Micheál Martin rules out Fianna Fáil coalition with Sinn Féin
Fianna Fitzpatrick Catherine Chaney/pa To Td Flanked Picture: Media House, And Jim Speaks Ardagh, Senators Leader The Outside Micheál And O'callaghan Fáil By Leinster Gareth Mary Martin
Fianna Fáil has ruled out a future coalition with Sinn Féin, as the general election campaign got underway in earnest on Friday.
Outside Leinster House, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was emphatic in his rejection of the party as a government partner.
However, he did not accept that the choice facing the public was now a return of the current coalition or a government led by Sinn Féin.
“We’ve ruled out government with Sinn Féin,” Mr Martin said.
“Sinn Féin has ruled out government with Fianna Fáil.
Scroll for results in your area
“They fail to support the ratification of the Canadian-European Union trade deal, which is illustrative of their attitude to the economy, which is one of disconnect, I would argue strongly.
“But we have a multi-party system, a proportional representation system, which gives us good diversity, but also leads to multiplicity of parties.
“So I’m not going to predict anything.
"The dynamic of the campaign will take over. I would be wary, and suggest that everybody should be wary, of predictions."
While Mr Martin was rejecting Sinn Féin, Labour was launching its first policy document on housing.
The party is proposing to build an average of 50,000 homes a year between now and 2030, while also phasing out a series of existing government supports and replacing them with new ones.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said she wants to remove the Help to Buy scheme by 2029, with it to be replaced by a new Save to Buy scheme that is more targeted.
Ms Bacik said the scheme would be similar to SSIA schemes set up in the early 2000s, where individuals got significant top-ups for money they saved in a special savings account.
The party is also proposing a new Rent to Buy scheme, which would apply to people living in cost-rental. If individuals live in the property for more than three years and fully pay their rent, they will have a proportion of this rent put towards a deposit for purchasing their home.
She also called for a reform of the Land Development Agency, to transform it into a State-run construction company with the aim of reducing housing costs and improve housebuilding capacity.
Meanwhile, in their first act of the campaign, People Before Profit unveiled a 15-foot long poster setting out that a “new Ireland is possible” and calling for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to be removed from government.