy enough.
Either way this pans out for the party, it’s not going to be an embarrassment, which some had predicted.
2. Daniel Ennis
Social Democrats candidate Daniel Ennis should also be happy enough with the poll, with the Dublin city councillor ranking second, attracting 18% of first-preference votes.
The poll shows he is transfer-friendly, holding the highest percentage of second preference votes at 15%.
Speaking to The Journal this week in Phibsborough, Ennis said the election was going to be a “dog fight” in the final days.
It looks like Ennis could well hold the advantage, but at the end of the day it will probably all come down to those transfers.
3. Jack Chambers
The public expenditure minister was talking tough this week, both with his civil servants and those around the Cabinet table.
He said civil servants are going to be explicitly encouraged by the government to “take risks” to accelerate the delivery of major construction and infrastructure projects, telling a conference on Thursday that “risk aversion is holding us back”.
There was also a bang of Charlie Haughey off Chambers this week as he told ministers they had to live within their means (or at least their budgets). He said that departments would have to tighten spending and outlined that a levy now had to be introduced to pay for cost overruns in the Department of Education.
We’ll give him some props for lighting a fire under the civil servants and trying to keep the books in check, but the flaithiúlach nature of other spending, such as that on bike sheds, is what makes people wonder if any of it will make a difference.
1. Bertie Ahern
The former Taoiseach has been out of Irish politics for some time now, but that doesn’t mean he can’t attract controversy. And right before the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis this weekend, where the big focus is the centenary of the party.
This week’s blunder from Ahern saw him being covertly recorded during a canvass where he appeared to agree with a woman’s comments, saying himself that there were “too many coming in” and voicing particular concerns about arrivals from African countries.
Ahern told the Irish Independent on Friday that his comments around immigration were “not careful or polished” – but said it is a “sad day” if Ireland has reached the point where you are “jumped on” for discussing an issue that ordinary people are already debating.
He said he rejects racism “in all its forms” and expressed regret for singling out Africans when talking about his concerns.
Ahern was publicly slapped down for the remarks by Micheál Martin, Jack Chambers and Simon Harris. Not a good look.
The two government candidates in the byelection could be in for a bad showing if the latest poll is to be believed.
What will be particularly tough for McAdam to take is that Independent candidate Gerry Hutch has come in ahead of him, at third place, with 14% of first preference votes.
McAdam stands at 13% in the poll. Fianna Fáil’s John Stephens ranked particularly low, having attracted only 4% of first preference votes.
Did you know there’s a housing emergency in this country? Well, it doesn’t appear to have resonated with some ministers in government.
We found out this week that the short-term let register, which was meant to come into effect this month, will now be delayed until December.
Despite the dire need for more houses, Housing Minister James Browne and Minister for Enterprise and Tourism Peter Burke have failed to work together to prioritise and expedite the new regulations.
Burke told The Journal previously that he was committed to working towards the May date for the register, while Tánaiste Simon Harris previously said the debate about the new rules had gone on long enough.
The register aims to enforce a requirement, introduced in 2019, for property owners to obtain change-of-use planning permission to let out entire houses and apartments on platforms such as Airbnb when they are located in rent pressure zones.
Tell us in the comments who your winners and losers are this week.
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