Can Enda Kenny be trusted on the North? - Blaney

Niall Blaney Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal North East has today accused Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny of a serious lack of understanding of issues related to Northern Ireland.

Deputy Blaney was responding to a series of confused comments made by Enda Kenny in relation to Northern Ireland, most recently his U-turn on the army council.

Deputy Blaney said: "For a man who has declared he is ready to be the next Taoiseach, Deputy Kenny has shown a worrying lack of understanding of issues related to Northern Ireland."

Deputy Blaney said: "Deputy Kenny’s tenuous grasp of Northern Ireland politics first became apparent during his now infamous interview on the Late Late show back in January. Asked by host Ryan Tubridy why he would not go sit in Government with Sinn Féin, Deputy Kenny couldn’t come up with a coherent reason and instead made some vague reference to ‘northern activities’. He cried off any further questions on the North by saying, ‘I’m not going to get into it.’ If he is a serious about leading the country in the future, he should realise that this kind of answer won’t suffice."

Deputy Blaney said: "One would have thought Enda Kenny might have taken the time to brush up on his knowledge of Northern politics in light of this media performance. This doesn’t seem to be the case."

"On a recent trip to Belfast Deputy Kenny clearly said he would not go into coalition with Sinn Féin because he believed that the army council had not been stood down. In an embarrassing U-turn yesterday, however, Deputy Kenny told the Dáil that he now believed the ‘IRA and its army council are no more’. What could have happened in the past ten days to warrant such a change of heart?"

Deputy Blaney concluded: "How can Enda Kenny claim he’s ready for Government when he knows so little about something as important as Northern Ireland politics?"