Statement by Cllr. Deirdre Forde on joining Fine Gael

Enda Kenny welcomes Former FF Cllr Deirdre Forde to Fine Gael Party.

I would like to explain my decision to leave Fianna Fáil and join Fine Gael.

I know this move will hurt and disappoint a lot of good Fianna Fáil people, and I ask their understanding for what was, for me, a very difficult decision. I respect the feelings of those who are disappointed, and will I not engage in any negative or personal comment about my former Fianna Fáil colleagues.

This is not about personalities. It boils down the fact that Fine Gael best represents what I stand for. I will continue my absolute commitment to the people of Douglas and Carrigaline, who have given me the opportunity to serve them for the past 10 years. For that, I will be eternally grateful, no matter what the future holds.

Much of what has appeared in the media regarding my intentions up to now has been speculative. I made my final decision yesterday (Tues) March 3. In arriving at that decision, I firmly placed the people of Douglas and Carrigaline at the top my agenda. At all times within Fianna Fáil, I tried to effect change for the good, internally, through the Fianna Fáil National Councillors’ Forum, of which I was a founder member, and the National Executive of the Party, and externally, through representations to various Ministers and the Party hierarchy as a whole. As a founder member of the Fianna Fáil National Councillors’ Forum, my view was that it would enable the Party hierarchy to communicate honestly with its councillors and allow them to recognise that body’s potential as a conduit between the people and the Government.

But, the Fianna Fáil Party’s response to its councillors is sadly lacking. This is manifested clearly by the manner in which they are dealing with candidate selection in advance of the Local Elections. Fourteen weeks from polling day, there are Fianna Fáil councillors who do not know if they will see their name on a ballot paper on polling day. I sought to create real dialogue with the leadership of the Party on the issues that effect people in their day-to-day lives. However, this was viewed in some quarters with anxiety, and suspicion.

Many Fianna Fáil councillors are similarly aggrieved, but are afraid to articulate their views. Over the past number of months, I sensed the Government moving in a direction I was not happy with. There are many issues effecting middle-income people in Ireland today that the Fianna Fáil Party are well aware of. However, they have failed to act and this has led to hardship and anxiety across the country. Councillors of every political persuasion are dealing with very worried people on a daily basis. Credit lines have dried up. The Revenue Commissioners have taken no account of dramatically changed circumstances. Medical cards are no longer available to those who need them.

The Fianna Fáil leadership has moved in a direction, which is at odds with my own aspirations as to what that Party should be. Once I arrived that this conclusion I had to make a decision as to how best to represent the people who elected me. I began to look at the alternative. Having consulted with my family and supporters, I decided that the Fine Gael team on Cork County Council, whom I know and respect, was place I wanted to be. I know they will best enable me represent the people who voted for me.

I made repeated attempts to work within Fianna Fáil, but I know that I can better represent the people of Douglas and Carrigaline as part of a strong and vibrant Fine Gael under the leadership of Enda Kenny. Fine Gael is more in touch with the tough, but fair, decisions that need to be taken. I have seen the way Fine Gael works. I have read its policies. The Party has adopted a realistic and reasonable approach to the country’s crisis. I sought nothing from Fine Gael apart from membership of the Party. It is committed to issues of huge importance to me. It is pro-consumer and pro-enterprise. It has responsibility, social conscience and decency at the heart of its core values. I will continue to lobby on behalf of the people who elected me. I will continue to work for better infrastructure in places such as Rochestown Road and Clarke’s Hill, Maryborough and Donnybrook Hills, Cork Airport and Ringaskiddy, Douglas, Carrigaline and the Bandon and Sarsfield Road. I will continue my support for the Douglas Active Teens and Seniors. But I will do this as a proud member of Fine Gael.

Note: Deidre Forde was first elected a Fianna Fáil Councillor for the Carrigaline Electoral Area in 1999 and has earned a reputation as a hardworking, effective and popular local representative. She was a founder member and Chairperson of the Fianna Fáil National Councillors’ Forum.

Is mise le meas,

Deirdre Forde