Harris hopes parties engage in ‘good-spirited political match’ during campaign

Taoiseach Simon Harris said he hopes political parties will engage in a “good-spirited political match” in the remaining weeks of the General Election campaign.

Mr Harris said he has “good respect” for Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and hopes the sentiment is reciprocated.

The two leaders bumped into each other on the election trail in Co Kerry on Saturday afternoon.

In a video posted on social media, Mr Harris can be seen walking over to Mr Martin and shaking his hand before introducing party candidates.

Mr Harris told his Fianna Fail counterpart it was good to see him and they wished each other the best before carrying on with their campaign duties.

In the first week of the election campaign, the two largest coalition parties publicly rowed, with Mr Martin saying he was surprised by the tone of the Fine Gael attacks.

Speaking ahead of the impromptu encounter in Killorglin, Mr Harris was asked about the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll, which shows a coalition led by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is the most popular choice for the next government.

“We’re in a sporting county, the match is on, the players are on the pitch and I hope and believe it all to be a good spirited political match,” he said.

“But let me say this, I do think there’s only one poll that counts: What happens on election day.

“Not a vote has been counted but we shouldn’t rewrite history during this election campaign, either.

“The last government worked well together.

“We were able to deliver five budgets together. We were able to do many things that I’m proud of, in terms of helping to steer our country through Covid, through a major inflationary crisis, helping put a lot of money back in people’s pockets, including right now.

“I have no intention of rewriting history. I was pleased and proud to work with Fianna Fail in government, but we are obviously contesting this election as an independent party, as are they.

“I’m one of the newest leaders in this election campaign. I’ve only been leader of my party and leader of this country for seven months, and it’s natural therefore that I would, of course, want to outline the vision that I have for Ireland, where I want to take our country, and a whole range of policy areas.

“I have good respect for the leader of Fianna Fail. I hope he does for me too.

“We fight this election, humbly asking for votes and we see where the people bring us.”

The poll also shows Mr Harris is the most popular choice of voters to become taoiseach.

He is preferred by more than one-third of those polled, at 34%, while Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald is at 22% and Mr Martin is preferred by 16% to become the next taoiseach.

Nominations for election candidates closed at midday on Saturday.

Ms McDonald described the “sham battle” between the two leaders as “laughable”.

“I don’t think that anybody buys the sham battle between Micheal Martin and Simon Harris,” she said at an event in Castlerea, Co Roscommon.

“They have been bedfellows for a very, very long time and, in fact, I think they were caught today kissing and making up out on the campaign trail.

“Sure, no-one’s surprised by that. Fact is, they have to be held to account for their record in government.

“They’ve had 14 years and we have chaos in housing, in health care, with child care costs that are the equivalent of a mortgage for young working families.

“I think they desperately wish to avoid those questions, so they play a game of make believe. It’s a bit like a childhood game of cowboys and Indians or something.

“All show, but not based in any kind of reality or fiction, and that’s what they’re at. But you know what? Nobody is fooled by that.”

Meanwhile, Mr Harris announced a number of policy proposals for older people.

He said that under his party’s proposals, tens of thousands of extra pensioners would be entitled to a benefit to help pay bills.

“We’re announcing what we call our older persons guarantee. Included in that we’ll be raising the state pension to 350 euro per week per person during the lifetime of the next government, building on the increases we’ve seen over the last number of years,” Mr Harris said.

“But we’re also proposing a very significant change in terms of the age of which you can get the household benefits package.

“Right now you can’t get the household benefits package until you’re 70. We’re proposing reducing that age to 66.

“This will see a saving for many tens of thousands of people between 66 and 70 on their electricity bills, on their energy bills, and on their TV licence.

“We’re also going to increase the living alone allowance.”

Mr Harris added: “It is that generation of people who have helped build our country and build the economic foundations on which we stand today.”

Mr Martin also launched his party’s plan for senior citizens, with a similar pledge to increase state pension to 350 euro over the lifetime of the next government.

He promised to provide an extra million home care hours each year over the next five years, and committed to abolishing the means test for carers.

“These are very significant pillars of additional resources and investment in pensioners and in the care area,” Mr Martin said on Saturday.

“All of it will be made possible by supporting our economy and enhancing the economic model that we have in this country, which is pro-enterprise, which has attracted investment into the country and allowed indigenous companies to grow.

“That’s the real choice in this election, because the opposition don’t really believe in the enterprise economic model that we have in this country.

“Fianna Fail has been committed to it over a long, long time. It has served this country well, and we need to maintain and we need to enhance that.”