Voters returning to Fianna Fáil from Fine Gael - Collins

Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Niall Collins has said voters who switched their allegiance from his party to Fine Gael in the last election were now switching back ahead of 2016.

He said Fianna Fáil members would not back the prospect of coalition with Fine Gael, or the idea of the party supporting a minority government from the Opposition benches.

“I can tell you from engaging with people on the doorsteps over the last weeks and months that people are switching back to Fianna Fáil. They have seen the array of broken promises from Fine Gael,” Mr Collins said.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, the Limerick TD said he backed director of elections Billy Kelleher’s stance on coalition options after the general election.

Mr Kelleher firmly rejected the possibility of Fianna Fáil going into coalition with Fine Gael or Sinn Féin, and also ruled out a Tallaght-style strategy, under which the party would support a minority government from the Opposition benches.

He was speaking on The Irish Times political podcast, Inside Politics, on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, Mr Collins said: “I absolutely support our party leader and Billy Kelleher in their comments and in our stance in Opposition to having anything to do with Fine Gael as a coalition partner.

“We are offering ourselves as an alternative to Fine Gael, as an alternative lead in government to Fine Gael.”

He said: “It’s my sense and belief that the party membership will not stand for Fianna Fáil coalescing with Fine Gael... or supporting them from outside.”

Mr Collins was also asked about Mr Kelleher’s comment that his party, currently with 21 seats, could get 40 on “a very good day”, while more than 35 would represent a “major achievement”.

Mr Collins said: “There’s 40 constituencies. If we win a seat on average in each constituency we’d be turning in around 40 mark and that would be a doubling of our representation in Dáil Éireann at the moment and I think that would be a very successful outing for us.”

The party’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath previously raised the prospect of an alliance with Fine Gael, saying it would be “out of touch and arrogant” for Fianna Fáil to say it would not go into power unless it was the majority party.