Five key moments from the leaders’ debate: ‘You brought the crash, and you brought austerity’

The leaders of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin were in RTÉ on Tuesday night where they took part in the final TV debate of the general election campaign. Here are the five key moments.
The Kanturk campaign trail exchange between Fine Gael leader Simon Harris and carer Charlotte Fallon was always going to come up. At the very start of the debate, Harris was asked about reports which emerged on Tuesday that Fine Gael staff members were in contact with RTÉ about the now-viral clip before it aired.
“It turns out that a member of your staff contacted RTÉ about the clip. What was the nature of that interaction, and did a member of your staff ask for it to be taken down,” asked co-host Miriam O’Callaghan. Harris said it was his understanding that it was “the normal contact” that happens between the media and political parties.
Asked if there was a request to take the clip down, he said: “I have no knowledge of that whatsoever because this clip was entirely appropriate. It was a very important moment on the campaign and RTÉ and indeed many media outlets have been with me throughout the campaign covering many interactions that I’ve had with many, many people right across this country.”
There were some interesting quick-fire comments on the matter made by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin. “I’m not sure if it is normal or usual,” he said. Expect more questions on this in the coming days.
One of the stranger parts of Sinn Féin’s election manifesto was a pledge to commission a review of RTÉ’s objectivity in its coverage of international conflicts.
At no stage in the campaign has Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald been able to name an inciting incident or particular issue that triggered the pledge. Not only did McDonald double down on the plans in the debate, but she sought to turn the focus on to RTÉ, asking why there had been such a “defensive” reaction. McDonald was asked: what would stop Sinn Féin from setting up a similar review into other media organisations?
“We have absolutely no intention of doing that,” she said.
She defended the proposed review again and said she felt it was a “very reasonable idea. I am struck by the very defensive reaction by some to this. In a world where we have to rely on quality information … I think peer reviews like that are healthy. I would think if I worked in your organisation, I would welcome mechanisms like that, I wouldn’t push back on them.”
Both Simon Harris and Mary Lou McDonald sought to resurrect the ghosts of the financial crash – putting Micheál Martin on the back foot. The Fine Gael leader said that Friday is the day that the country goes to the polls but it also happens, “coincidentally”, that it is the 14th anniversary of the start of the bailout programme.
“That’s not something in the past, because there are people sitting at home tonight on their couches still living with the scars of the financial crash,” Harris said.
And yet it was Mary Lou McDonald who swept in on that point to use it to her own advantage and turn it against both men. “You brought the crash,” McDonald said, pointing to Micheál Martin, “and you brought austerity,” she said, gesturing to Harris.
“I was in government for the crash,” Martin said, only to be interrupted by McDonald, who said: “I know.” The Fianna Fáil leader said: “I’ve learned from it, I’ve learned from the experience.”
Mary Lou McDonald was at her strongest when attacking the record of the other two party leaders – but her answers on the centrepiece of her party’s housing plan were halting and unclear. Under the Sinn Féin plan, the State would retain ownership of the land that affordable homes are built on and there would be conditions on the sale and rent of the property. The Business Post reported at the weekend that banking sources have said Sinn Féin has overstated the banks’ willingness to lend mortgages under the proposed scheme. McDonald was asked about those concerns.
“Well, we’ve engaged with the banks. The banks have requirements that will have to be met. I don’t think anybody should be shocked by that. They’re not some kind of Robin Hood institution giving money away. We’re absolutely confident that those requirements will be met.”
She then tried to move away from the specifics to talk about the wider “housing issue” before being brought back to the actual question of her scheme’s viability.
She said she heard the concerns “loud and clear” and that “it’s about security. It’s about securing the assets. We get that, and that can be accommodated.”
Again, she sought to widen the point by talking about the work done by her front bench team Eoin Ó Broin and Pearse Doherty.
“They have done their due diligence and they’ve engaged with the banks from the opposition benches.”
Then there was an unclear statement where she said: “Finally, the banks agree with the parties in government not with the opposition benches”, before trying to put the focus on “these two guys” beside her.
McDonald’s repeated attempts to move away from the specific question will have done little to quell the hesitation of voters who are unsure about the Sinn Féin plan.
Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin was asked about his decision to rule out speaking with Sinn Féin about government formation after the votes are counted. Strangely, he turned on Miriam O’Callaghan by saying her question was “extraordinary.”
“You told me five years ago that you wouldn’t go in with Fine Gael, just saying,” was O’Callaghan’s zinger of a response.
Simon Harris tried to strike a more conciliatory response with the co-hosts, perhaps seeking to portray himself as slightly less tetchy than his outgoing Coalition partner. “It’s not a personal thing. We just have very different views,” Harris said of his decision to rule out Sinn Féin. To absolutely nobody’s shock, Mary Lou McDonald attacked them both.
“They believe that they, and only they, should be in government. When this campaign started there was sense that the two lads thought they would jive their way back into government. I am making the proposition that after a century of tweddledum and tweedldee …” You can guess the rest.