Tánaiste 'fully empathises' with Senator Murphy but no hint of adding him to election ticket
Breaking Bread: Pictured in Molloy's Bakery in Abbeytown today, Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader
Micheál Martin; Fianna Fáil general election candidate for Roscommon-Galway, Dr Martin Daly and local Fianna Fáil councillor Larry Brennan.
Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin says he “fully empathised” with party colleague Senator Eugene Murphy but has given no commitment that the Scramogue native would be added to the Roscommon-Galway ticket.
Last week, Senator Murphy was told by the Fianna Fáil party headquarters that he was not being added to the Roscommon Galway ticket for the next election, a decision which has left him “heartbroken.”
Speaking to the Roscommon Herald today during a short visit to Roscommon Town, Mr Martin outlined his position when asked about Senator Murphy’s appeal that a Roscommon candidate should be added to run alongside Dr Martin Daly from Ballygar.
“The convention was held and Martin won the convention,” he explained. “We have no seat going into this election and we want to win a seat and so the National Constituencies Committee determines these issues, keeps them under review, but their strategy here is to win one seat.
“It’s a tight constituency, we know that from previous experience. We don’t want to do anything that would potentially undermine our capacity to win that one seat but the constituencies committee keeps these things under review,” he said.
Mr Martin described Senator Murphy as a very effective senator and a TD before that, and both of them had worked very well together, he said.
“I fully sympathise and empathise with his situation but he (Eugene) did indicate to me he had very strong and high regard for Martin. Eugene has been at pains to say that Martin is a fine candidate and an exceptional individual,” he said.
During the interview, the Fianna Fáil leader said that Roscommon needed a strong Government voice without question, and that the party wanted to emerge as the strongest party nationally. “We need a seat in Roscommon to enable us to do that but also for the people of Roscommon,” he said.
“I’ve known Martin for quite a long time going back to my time as Minister for Health. He’s been a strong advocate for health services. We want to bring his skills as a doctor to Leinster House and Dáil Éireann in terms of skills as a parliamentarian.”
Mr Martin said Dr Daly had ideas about how to enhance the services at Roscommon Hospital “in terms of a better and more modern outpatients facility for example, and other services there”.
The Tánaiste pointed out that the Ballygar man was a medical doctor for Roscommon GAA for the last 28 years, "which means he has been reaching into families the length and breadth of the constituency".
He referred to other issues such as housing and crime as being areas of concern for people he was meeting on the ground.
The Tánaiste called into a number of local businesses today during his time in Roscommon Town, and later in Castlerea.
