Sinn Féin TD says Taoiseach’s suggestion party is ‘pro-Putin’ is ‘nonsense’

Suggestions made by the Taoiseach that Sinn Féin is “pro-Putin” or anti-EU are “a nonsense”, the party’s health spokesman has said.

In pre-Christmas remarks to reporters, Micheál Martin had said Sinn Féin will “never criticise Russia” and that there had been a “notable silence” from the party over a build-up of Russian military forces on the Ukrainian border.

He also said Sinn Féin was "at heart . . . still an anti-European Union party". However, speaking on Wednesday, Waterford TD and Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane said he would take no lectures from Micheál Martin and pushed back against the Taoiseach's suggestions.

"I'm certainly not going to take lectures from Micheál Martin or Fianna Fáil in relation to this issue or any issue if you look at the fact that they have reneged on their commitment to recognise the state of Palestine. " He also said the Taoiseach had not said anything when political figures in Catalonia were imprisoned.

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"Our track record on supporting people who are victims of human rights abuses, whether it's in Russia or anywhere else, is second to none. And I'm concerned as much as anybody else is about the build-up of troops in the Ukraine, but the reality is if there's debates the Taoiseach feels needs to be held on this issue, then why doesn't he organise them?" Mr Cullinane said, rejecting the suggestion that the party is "pro-Putin".

Criticism of EU

On the party's EU stance, Mr Cullinane said it was not anti-EU but instead "consistently railed against attempts to undermine the sovereignty of this State and to create structures in Europe that at times can be anti-democratic. A lot of people feel the same across Ireland so having what I would call critical engagement with the European Union is what we need to do."

“I don’t see Sinn Féin as an anti-EU party, but certainly we have concerns about a continued and deepened federalism within the European Union and we’re certainly not alone on that across the European Union,” he said.

On Covid, the Sinn Féin health spokesman said it was clear there was no “magic solution” to the issues facing the country, but that he was taking encouragement from ICU figures which “seem to be holding up well and that’s the key figure that we need to look at”. However, he pointed out that there had been cancellation of non-urgent healthcare amid Covid pressures, and potentially of urgent healthcare in the coming weeks.

School guidelines

He also called for clear guidelines for schools for when teachers cannot come to school due to a positive Covid diagnosis.

“There is no magic solution here. I’m not going to say that there’s anything that can solve this problem overnight, we’re dealing with 20,000 cases per day so any system is going to become overwhelmed.” Amid what he termed “precariousness” on the supply of antigen tests, he said Sinn Féin in government would “engage directly with the companies that produce antigen tests and look at procurement either through EU level or in this State”.