Martin still trying to shirk the past as he fails to admit FF led Ireland into the bailout – Flanagan

Fine Gael Party Chairman, Charlie Flanagan TD, has this evening (Monday) said that it is astonishing that the Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin TD, would give a televised address on exiting the bailout without acknowledging that he was a senior minister in the Fianna Fáil Government which caused the economic crash and led Ireland into the Troika programme.

“It is astonishing that Micheál Martin would deliver a TV address on our exit from the bailout without even mentioning the fact that it was he and his Fianna Fáil Government which led us into the bailout programme in the first place. Instead, Deputy Martin tried to lay the blame squarely with the EU, choosing to ignore the fact that it was his Government’s mismanagement of the economy which left us locked out of the markets and on the verge of collapse.

“Not only did he fail to acknowledge that the disastrous economic policies he stood over in Government almost pushed this country over the edge in 2010 and let us with no option but to enter the bailout, he also failed to acknowledge the progress that has been made since then in repairing our damaged economy and turning our country around.

“Deputy Martin spoke about the need to boost employment growth, but yet he failed to mention the fact that 58,000 more people have joined the workforce over the last year. The reality is that when Micheál Martin was forced out of Government, 1,600 jobs were being lost every week. Now, 1,200 are being created every week.

“Micheál Martin’s leadership of Fianna Fáil has been characterised by his attempts to erase the past, in the hope that the Irish people will forget the role he played in bringing about this country’s worse ever financial crisis. But I don’t think he’s fooling anyone.”