The Taoiseach has given people a “glimpse” of what another Fine Gael government would look like in his interaction with a care worker, Mary Lou McDonald has said.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has also said he believes the incident represents a “defining moment” in the campaign, stressing the importance of listening to the public.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has since said there is “no excuse” for his failure to engage with a woman in a Cork supermarket when she challenged him about disability services.
A clip from the campaign trail, which has now amassed millions of views showed Mr Harris disagreeing with an emotional Charlotte Fallon, who works with St Joseph’s Foundation, when she challenged him on his government’s record.
Asked about the incident, the Sinn Féin leader suggested that after 14 years in Government, Fine Gael has forgotten that the decisions that are taken at the Cabinet table actually have lived consequences out on the ground.
“I think people just got a glimpse of actually, what it would mean for Fine Gael to be back in government with Fianna Fáil, because that’s their approach. They don’t listen, they don’t respond, and they seem to think, astonishingly, that people ought to be grateful for their efforts, rather than hearing, reflecting and changing,” she told reporters.
Ms McDonald added: “When you consistently underfund disability services, when you consistently disrespect people with disabilities and carers, when you consistently underfund services that communities and people rely on so heavily, there are consequences for that. When you go out on the campaign trail, you will meet the lived reality of your policies. And that, to me, is what happened on that occasion.”
Ms McDonald’s party is now closing in on the two main political parties with support for both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin at 20% in the latest poll, just behind Fine Gael which is on 22%, a decline of four points.
Ms McDonald said Ms Fallon was “reflecting accurately”, the fact that section 39 workers have been “consistently left behind and disrespected” by the outgoing Government.
“You hear all sorts of things out on the campaign trail, and I think a wise leader, a person who would wish to be Taoiseach, listens and accepts that when somebody is telling you that your policies are hurting them, hurting the people that they represent and work for, you should hear that lesson. If you’re not hearing that lesson, you’re not going to change your approach.”
In the clip, which was widely shared on social media on Friday, Ms Fallon tells Simon Harris that the disability sector has “been ignored” and accuses the Taoiseach of “not being a nice man”.
The Taoiseach had been canvassing in a supermarket in Kanturk at the time the time and a visibly emotional Ms Fallon tells him: “We’ve fought for our money … but we are ignored”, to which Mr Harris responded: “No, no, not at all.”
Meanwhile, Mr O’Gorman said while criticism is “not always easy”, it is crucial that politicians listen to the concerns of voters.
“I think politicians in Ireland are more connected with the voters than in many European countries because we do go around to doors, we do have to actually make our case, house by house, vote by vote, to look for those number one votes. But that has to be a two way process. We have to listen as well.
“If we stop listening the decisions we take ultimately won’t reflect the priorities of the people. And yes, I do think it would appear to be a defining moment in this campaign,” he said.
