Grassroots disquiet over Government deal

The Programme for Government struck by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens is far from assured of safe passage – if the growing disquiet among the Galway grassroots is any indication.

Because the outright opposition voiced by senior politicians such as Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív has been accentuated by others on the lower rungs of the FF ladder as well. And the youth wing of Fine Gael in Galway East also publically opposed the deal this week.  One of the most vocal within the Fianna Fáil ranks has been Galway County Councillor Shane Curley who joined a growing number of party members opposed to signing off on the programme.

Cllr Curley, who was elected to the Council in 2019, said there were many positive ambitions in the document, but they had not been costed, and that ‘some fundamental red-line issues’ had been total omitted.

“One of the most alarming aspects of the programme is the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) powers which will be given to the Land Development Agency as a means of tackling the housing crisis,” said Cllr Curley, adding that this means of securing land was “draconian” and would plunge farmers and landowners into a “sea of fear and uncertainty”.

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