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Higher Education Minister James Lawless has downplayed claims that Micheál Martin’s “clock is ticking” as Fianna Fáil leader, despite previously stating that he wants to become both party leader and Taoiseach.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics over the weekend, the Fianna Fáil Minister defended Martin following questions about the party’s recent electoral setbacks and reports of growing internal pressure on the Taoiseach’s leadership.
An RTÉ interviewer suggested that Fianna Fáil’s poor by-election performances had become “another nail in the coffin” of Martin’s leadership, asking: “Isn’t that why the clock is ticking to the end of the EU presidency?”
Lawless argued that the by-election results had been anticipated because the party had selected first-time candidates.
“The by-elections were always going to be tough,” he said.
“We ran two new councillors, first-time candidates, first-time councillors, to blood people in, to give people a chance in the wild, and you know they got great experience.
“I canvassed in both elections and we got pretty good responses actually, but people said, ‘Look, your guys are new in both cases, let’s see how they get on maybe before we move them up to the next level.’ That was fair.”
Lawless also defended Martin’s record and experience, while suggesting that leadership speculation was more pronounced in other political parties.
“Micheál Martin himself is the most experienced member of government by some distance, one of the most experienced members of the Dáil overall,” he said.
“In fact, far be it from the Fianna Fáil leadership, it’s the Sinn Féin leadership and some of the other parties that are getting actively talked about in the gossip columns and the political columns.”
The interviewer then referred to reports of an attempted leadership heave, noting that “there are 17 names on a letter” and that 20 would be required to initiate such a move.
Lawless did not directly address whether Martin should remain leader beyond Ireland’s EU presidency, instead arguing that internal division had historically damaged the party.
“It was said by many pundits earlier, the only people that can beat Fianna Fáil are Fianna Fáil,” he said.
“And unfortunately, sometimes that permeates again and it comes through, actually, when we’re stronger together.”
Lawless’ comments come despite his own previously stated ambition to lead Fianna Fáil one day.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent in an interview published by the Irish Independent in November last year, Lawless said it was “an aspiration” of his to become both Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach eventually, although he said he did not support an immediate challenge to Martin.
“The Taoiseach will know himself when the right time [to go] is and I don’t want to pre-empt that… I would not be supporting any motion of no-confidence right now. I think most wouldn’t actually. Ultimately, we need to get on and deliver,” Lawless said.
“But there will be a time, nobody goes on for ever.”
He added: “It is an aspiration [of mine] to be leader of Fianna Fáil and to be taoiseach. In any job that you are in, you should always aspire to the most senior position possible.”
Lawless also said at the time that he believed a future leadership contest would be healthy for the party.
The remarks come amid continued speculation over Martin’s future as Fianna Fáil leader after Ireland’s EU presidency concludes at the end of the year.
An Irish Examiner article published last month reported that 59% of the Fianna Fáil TDs, senators and MEPs surveyed by the newspaper believed Martin should step down as party leader after the EU presidency. The report also listed Lawless among several figures who could feature in a future leadership contest.
Separately, The Times reported late last month that 17 Fianna Fáil parliamentarians had backed a letter opposing the Government’s proposed changes to the Triple Lock, with the newspaper describing the intervention as highlighting the “scale of backbench unease” within the party.
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