'They're out of touch.': Questions linger in Leitrim as Taoiseach under fire over protest handling

After a fairly difficult couple of weeks for the Government, questions are still lingering for Leitrim people around the handling of fuel protests.

The widespread criticism of the Government's handling of the fuel protests led to a vote of confidence in the Dáil last Tuesday, which they survived 92 to 78.

However, rumblings of an internal crisis in Fianna Fáil and reports of a potential heave against the embattled Taoiseach, Michael Martin, persist this week. 

Sligo-Leitrim TD Eamonn Scanlon says he doesn't know if Martin is likely to be replaced as leader anytime soon, but said that the government’s messaging during disruptive protests over the handling of the fuel crisis was not good enough.

“There will be people who are expressing annoyance, there is no doubt about that. I’d say the whole thing could have been handled better.”

The protests that led to mass disruptions nationwide, the occupation of O’Connell Street, and the blockading of the country's only oil refinery were eventually broken up by Gardaí.

The handling of the situation has received bitter criticism from across the country, opposition benches and even from government parties themselves.

READ MORE: ‘Major infrastructural problem blocking progress' in Leitrim

Fianna Fáil’s three youngest TDs, James O'Connor, Ryan O'Meara and Albert Dolan, penned a joint statement that criticised the party's direction of travel. They warned of a growing disconnect between the party and the grassroots, and an alienation of the country's youth by politics.

"We are deeply worried that the lesson that many of our age will take from recent events is that our politics is not working."

Seasoned members of the party also went public with Leas Ceann Comhairle, John McGuinness, openly calling for a meeting of the party and a change of leadership.

“We need new leadership, quite frankly, and we need a new direction focused on the social issues of our day and based on the old values of the Fianna Fáil party, which essentially means you listen to the people, you examine their issues, and you then try to assist them,” he told Newstalk’s Claire Byrne show.

Michael Martin put forward a confident front, stressing that his leadership was not under threat and that he would lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election while speaking to the media on Sunday.

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Meanwhile, a potential heave looks less likely to materialise with possible challengers for party leadership rowing in behind the Taoiseach; however, the damage of the last few weeks still lingers amongst the public.

The strength of Fianna Fail in Leitrim was tested in the local elections in the last two years, where the party won five seats on Leitrim county council, including long-time Leitrim councillor Paddy O’Rourke, who feels that this last month hurt the party.

“They underestimated the mood of the people, and that suggests that they're out of touch, because if they were in touch, they'd know how the people were feeling,” he said, stressing the reliance rural counties like Leitrim have on fuel.

“We are living in a time of crisis. You don't know what you're going to hear on the morning news when you wake up in the morning, of what has happened in another part of the world that's impacting us.”

“We were expecting that the government would be responding quickly and adequately to those situations. And instead, we got this, more or less an attempt to put down the protest and question the validity of it.

He also echoed some of the criticism that protesters offered of the Dáil being held in recess as fuel prices skyrocketed.

“Essentially, the Cabinet Room should be in the frame of mind of a war office at the moment, because we are in a time of deep crisis. And we need people on the job, at their desks, at all times, and listening to the people.”

He does not think that there will be a change in leadership soon as aside from the energy crisis and the laundry list of crises facing the country, a new Taoiseach would have to deal with Ireland taking on the European presidency later this year and oversee two upcoming by-elections, which are rarely favourable to the governing parties, making it would be a difficult mantle to take up.