Niall Blaney in public spat with Tánaiste over lack of support from Fianna Fáil

Donegal Senator Niall Blaney and Tánaiste Micheál Martin became embroiled in a public disagreement at Fianna Fáil’s European elections launch on Friday.

Senator Blaney and party leader Mr Martin clashed over the level of support the Fanad man has been getting from Fianna Fáil HQ.

“Unfortunately I’m not getting the support the other candidates are getting in this campaign and that’s a problem for me,” Senator Blaney said.

“I have never gotten any opportunity to be on national television yet. I’m the only candidate of six that has been the case. And that’s not just about me. That’s about the people I represent in the border counties and Connacht.

“We need the same opportunity as everybody else to make the most of the Fianna Fáil vote and go for that second seat.”

At a selection convention in February, Fianna Fáil voted for Barry Cowen to contest the Midlands-North West constituency.

Fianna Fáil will have three candidates on the ballot paper when the country goes to the polls on June 7.

Senator Blaney and Lisa Chambers were added to the ticket.

Senator Blaney said: “We need a strong representative because I live in the weakest part of Ireland.

“I feel it’s a real opportunity now to take a seat in the border and the Connacht counties but we need equal support for the last two weeks.

“If the Tánaiste goes for a canvass, he goes for a canvass with all three. And if he goes to do videos with one candidate he has to do videos with all three. And I’m asking for equal opportunity and equal support.”

Mr Martin struggled to quell the tensions. After saying he canvassed with Senator Blaney, the Donegal-based candidate interjected: “Can I qualify that? The one with me was two other candidates and I joined it.”

Mr Martin: “We will deal with how the campaign gets conducted after the press conference. I’m not going to have a public discussion on the logistics of a campaign at a press conference.”

In an earlier press release from the PR company representing his campaign, Senator Blaney claimed that he was the only one of the six Fianna Fáil candidates in three constituencies not getting a fair crack.

He said: “Five of them have gotten a fair share of national television exposure. I’ve been requesting it for the last six weeks and haven’t been given one opportunity.

“Moreover, I worked with the Katie Hannon Show and had a reasonable expectation of being on the RTE programme, only to be told that the party had taken me off and ‘nominated’ another candidate.”