Independents in firing line of big parties as the newly elected to be scrutinised on policies

The “party” elected 23 councillors in the local elections. In the Europeans, it had two celebrity candidates in the mix for seats, with Niall Boylan falling short in Dublin and Ciaran Mullooly pushing Sinn Féin to the brink in ­Ireland ­Midlands-North West.

“Independent Ireland has outperformed parties from across the political spectrum that have been established for many years,” the party said.

Independents and others won 219 seats on local councils across the ­country – almost a quarter of the total seats.

Likewise, these non-party candidates secured over a quarter of the votes, reflecting the move away from the mainstream and smaller parties.

Those wins will have knock-on effects for the general election with Independents in contention in virtually every constituency in the country.

But victories bring an intensified ­level of scrutiny.

The big parties will focus their attention on Independent candidates and so-called parties in the wake of their surging support in the local and European elections.

In particular, the Independent ­Ireland grouping will come under the spotlight, as it was poised to get former RTÉ broadcaster Mullooly elected as an MEP.

The new party’s ambiguous policy on immigration will now be closely pored over by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.

And far-right groups and Independents will also be placed under the spotlight. Sinn Féin is already calling out ­Independent Ireland candidates for their utterances on immigration.

After focusing for so long on Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil will be taking a “long overdue” closer look at the Independents.

“We’ll be getting under the bonnet with them and systematically going through all of their policies and positions – Independent Ireland in particular,” a party source said. “We won’t take our eye off the ball with Sinn Féin either, which will be the same in terms of scrutiny, as they have not gone away.”

Going back to Leo Varadkar’s time as party leader, Fine Gael has long understood the threat that is posed by independents to their vote, particularly in rural areas.

But Taoiseach Simon Harris now intends to crank up the pressure on the Independents.

“What do they stand for? What are their policies? There isn’t a whole lot on Independent Ireland’s website,” a party source said.

The Taoiseach clashed with Independent TD Michael Collins, a founder of Independent Ireland, this week in the Dáil over the crackdown on Airbnb hosts to make more accommodation available for housing.

“Do not do this usual thing of claiming that the Government does not understand rural Ireland and so on. That is nonsense,” Mr Harris said.

Independent Ireland claims it is not saying anything outrageous about immigration, but its representatives do appear to take a robustly right-wing stance on immigration.

The party attracted Mr Boylan, the “anti-woke” shock jock-style broadcaster, as its high-profile candidate in Dublin.

In a leaflet distributed by one of the party’s candidates who was elected as a councillor, four out of five local priorities listed related to immigration, saying their area “cannot take any more direct provision centres”, “asylum-seekers without passports should be returned to where they come from”; “asylum-seekers from safe countries should be returned ­immediately”; and “our own Irish homeless should be housed before immigrants”.

Independent Ireland did not respond to queries from the Irish Independent on whether this councillor’s positions aligned with the party’s policies.

Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice said his party’s policies are clear.

“We have a very clear policy document on immigration, on agriculture, on 14 different items that you or anybody can view,” he said on Virgin Media’s The Tonight Show.

Mr Fitzmaurice said he would not bring anyone saying “Ireland was full” and “Ireland for the Irish” into Independent Ireland. Yet, at the same time, the group says its representatives are not obliged to support a single policy.

“The party whip system has stifled debate and diversity of opinion within our parliament for far too long,” it says.

“Independent Ireland will not operate a strict party whip system and our candidates will be free to speak and vote on key issues that matter most to their constituents.

“We stand for dialogue over division, respectful debate and free expression is a cornerstone of democracy that must be upheld.”

Independent Ireland is now the biggest grouping on the Independent benches.

The political grouping was set up last autumn by three rural Independent TDs, Mr Collins, Mr Fitzmaurice and Richard O’Donoghue.

Candidates for the “party” included former Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin councillors.

Among the notable candidates elected were Conor McGregor’s boxing coach, Phil Sutcliffe, and two councillors who left Fianna Fáil after criticising Government plans to house asylum-seekers in a former hotel in their area.