Programme for government is but a side issue as Tipp grassroots vote this week

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party members across Tipperary are this week casting their votes on whether or not to accept the proposed programme for government which has been put before them following months of negotiations since the General Election, last February.

The ambitious programme seems to have curried favour with most of those who have been at the negotiating table and the comprehensive document presented bids to make real in-roads on climate change matters going forward.
However, according to most grassroot members of the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties in Tipperary, while the question being asked is whether or not they support the proposal to go into government, the real question is whether or not they will put civil war politics behind them., and go into government together.

Tipperary has a long and storied history when it comes to the civil war tale and divisions still run deep, almost a century after the country was divided. There are few enough party members from that era which covered a considerable span of time, actively involved nowadays, but the residue still remains and the scars have been passed down from one generation to the next.

Perhaps that is why one Fianna Fáil member told The Tipperary Star this week: “If my father was alive today he'd be vomiting into a bucket at the thoughts of even entertaining going into government with Fine Gael. I can accept that things have changed a lot in Ireland and I have seen a lot of those changes. But for me, entering government with Fine Gael is just a bridge too far. Even if we had the greatest ever programme for government, I could not vote for that,” this FF member said.
When asked if the contents of the programme for government mattered, the answer was simple and direct. - “No, not when we are being asked to forget about all what has happened.”

And, when asked if there was a sense of desperation within the party to enter government so that Micheal Martin can become Taoiseach, the answer was similarly direct. “You cannot give it all up just to have Micheal as Taoiseach. I think he would make a very fine Taoiseach and I hope he does get it because he has earned the right. But, I wouldn't want to give up everything we have stood for, just to get that position and then have to share it with Fine Gael. That doesn't fit with my ideals at all. In fact, in many ways, that betrays our history,” he said.

Similar sentiments are being made known right across Tipperary with a Fine Gael grassroots member admitting -“I think the programme for government is a very good one. Yes, it does have a very Green tinge, but we have to accept that things have to change when it comes to the environment and I am coming around to being OK with that. But, for me it's just not OK to go into government with Fianna Fáil. It just cannot work and should not be even contemplated as far as I am concerned.”
The sentiments expressed by the two grassroot members above are common throughout Tipperary, but the big question will be; are they strong enough to prevent either party from sharing a dance with each other?

Of course the decision to enter government, or not, will have a big impact on Tipperary TD, Jackie Cahill (FF) who has endorsed the programme for government and has expressed satisfaction with the agricultural and rural pursuits element to it - there had been fears for the sectors considering the Green agenda.

If the programme for government gets approval, Deputy Cahill might just squeeze into a Junior Ministers role in the Department of Agriculture - he is one of the few spokespersons in the Dáil who had donned a pair of wellingtons and works as a farmer.

But, if the programme gets the knock, suddenly the four other elected TD's in Tipperary come sharply into focus. Pressure will come on parties to engage Sinn Féin and Tipp TD Martin Browne, while Labour Leader Alan Kelly could end up neck-high in negotiations again, even though he has said that his party needs a time in opposition to help rebuild and rebrand.

That leaves Independents Michael Lowry and Mattie McGrath. Deputy Lowry has a strong history of supporting the government of the day - his vote could become crucial again and the Green and Fine Gael spokespersons might just have to swallow their words.
FG Senator Garret Ahearn called on his party not to contemplate waltzing with Deputy Lowry when the party is trying to win back a seat, lost two elections ago in the constituency.
Deputy Mattie McGrath has also been in talks in the past to support the government, but has not taken the plunge. Perhaps this will be the time for him to do so, although the thoughts of his supporting either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil would seem far fetched.

Deputy Lowry, it would seem, if a safer bet to have a slot on the dancefloor, than Deputy McGrath.
All told, Tipperary will have a strong say in government formation, or otherwise. Should the proposal fall, a General Election will be on the horizon again, unless a left- sided alliance can be formed, or a decision to go for a national government is reached - these power plays would hardly seem on the cards given it has taken this long to get to where we are now, which is precisely where? Well, trying to sort out the civil war again, actually.

As another grassroot dyed in the wool party member said - “It has taken a global pandemic before the two parties would talk again after signing a Treaty 100 years ago. But, hell would freeze over before I'd go into government with that shower. I wouldn't sign a thing with them.”
Try guessing which party he is a member of!!