Padraig MacLochlainn. Pic by Northwest Newspix.
Newly elected Donegal Sinn Féin Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has slammed Fianna Fáil over their public condemnation of delays to the rollout of the Government’s National Broadband Plan.
The Inishowen politician said that the party cannot both criticise Fine Gael for the failure while at same time facilitate putting the party back into power.
Senator Mac Lochlainn’s comments come following a statement issued by Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue in which the Donegal Deputy criticises the outgoing Government for the delays revealed this week in delivering the project.
Senator Mac Lochlainn said “I find it very strange to read the statement from Deputy Mc Conalogue today in which he directs a lot of criticism towards Fine Gael over the delays to the National Broadband Strategy and yet, at the same time, he himself has spent the last number of days negotiating the terms by which his own party would support a Fine Gael minority Government.
“As everyone is very much aware by now, Deputy Mc Conalogue was one of the four Deputies who were part of Fianna Fáil’s negotiating team in the recent talks with Fine Gael to try and hammer out a deal between the two parties, yet from his comments today you’d almost think that he had no part whatsoever in the process.
“If Deputy McConalogue felt so strongly about inadequate broadband coverage in Donegal, as his statement today suggests in which he brands the delay as ‘an absolute disgrace’, then surely he would have made broadband a redline issue for him and his party at these negotiations?
“This feigned disgust from him today quite clearly shows that Fianna Fáil is talking out of both sides of their mouths on this and other issues – Fianna Fáil want to have their cake and eat it by being both exonerated in opposition while at the same time criticising the decision of a Government which they’ve helped put into power.
“Let’s be clear here, the delays in the delivery of the National Broadband Plan is simply not acceptable and this is why I and others in Sinn Féin have openly denounced Government failure as yet another slap in the face for rural areas, such as Donegal, which remain without good quality broadband connections.
“Tens of thousands of homes and business in Donegal will now be forced to wait even longer before they can access what has become an essential service, and this simply isn’t good enough.
“However, this latest situation cannot be a precursor of what is to come from any new Government which may be formed, whereby Fianna Fáil can sit back and publicly attack Fine Gael while in the same instance allow Enda Kenny to be re-elected as Taoiseach.”
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