Top Issue 1-2024

2 November 2015

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Fine Gael's Brian Hayes is big on hypocrisy, but short on facts

Dublin Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan

“IN POLITICS, as in life, timing is everything” wrote Brian Hayes to begin his article in last week’s Sunday Independent.

It was with a wry smile that I then opened one of the national newspapers next morning where the front page headline “Sinn Féin agrees to left-wing voting pact” jumped out at me. Indeed, Brian, timing is everything.

I read Brian Hayes’s article with some incredulity. That a man of his political experience would base the content of his article on opinion polls is strange - but to base his article on misreading opinion polls is simply baffling.

“The trend is your friend” – wrote Brian, as he stated that Fine Gael / Labour is trending higher in opinion polls during the past year. This is incorrect. A cursory glance at Red C polls (last week’s polling company) for this year shows that the government parties have bounced up and down between 31% and 38% throughout the year. In fact in last week’s Red C poll FG/Labour went down! So much for that reference to trending higher.

When it comes to the issue of Water charges Brian Hayes has been well out of the public eye, so it is interesting to see him now refer to the “fake anger and indignation” of Sinn Féin’s protests.

Clearly Brian has as much an insight into Sinn Féin supporters as he does into opinion polls. The members of Sinn Féin dictate our party policy - that is how it works. We have always been opposed to water charges and that opposition has not changed one iota over the years. I’m not sure how often it has to be said but Sinn Féin in government in the north prevented the introduction of water charges there and a Sinn Féin led government in the south will end water charges in this state.Brian Hayes MEP

Brian Hayes’s (pictured) reference to my European Parliament Water Report indicating that Sinn Féin is now in favour of water charges is plain bunkum. As he knows well, the report is a compromise document put together by representatives of various political groups in the European Parliament.

We in Sinn Féin had requested the removal of any reference to progressive water charges in the document.

Its removal was blocked at the plenary stage and I’ll give you one guess as to who blocked that removal – yes, Fine Gael and their group colleagues in the parliament. Oh, the hypocrisy!

Of course what probably upset Fine Gael most was the fact that my Water report managed to maintain most of the progressive elements from its draft stage. My report calls on the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal to enshrine the human right to water, not to promote the privatisation of water services and to exclude water services from the internal market and any trade agreements, including TTIP.

My report also recognised water as a public good and not as a commodity, and contained criticism of the Troika and privatisation in the private sector.

In addition my report has received the full support of Right2Water groups in Ireland and across Europe and this perhaps gives a clue as to why it has been the subject of much bitter sniping from Fine Gael MEPs in Brussels.

Back home there is no doubt that Sinn Féin has been under a sustained attack in recent times so it is unsurprising to see Brian Hayes jump upon that passing bandwagon. But if my fellow MEP insists on criticising my party – he should at least stick to the facts. Yes, we are an idealistic bunch, as he states, but let me be very clear - there is no controlling group in the shadows. Our members decide our politics and our policies - nobody else does. And if Brian wants to spend a week working in my Brussels office, he is more than welcome!

As the only real opinion poll that matters approaches in the form of a general election, I suppose I can understand Brian Hayes concern with all things Sinn Féin. There is no doubt that he and many others are extremely worried about Sinn Féin’s political progress.

If Sinn Féin is that irrelevant you would wonder at the endless articles, interviews and opinions about the party. If Sinn Féin is “in quarantine” as Hayes suggests, the party sure gets a lot of coverage and bothers an awful lot of people!

When all is said and done, perhaps Brian Hayes is correct - it’s the opinion polls, stupid.

And guess which political party has grown its support by far the most since the last general election? Yes, Sinn Féin. Need I say any more?

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