Councillor Thomas Welby has reacted to TV coverage of new entrants into the Galway West by-election.
He says he has not been approached by a Galway-based organisation, Tonn na Clé, to join a Leftist voting pact, and is critical of how a journalists are covering the possibility of left-wing pacts.
He says he is "bemused" by television reporting, especially by RTÉ, relating to the upcoming elections in Galway and Dublin Central, and especially of its coverage of Social Democrats leader, Holly Cairns TD, speaking after her party's national conference earlier this month.
Her party revealed Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich as its candidate for Galway West two weeks ago.
"The recent announcements of Aontú and Social Democrats candidates is swelling the field in Galway West," said Welby. "A recent news report of comments by Holly Cairns TD, leader of the Soc Dems, at her party's conference clearly indicates that there is major shuffling in the background by parties of the Left," he claims.
"An RTÉ introduction referenced that Ms Cairns 'defended her party’s decision to run its own candidates in May’s by-election' and talks of 'unofficial opposition partnership and whether it warranted a single unity candidate in each constituency'."
Welby says this reminds him of the 2015 alliance between unionist parties in Northern Ireland during the UK general election.
"I applaud Ms Cairns in her stance, but I am calling on her to clearly tell the constituents of Galway West and Dublin Central who she was talking with regarding the 'unofficial opposition partnership', and why she had to send such a clear public statement – it's the least the electorates of both constituencies deserve.”
"In terms of Left v Right, I would argue that we are boxing ourselves in, and that there are bigger problems in Galway than ideology: housing, traffic and the hospital," he said.
"This carve up of Dail seats by parties of the Left is not on - it gives me visions of the old days of people in smoke-filled room deciding on the outcome of an election, not what a modern version of politics should be."
