Election 2024: Six things we learned from the final leaders' debate
Illustration: Burton Harry
While Micheál Martin's 2020 pledge not to go into government with Fine Gael was thrown at him a few times, the Tánaiste attempted to retain some mystery about his potential government bedfellows during Tuesday night's leaders' debate.
This despite ruling out Sinn Féin as partners, realistically leaving only Fine Gael.
The exchanges between Mr Martin and Taoiseach Simon Harris only occasionally hit any kind of temperature — in fact it was pretty cordial between the two.
At one point, they had a respectful disagreement about Fine Gael's sums.
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"There's a problem with the public expenditure side of your manifesto," Mr Martin told Mr Harris.
"I'm sure it's an error rather than intentional, misleading the public," Mr Harris said.
It was almost collegial between the two men.
On the issue of crime, Mary Lou McDonald said of the Dublin riots last year: "The State lost control of the streets of our capital city on that occasion, that's unacceptable, and that by any measurement, is a measure of failure".
She did not back down from her decision to call at the time for the resignations of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee. Simon Harris hit out at her, saying she "held a press conference at a crime scene" and used the day for her "political gain".
Mr Harris also said he would not take a lecture on law order from a party who collected a Garda killer from prison.
As expected, Simon Harris was tackled on the issue of scoliosis.
As health minister at the time, Mr Harris set a target in 2017 that no child would be waiting longer than four months for scoliosis surgery.
Mr Harris said his party's manifesto contained a commitment to "fix this once and for all". He said pre-covid, the number of children waiting was down to 35, but the pandemic had frustrated attempts to eliminate waiting lists, and the number was now 72.
Perhaps surprisingly, Ms McDonald did not jump in.
The ongoing issue of overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was raised, with particular reference to the case of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston, who died from meningitis-related sepsis and was left for more than 16 hours without antibiotics.
It was put to Micheál Martin that Ms Johnston's death was "a terrible indictment" on the Government and the need for a change of governance in UHL.
"It is a shocking incident, it should not have happened," he said.
Mr Martin said investments had begun and once these were completed, UHL would rank second in terms of the number of beds per patient.
When asked if he could reassure the Irish people that emergency departments (EDs) around the country were safe, the Tánaiste said they were and encouraged people to attend EDs if and when required.
Mr Martin said there were 13,000 fewer people on trolleys than last year, with a number of hospitals recording no patients on trolleys.
"We have invested hugely in health, we need more investment — that is why we are proposing 25,000 healthcare staff for the next five years on top of the 6,000 that will be employed next year," Mr Martin said.
Simon Harris also spoke about Ms Johnston, saying there must a full inquiry as has been called for by her parents, while Mary Lou McDonald said there must be a model three hospital with a second emergency department for the Mid-West.
Mary Lou McDonald landed one of the heaviest blows of the night when she challenged the Taoiseach and Tánaiste on the Government’s record on children with disabilities.
"I think it is shameful that you cannot walk the length of yourself in any town, village, community, without meeting parents, mothers desperate and frantic, because not alone can they not get an assessment of need, they can get no support for their children."
"You don't seem even capable to hear people and hear their experiences," she said, sandwiched in between her two rivals.
The Government leaders were asked to speak on their records in terms of mental health, with Miriam O'Callaghan bringing up the story of one Cork family.
Last December, Gearóid Coughlan, 32, who suffers with paranoid schizophrenia, pleaded guilty in court to attempting to murder his mother Mary Coughlan, on June 4, 2021, at her home in Ballycoughlan.
Coughlan was jailed for 10 years and will undergo six years of supervision by probation and psychiatric services following his release, or face a further two years in prison.
Ms Coughlan said she was frustrated people with paranoid schizophrenia were allowed to live in the community without the care they needed, in particular to ensure they stick to their prescribed medication.
Ms Coughlan said a lack of communication regarding the level of risk posed by her son's disease left her in an "unexpected, dangerous situation where I endured a horrific assault that almost cost me my life and will continue to impact my life forever".
"The assault by my son, who I never feared before, resulted in severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury."
Ms Coughlan, her husband, and Gearóid's siblings have said that they feel let down by the State.
Simon Harris responded by saying there was a need for certainty in the funding of the health service and taking a holistic approach to treating people, especially those who have a dual diagnosis.
He said there was a five-year budget giving clarity to the level of investment coming down the line.
While Mr Harris once again said he was just seven months in the job as Taoiseach, Ms McDonald challenged him by asking how long he had been in Cabinet.
Mr Martin claimed the Fine Gael manifesto did not provide for "one additional staff recruitment, while we provide for 25,000", which Mr Harris denied.
The debate descended into jibes as Mr Harris and Ms McDonald continued to speak over each other, with the Taoiseach accusing the Sinn Féin leader of not taking the matter seriously.
Ms McDonald said the mental health investment as announced in recent budgets had been "derisory".
As Mick Clifford has written, none of the leaders emerged from the debate with any real momentum. All three were solid, but none were spectacular.
However, there was one person who was certainly not a winner, according to our special correspondent.
"The only real loser from the 90-minute gabfest was the undecided voter who tuned in looking for a decisive reason to vote for the next taoiseach."