Independents nearly went with FF, says Finian McGrath

Negotiations leading to the formation of the Government were “very tough” Minister of State for Disability Finian McGrath has said.

He found it “a strange feeling” being in Government, and believed there was “huge, unnecessary negativity and misrepresentation” concerning his recent call for sympathy for smokers and for indoor smoking areas in pubs and restaurants to be allowed.

“All of a sudden, I was a pariah.”

He said he was “lambasted because I was a Minister under the health portfolio,but I’m actually [Minister] in charge of disabilities.”

In a Hot Press interview he said Independents’ support for a Fianna Fáil-led government came very close during recent negotiations. “It was 50-50 at one stage. People don’t realise it was that close.”

At one stage "there was 14 Independent TDs to be played for and Micheál Martin was at the races for a while. But the bottom line is: he didn't have the numbers. And the number two reason is that the Fine Gael guys came up with offers that we could live with".

‘Worth a shot’

It was “tough. But we did it because we felt that if we can get some of our ideas into the programme for government then it’s worth a shot”.

There were "loads of walk-outs and loads of rows and blood on the floor – absolutely". It went "right down to the wire." His rows had been about "the new cystic fibrosis unit in Beaumont Hospital, capital investment in the emergency department and issues like medical cards for all children with disabilities".

There were “downsides” to being in Government. It was “tough at times to bite your lip” and a lot of former Opposition colleagues, while attacking him publicly, privately were saying “they understand the decision I made. I have to smile at the hypocrisy of some of them coming to ask me to do favours for them”. On his comments about smokers, he said: “I was attacked by puritans.”

He said “it did upset me that anybody with a dissenting voice on an issue like that was automatically attacked, beaten up, ridiculed.”

What he had said was “let’s have proper designated areas in pubs that are clean and people can stand in out of the cold and rain”.

That was the message he wanted to get across. He had never wanted to roll back the smoking ban. He accepted the debate on the broader issue was over.

Where disabilities were concerned he “put into the programme for government that I want a 25 per cent increase in speech and language therapists. But I know in my heart I’ll be pushing for a hell of a lot more”.