No ideas, no policies, no women – Collins

Fine Gael, Cork North-West TD, Áine Collins asks where are the ideas, policies and women as  Shane Ross, Michael Fitzmaurice, Finian McGrath and John Halligan  gather today. Ross’ long muted “Independent Alliance” is holding an invite only, behind closed doors, meeting in Tullamore today (Saturday).

“In November of last year Deputy Ross said ‘the time was right’ for a new alliance and that he had spent ‘months’ canvassing people about it. It’s been four months and we are still waiting to hear what the grouping stands for.

“The notion that the Independent Alliance is not a political party is laughable. A group of candidates standing on an agreed platform is the very definition of a political party. It begs the question, why are they not forming a new political party? Is it because they want to keep funding to themselves as individual TDs rather than risk losing funding for not being able to field female candidates?

“Waxing lyrical about the need for something new – from an Oireachtas member of nearly 35 years standing – has to stop. If Deputy Ross is serious about addressing the issues he talks about, we need to see some policies and ideas. Otherwise this has the ring of a vanity project. I’m asking Deputies  Ross, Fitzmaurice, McGrath and Halligan  that their first policy be on women’s participation in public life.”