McDonald says no talks yet on Independents alliance

SINN FÉIN:SINN FÉIN TDs have not discussed forming an alliance with Independents in the new Dáil, according to the party's deputy leader and newly elected Dublin Central TD Mary Lou McDonald.

Ms McDonald said she assumed Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams would become the party’s Dáil leader when the House resumes next Wednesday. Ms McDonald was speaking at a gathering of the party’s four Dublin TDs yesterday.

“We will certainly of course work with anybody who shares some or all of our political objectives . . . There are for instance Independent candidates who’ve been elected who share much in common with Sinn Féin, and certainly we’ll look to work with them,” Ms McDonald said.

“But we’ll be going into the Dáil with 14 or maybe 15 Sinn Féin TDs and we’ll be there as an Independent political party in the first place. There’s been no discussion around that other idea,” she added.

Asked whether there was a possibility her party might find some common ground with fellow opposition party Fianna Fáil, Ms McDonald said she thought the chances of that were “zero”.

Sinn Féin’s only incumbent TD in Dublin, Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central), claimed his party had brought down the last government and said it would do the same “if this government that’s looking like being formed is intent on continuing with the policies that Fianna Fáil introduced”.

He promised “forceful” opposition in the new Dáil.

Dublin South West TD Seán Crowe struck a more conciliatory tone. “We want to work with everyone, not only in the opposition, but we want to work with government. There has to be a way forward . . . out of this crisis.”

Mr Crowe said everyone wanted to play a full part in the new Dáil and he hoped it would be an inclusive place, rather than a parliament with “the same old tired faces introducing the same old tired policies”.

New Dublin North West TD Dessie Ellis said Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny had been “hid away” during the election campaign.

“Let’s see how he performs in front of the EU and the IMF,” he said. Mr Ellis also claimed the Fine Gael party’s approach to State assets would lead to a “race to the bottom” and a loss of jobs.

Sinn Féin, he said, would put pressure on the Labour Party not to follow Fine Gael’s lead.