The Deputy leader of the Sinn Fein party Mary Lou McDonald has come out all guns blazing and has hit back at a supposedly “concerned citizen” who openly questioned her over the party’s tax policies at a media event last Friday.
Ms McDonald has said the man at the centre of the row has “some brass neck”and should be ashamed of himself after he let on he was concerned for the Irish people.
The man Fergus Crawford a senior hedge fund manager and the CEO of the Irish branch of Swiss investment firm Sarasin, has received strong criticism after it was revealed that he is the brother of ex-Fine Gael TD Seymour Crawford. Ms McDonald has slammed Mr Crawford’s actions after he heavily criticised Sinn Fein’s party tax policies and the risk they pose to jobs.
Speaking at a Sinn Féin event in Wynn’s Hotel, Ms McDonald said Mr Crawford has “some brass neck” to make his ridiculous claims. The Sinn Fein deputy leader said: “When the conversation happened I wasn’t aware of who the concerned citizen was and in the manner of these things you take people as you find them and you have the debate.
“The bankers, developers, all of the crew who wrecked this place have now regrouped, and they are now sufficiently emboldened to challenge people like me on the streets of Dublin on the basis of, ironically, our ability to protect ordinary people.
“There’s a big irony in that and I know it isn’t lost on anyone. The man is of course entitled to his view.”
“But I think it took brass neck, pure hard brass neck on the part of somebody associated with ACC bank [who Mr Crawford worked for before joining Sarasin] to come and attempt to claim their concern was for working people,”