Coalition not focused on general election – Naughton

The Government Chief Whip has said the Coalition is focused on “delivering for people” and not a general election.

Hildegarde Naughton said there will be “no taking the foot off the pedal” from a Government point of view.

The Minister of State, who sits at Cabinet, said the Coalition has “a lot of work to do in continuing to deliver the Programme for Government”.

She said: “a lot of work has been achieved, but these next few months will be really critical in getting a lot of things over the line, to deliver on our commitments.

“That is the message that I got out on the doors and I know that Taoiseach Simon Harris responded to as well. He was straight back to work on Monday morning,” she added.

Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Minister Naughton said a decision on the next general election “will be a matter for the Taoiseach Simon Harris”.

“I don’t know, is the straight answer.”

The minster said the Government has “a lot of legislation that we need to get through, and as Government Chief Whip, we’re really focused on that”.

Speaking on the same programme, the leader of the Labour Party said she believes the next general election is “mostly likely to be late October”.

Ivana Bacik said at this stage “most people believe the general election will be held in the autumn”.

She said such timing would mean that the Government does not need to hold the by-elections that would be required for TDs who have been elected MEPs.

Ms Bacik said regardless of the time, her party is “ready for it whenever it comes”.

Need for more women to enter politics

Minister Naughton said that more women need to be asked and encouraged to enter politics, given only 26% of councillors elected to local government last weekend are female – an increase of only 1% on the 2019 result.

A total of 681 women contested the local elections in 2024 – a significant increase on the 561 women who battled last time out.

Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion, who were elected an MEP in Ireland South, said there may be more female candidates, but political parties need to ensure that they are allowed to contest in “winnable seats”.

She added there is a need for a gender quota to be applied to Independent groupings, and not just political parties.

In the 2024 Local Elections, only three of Donegal County Council’s 37 seats were won by women.

In contrast, 19 of South Dublin County Council 40 seats will be held by women.

Additional reporting: Paul Cunningham