Last-ditch effort to form a government proves the hard left aren’t serious – Farrell

A last-ditch effort by Richard Boyd Barrett to form a government of the hard left proves they are not remotely serious about it, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Dublin Fingal TD, Alan Farrell, was speaking after it emerged late last night that Richard Boyd Barrett has written to Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald regarding attempts to form a government.

“Sinn Féin and the hard left made a half-hearted attempt at government talks after the General Election.

“In the immediate aftermath of what was a fragmented election result, Fine Gael stood back and gave space to those parties to engage with each other and deliver on the mandate they said they had received. As we all know, those talks went absolutely nowhere and fell apart almost immediately.

“Faced with no progress on government formation, we have proposed the commencement of talks with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. In the midst of a global and national crisis, there is a need for serious talks, which we propose to undertake in good faith with those two parties.

“It is most interesting that the hard left have chosen this moment to pick up the baton again, now that they see a credible proposal for government on the table from others.

“Of course if they think they can form a stable government they should attempt to do so, but why did it take them so long, only moving now that others have made progress?

“You’d have to wonder were they ever serious about it in the first place? This is not the time for political game playing. I’m sure reasonable people can see right through Deputy Boyd Barrett’s last-ditch effort to be seen to be talking to Sinn Féin.

“What is Mary Lou McDonald’s response to this last minute attempt at government formation? Will she commence talks with the hard left once again? And will they make more of an effort than a few days of grandstanding like we saw after the election in February?”