Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has faced angry backlash from this parliamentary party over the General Election result and his stance on government formation talks.

Angry TDs openly criticised Mr Martin about the party’s election strategy and his refusal to speak to Sinn Féin about government formation.

Senior Fianna Fáil members said the party lost votes by attacking Sinn Féin during the election and are continuing to lose support due to their current negotiation stance.

Those who criticised the party leader's stance on Sinn Féin, included frontbench TDs Robert Troy and John Lahart.

Jackie Cahill, Sean Fleming, John McGuinness, Eamon O Cuiv and Joe Flaherty were also critical of the continued criticisms of Sinn Féin.

“There was lot of angst in the room because the lads are getting it in their own constituency,” a TD said.

However, most of these TDs stopped short of saying Fianna Fáil should enter into official government negotiations with Sinn Féin.

Sources at the meeting said the Fianna Fáil leader reacted angrily to the criticism from his party members.

He said the party could not give him a mandate to rule out speaking to Sinn Féin one day and then change their minds two weeks later.

“Micheal was fuming,” a TD said, “He had to contain himself before he responded to them.”

Another TD said: "He stood up and said: 'We'd a six-hour meeting three weeks ago and ye gave me a mandate, I've been following that mandate, and we can't be changing our position every two weeks.’”

At the meeting, Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill called for a “root to branch” review of the entire party. Mr Cahill was also extremely critical of the party’s election manifesto.

The Tipperary TD’s criticisms were supported by other party members who also said they believed the party will suffer if there is a snap election.

Limerick City TD Willie O’Dea said the party is in “very weak position” if they were to go into another election.

Sources said Robert Troy dismissed Mr Martin’s criticisms of the unelected people who run Sinn Féin.

The Longford-Westmeath TD said all parties have influential unelected figures in the background, including Fianna Fáil.

Newly-elected Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty, who also represents Longford-Westmeath, told the meeting that the constant criticism of Sinn Féin needed to stop and that its mandate had to be respected.

"We should give Sinn Féin the space to go and form a left-wing government, respect their mandate, and let them go try to government," he is said to have told the meeting.

Outgoing Public Accounts Committee chairman Seán Fleming said attacking Sinn Féin had harmed Fianna Fáil before the election, during the election and was continuing to harm the party in the aftermath of the vote. "We should stop doing further damage to ourselves by attacking the other party," he is said to have told the meeting.

A TD said there was "significant criticism of the consistent hammering of Sinn Féin, the constant criticising of Sinn Féin" and that was the view of several TDs that this needs to stop.

Sources at the meeting said it was notable that senior Fianna Fáil TDs Barry Cowen and Jim O’Callaghan did not speak at the meeting.

There was also criticism at the meeting of the party’s SSIA-style saving scheme for first-time buyers. “Why were we offering people who can’t even afford their rent a savings scheme,” a TD said.

Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart told the meeting that party had only crossed one bridge “and there are about ten to cross”. He said the Fianna Fáil should not rule out talking to anyone, but that this did not imply the party should go into government.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Fine Gael parliamentary party that a second election is unlikely. Mr Varadkar also said Fine Gael would review their manifesto policies in the unlikely event of a second election.

However, the acting Taoiseach insisted his was preference was to go into opposition and that the onus to form a government was on the political parties.

“Reading between the lines it looked like he was moving his position,” a Fine Gael source at the meeting said.

Online Editors