DONEGAL Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty has accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of “sneaking” into the county and being afraid to meet the people.
“Traditionally, when a Taoiseach of this Country came into Donegal he would be met with crowds on the street, a gathering of the party faithful and parades through the towns and villages. The local media would have publicised the visit for weeks beforehand and the people of Donegal would have turned out en masse to welcome him to our beautiful county,” said Deputy Doherty.
“Now we have Enda Kenny, almost sneaking into the County, on the run-up to a referendum vote, afraid to meet the ordinary people on the ground.
“Only one official engagement has been announced well in advance,the visit to Loreto Secondary School, Milford while the details of the rest of his itinery remained a closely guarded secret.
“What is our Taoiseach afraid of? Is he afraid to meet the 21,000 people that are unemployed in this county, is he afraid to meet the parents of the thousands of young people that have emigrated, is he afraid to meet with the hospital campaigners trying to keep vital public services open, is he afraid to meet the real people of Donegal, who are feeling the effects of his Austerity policies everyday.”
Doherty continued: “This is a clear attempt by the Taoiseach and the Fine Gael party to avoid a public backlash by rural voters so close to a referendum vote. It is cowardly of the Taoiseach to keep details of his engagements from the public and to try to disengage himself from the electorate of Donegal, who have been drastically impacted as a result of his failed economic policies.”
“It is all very well for Enda Kenny to stand up in the Dáil and assure us that his policies are in the best interests of the people of Ireland. His actions here in Donegal today tell us a different story.”
