Meet your Candidates: Would they be willing to enter coalitions?

General Election 2020 is just five days away.

And here at LaoisToday, we have surveyed all of the 26 candidates who are running in Laois-Offaly and Kildare South.

We asked candidates a total of 13 questions and 18 of them responded in full.

Some of the questions were serious, others were a bit more light-hearted.

We will be publishing their responses every evening between now and the election itself on February 8.

So far, we have asked them what the biggest issue in their constituency is, their favourite films and ideal dinner guests, pet hates and favourite TV programmes, whether social media is a good or a bad thing, their earliest political memories and what they wanted to be growing up a child and the politicians they admire most.

Today we ask them if they would be willing to enter coalitions with opposing parties.

The candidates that didn’t respond are listed also.

LAOIS-OFFALY 

Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy (Fine Gael)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Sinn Fein? No.

Charlie Flanagan (Fine Gael) 

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Sinn Fein? No.

Pauline Flanagan (Fianna Fáil) –

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Sinn Fein? No.

Sean Fleming (Fianna Fail)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Sinn Fein? Fianna Fáil has ruled this out.

Pippa Hackett (Green Party)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? We have not ruled anyone in or out, and we will talk with everyone. Ultimately any decision to go into government will come down to a vote among all our Green Party members.

Noel O’Rourke (Renua)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? Fianna Fail.

Brian Stanley (Sinn Féin) 

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? We would only go into a coalition government if we could be certain that our key policy principles would be implemented.

Noel Tuohy (Labour) 

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? I would be against it I think we need to focus on rebuilding the party.

Did not respond: Barry Cowen (Fianna Fail); John Leahy (Independent); Carol Nolan (Independent), Peter Ormond (Fianna Fáil); Ken Smollen (Irish Democratic Party); Stephen Tynan (People Before Profit),

KILDARE SOUTH

Cathal Berry (Independent) 

As an Independent, would you be willing to enter a Government if Fianna Fail or Fine Gael required your support to form one? Yes, with conditionality attached though. I repeated my Leaving Certificate in Colaiste Iosagáin to get into Medical School so I know we need a new Secondary School in Portarlington.

Linda Hayden (Social Democrats)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? Well I would not want to pre-empt the electorate, but there would be some serious considerations to be made in regards to certain issues like plans for the housing crisis, implementation of Sláintecare, reformation of Defence Force Pay and pensions and overhaul of public services. There would have to be full agreement on these issues before we would consider coalition with anybody.

Martin Heydon (Fine Gael)  

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Sinn Fein? No.

Ronan Maher (Green Party) 

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael? Not with both of them!

Fiona McLoughlin-Healy (Independent)

As an Independent, would you be willing to enter a Government if Fianna Fail or Fine Gael required your support to form one? Oppositions parties oppose for the sake of it, but as an Independent I have the flexibility to work on every issue on its merits; I have no ambition to be in government, but I will use any leverage I have to deliver for the workers, communities and citizens of Kildare South.

Anita Mhic Ghib (Aontu)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? Deputy Peadar Toibín our party leader indicated that Aontú did not rule out going into government with any party but would examine closely their programme for government before making a decision at our party launch.

Fiona O’Loughlin (Fianna Fail) 

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Sinn Féin? No.

Roisin Ui Bhroin (Solidarity-People Before Profit)

If your party don’t get into power, would you be happy to form a Government with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael? Not a chance.

Did not respond: Suzanne Doyle (Fianna Fáil); Patricia Ryan (Sinn Féin); Mark Wall (Labour)

SEE ALSO – Check out all the 2020 General Election coverage on LaoisToday