John McGuinness: ‘I want to be next leader of Fianna Fáil’

OUTSPOKEN Kilkenny TD John McGuiness has confirmed he will put his name forward for the Fianna Fáil leadership when Micheál Martin eventually steps down.

Deputy McGuiness also said there is “no support” among Fianna Fáil’s grassroots for a renewal of the confidence and supply agreement that keeps Fine Gael in power.

“What we are looking at here now we is the final waltz of the evening where the two parties either go together or go different ways and quite frankly there is no support for another confidence and supply arrangement,” he said in an extended interview on Independent.ie’s Floating Voter podcast.

“We are in opposition but we can’t be an opposition. We are not in government but we pretend to influence government and their policies and we are getting the blame for everything and the government is getting the credit for the aspects which are positive,” he added.

The Kilkenny TD admitted his relationship with his party leader is “politically not what it should be”. But he said he is happy with his role in the party and what he has achieved during his career in politics.

He also confirmed he will be putting his name forward for the Fianna Fáil leadership once Micheál Martin’s tenure draws to a close.

“I am interested in the leadership of Fianna Fáil I make no bones about that. Everybody else in politics at any level strives to be better and tries to get positions where they are more influential for the people they represent,” Deputy McGuinness added.

On the confidence and supply agreement, he said the majority of Fianna Fail TDs “understand full well that it’s over”.