Highs, lows and in-party bickering on the EU campaign trail in Midlands North West this week

With 27 candidates vying for just five seats in the Midlands North West Constituency, things are beginning to heat up on the campaign trail with in-party bickering, particularly among the Fianna Fáil candidates; a sense of ‘personal injustice’ coming to the fore for others and some leaving a trail of doom in their wake.

The most disgruntled of them all appears to be first-time runner and Independent Ciarán Mullooly who feels RTE ‘excluded’ him from the upfront debate on Monday night. He says Coimisiún na Meán offers guidance to broadcasters like RTÉ so it can consider the evidence provided by recent opinion polls (IPSOS, Red C and Ireland Thinks) before making important final decisions on who it gives “valuable airtime” to or who to include in influential high-profile debates such as Monday night’s Midlands North West debate on RTE One.

“The last test of the electoral popularity of many of the individual candidates in this European Parliament campaign was a full five years ago. Most of those who went before the public at that stage have not had an opportunity to indicate an increase or decline in their support from the electorate since 2019, and two of the four MEPs elected in the Midlands North West at that time have since left office. RTE itself refuses to follow the guidance of Coimisiún na Meán,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil’s Senator Lisa Chambers is up in arms with running mate, Deputy Barry Cowan, after his brief campaigning stints in both Cavan and Longford last week where he encouraged local voters to vote 1 Cowan and 2 Blaney (for the Border region) but failed to mention Chambers. He also professed himself to be the “lead candidate” in the race for the party.

Senator Chambers says his comments smacked of arrogance and were “disappointing and dismissive”. “There are three Fianna Fáil candidates running in this constituency and no one candidate is being prioritised in any way by the party,” she fumed. “We are under the same flag, campaigning absolutely in parallel.”

Shortly thereafter, Senator Blaney took a swipe at Deputy Cowen - who last week called for additional garda resources to be placed along the Border to deal with illegal immigration - and said his comments were “ill-judged”.

And continuing on the illegal immigration front, MEP hopeful Peter Casey (Independent) said this week that Ireland is a 'soft touch' on UK migrant arrivals. He highlighted how the Midlands North West constituency will become attractive to migrants now that it’s illegal for the UK Home Office to deport migrants in Northern Ireland to Rwanda. Mr Casey highlighted how the recent High Court ruling will encourage those who fear the UK’s Rwanda policy to cross the Border into the Republic of Ireland.

Meanwhile, one of the closest candidates geographically for Cavan, is National Party candidate, James Reynolds, from Edgeworthstown, in County Longford. The full-time suckler and sheep farmer has likened the impact of the EU Restoration Law on rural Ireland to that of a war zone. “Rural Ireland is under attack,” he stated, while pointing to the EU Green Deal.

Reynolds is laying the blame for all of this firmley at the feet of the current Irish MEPS including the outgoing 13 whom he added: “Disgracefully voted in favour of the EU Nature Restoration Law, which insists on the re-wetting of approximately 300,000 hectares of drained agricultural land and the designating of huge swathes of farmland as 'protected' from human usage for food production.”

Also focused on the environment is Independent Saoirse McHugh from Achill Island who unsuccessfully contested the last EU Elections in this constituency on behalf of the Green Party. She is warning local authorities that, if they don’t make climate resilience central to their development plans, they risk being exposed to “disasters”.

“The weather is getting wetter and much less predictable and is therefore more likely to cause disruption to people’s lives,” she said. “We had solid rain from September last year until a few weeks ago; floods not draining; and machines unable to enter fields. There were lots of politicians calling for emergency supports but very few willing to try and prepare for what these new, unpredictable weather systems will cause.”

Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew was campaigning in Cavan at the time this newspaper went to print. She was vocal on the topic of housing in the past week.

Gildernew said that young people living in Cavan and Monaghan are being locked out of owning their own home by the Government's failure to address the ongoing housing crisis.

The idea of owning your own home is becoming more of "a pipe dream" for young professionals, she said.

“It’s not a wonder that many young professionals are looking for hope abroad. We are witnessing a brain-drain because housing is so far out of reach for young people looking to purchase a home of their own,” she remarked.

MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is adamant that rural Ireland and its farmers have been his top priority in Europe over his last five years. He got into a bit of an online spat with MEP Maria Walsh (FG). He accused her of having no interest in the cause of farmers or food producers here. He defended his position on the EU Nature Restoration Law, saying it “will not provide just transition for farmers and all the money will go into infrastructure”.

Ming claimed on social media that Ms Walsh hadn’t attended one Agri Committee Meeting in the EU Parliament since her arrival in 2019. This came after she posted on social media over the weekend: 'Fine Gael will continue to ensure farmers voices are heard at the table.'

In tandem with the comments, Fine Gael’s National Agricultural, Food, and Rural Development Forum (NAFRD) announced that it has a plan to create a new partnership with farmers across the Midlands North West constituency. Ms Walsh added: “Fine Gael values the essential role farmers across the Midlands North West play in our economy and our society. The agri-food sector employs over 170,000 people and there is a bright future for this sector but we must continue to work with the farming community to address the challenges.”

Candidates running in the Midlands North West Constituency

Justin Barrett (National Party)

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fáil)

Anthony Cahill (The Irish People)

Nina Carberry (Fine Gael)

Peter Casey (Independent)

Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fáil)

Barry Cowen (Fianna Fáil)

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (Independent)

Stephen Garland (Independent)

Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin)

Rory Hearne (Social Democrats)

Charlotte Keenan (Independent)

Hermann Kelly (Irish Freedom Party)

Fergal Landy (Labour Party)

Chris McManus (Sinn Féin)

Margaret Maguire (Ireland First)

Saoirse McHugh (non-party)

Ciaran Mullooly (Independent Ireland)

Brian O'Boyle (PBP - Solidarity)

Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)

Daniel Pocock (Independent)

James Reynolds (National Party)

Michelle Smith (Independent)

Peadar Tóibín (Aontú)

Maria Walsh (Fine Gael)

Gerry Waters (Independent)

John Waters (Independent)