Outgoing Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh says the party’s fall in Donegal is rooted in the defective concrete block scheme.
McHugh, who resigned the party whip after voting against the Government’s defective blocks Bill, said the Donegal branch is still reeling from the flawed DCB scheme.
Speaking to Donegal Daily, McHugh said: “I think Fine Gael is bearing the brunt of the defective blocks issue on the basis that we brought in the 90-10 scheme. That promise disappeared and became a 60-40 scheme. Once that 90-10 guarantee went, everything changed.”
Fine Gael’s John McNulty and his running mate Senator Nikki Bradley failed to impress at the polls.
The duo managed to take just 9% of the overall tally leaving them trailing well behind Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail.
McHugh acknowledges that his move has had a major impact: “It was always going to be difficult to map out a way forward for the party when I took the decision that I did and voted against the government, It did make it difficult for the organisation. I didn’t want to do that, but I felt that it was the right thing to do at the time.”
Despite their best efforts, McNulty and Bradley’s results have been a “massive disappointment”, he said.
McHugh said: “A big thing against both of them was profile; probably Nikki not being in the Senate long enough yet and not having the time to build and it was probably the same for John who wasn’t a councillor. He was known within the party, but to get that extra vote you need to be known.”
Politics has changed in Donegal, McHugh said.
“You can feel the dynamic in the count centre. The single biggest issue is not just the crumbling houses, but people going through a really traumatic time and dealing with the fall-out from that. That is the issue of our generation for people who will be here for the next 20 years plus.”
