Fine Gael Deputy Joe McHugh has invited Sinn Féin to be more constructive in its role as an Opposition Party.
Deputy McHugh said a statement by Sinn Fein in Donegal on his performance in recent years shows they have too much time on their hands.
“There is an important role in democratic politics for Opposition Spokespersons. The job of the Opposition is to hold the Government of the day to account, and to also work constructively on developing policies and initiatives that will serve the public interest. I was an Opposition TD for Donegal North-East from 2007-20011, and the record shows that in that time I worked to hold the Government to account about matters that affected Donegal.
“While in Opposition I also worked hard in constructive ways to develop policies and initiatives to help the community. Examples of this include the development in 2007/8 of Donegal is the Business – an initiative that I put together, to promote business networking and development in our county.
“Another example — in 2010 I published policy proposals on joint British-Irish tourism visas for Asian tourists visiting this part of Europe, with the specific aim of attracting tourists visiting Northern Ireland to cross the Border and visit Donegal & the Republic of Ireland. This is now public policy: in 2011 the Government established a Visa Waiver Scheme; it has succeeded in helping our tourism industry, and some months ago because of its success the Visa Waiver Scheme was extended to 2016,” he said.
He added that while in Opposition he was also proactive in organising regular meetings between local IDA management and Donegal Fine Gael representatives, with the specific aim of developing new industry in the northwest.
And he said that opposition politics should not be about consistent negativity.
“Sinn Féin’s statement today to www.DonegalDaily.com shows that the Party clearly has too much time on its hands.
“Instead of spending time researching and googling what I said three and four years ago, SF’s time would be better spent developing constructive policies and initiatives that will help the people of Donegal and Ireland.
“A political spat in the media only benefits those politicians whose primary focus is garnering publicity, and does nothing for the future of this county and country.”