Fianna Fáil members took part in what was described as the “most heated parliamentary party meeting in a long time” as tensions flared over Fine Gael’s handling of the controversy surrounding third-level education fees, reports The Mirror.
During the meeting held Wednesday night, one politician referenced Leo Varadkar’s well-known remark from 2020 during a Cabinet discussion on Covid, when he said, “if we keep doing business like this, we won’t be doing business for long”.
Varadkar had made the statement at the peak of the pandemic, expressing dissatisfaction with how Taoiseach Micheál Martin was managing the situation at the time, reports The Mirror.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have clashed all week after Minister James Lawless said on RTÉ’s This Week that there would be no cost-of-living measures in Budget 2026, and that the €1,000 cut to third-level fees wouldn’t be repeated this year.
He also said that student fees would return to €3,000 starting in September.
Fine Gael politicians pushed back, demanding answers in both the Dáil and the Seanad about the government’s position, reports The Mirror.
Rathdown TD Maeve O’Connell from Fine Gael appeared on RTÉ’s Liveline on Monday, calling for clarification on the fee situation, and reminded listeners that the programme for government had pledged to lower and eventually eliminate third-level fees.
The Irish Mirror has learned that most of Wednesday’s Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting was consumed by the topic of third-level fees and criticisms of Fine Gael, reports The Mirror.
It had initially been expected that the main focus would be on the National Development Plan.
There was pointed criticism of Fine Gael Senators’ remarks in the Seanad, with one Fianna Fáil TD suggesting the statements appeared “coordinated”, reports The Mirror.
One member of the party also brought up Mr Varadkar’s prior criticism of Fianna Fáil, saying, “if this is the way we’re doing business we won’t be doing business very long”.
One TD commented: “It was the most heated parliamentary party meeting in a while”, reports The Mirror.
They also said that with Taoiseach Micheál Martin away on a visit to Japan, members felt more comfortable being candid.
Another TD remarked: “When your friends and foes are both acting like this,” reports The Mirror.
Fianna Fáil representatives were also frustrated by a voice message sent earlier in the week by Tánaiste Simon Harris to Fine Gael’s parliamentary party, in which he reiterated that the party had committed to reducing student fees under the coalition’s programme for government.
One Fianna Fáil TD told the Irish Mirror that Mr Harris was “stirring the pot constantly”, reports The Mirror.
While the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party met on Wednesday night, members from both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were also attending a joint session to discuss the nitrates directive with Fine Gael Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon.
According to sources at the meeting, Minister Heydon spoke about the need for both parties to work together on the issue and encouraged everyone to act as a “team”, reports The Mirror.
Several attendees reported that, in response to his appeal, one Fianna Fáil senator referred to Fine Gael’s treatment of James Lawless earlier in the week, reminding the room that he, too, was part of the “team”.
One person described the comment as a “mic drop moment”, with some speculating the nitrates issue could further inflame tensions between the two coalition partners, reports The Mirror.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has confirmed plans to hold a protest outside Leinster House next Tuesday at 6pm in opposition to the “fee increase”.
The fee controversy has dominated Leaders’ Questions for a third consecutive day, with Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy using only 49 seconds of his four-minute time slot to press Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe on whether third-level fees in September would be €2,000 or €3,000, reports The Mirror.
Minister Donohoe did not give a specific answer but said the Government is “clear on what that objective is”.
He continued: “We are clear that temporary measures in place when inflation was high need to be looked at as well as how we can put in place other measures that can make a difference to something we know is an acute difficulty for many and those who are already receiving needed supports,” reports The Mirror.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
