TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar’s rendition of ‘Zombie’ with a busker on the streets of Limerick last May now feels like a foreboding moment in this election campaign.
“What’s in your head,” Leo warbled giddily while a chorus of Fine Gael politicians swayed along awkwardly behind him on Cruises Street.
If this was an effort from the Taoiseach to increase his popularity as he visited the city to campaign for a directly elected mayor, it clearly misfired.
Sure, the embarrassing clip proved a hit on social media, but it came across as crass. Especially when it’s considered that, in the same month, rents in Limerick reached unsustainable levels with a new high recorded.
In May 2019 Limerick rents were 14.4 per cent higher than in the previous year — the highest rent increase in the country.
During the same visit, the Taoiseach was also accused of ignoring the worsening trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick and instead being more focused on a ‘photo opportunity’.
Clearly, not everyone was signing off the same hymn sheet that day.
And now as we move into the home straight in the final days before General Election 2020 the electorate appears to be humming along to a very different tune.
Sinn Féin is now top of the pops with voters.
According to this week’s Ipsos MRBI opinion poll, the party led by Mary Lou McDonald has seen its support rise by 11 per cent in recent months. Sinn Féin’s message for change and their promise to tackle the housing crisis and return the pension age to 65 has gone down particularly well with voters.
Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan told the Limerick Post this week that his party’s housing proposals are going doing very well on the doorsteps in the city.
“Voters can see that Sinn Féin’s no-nonsense approach to solving the housing crisis can work. Fine Gael are still living in their Ivory Tower when it comes to housing,” he claimed.
“You would be dizzy looking at Fianna Fáil flip flop on the rent freeze issue so much. They are all over the place when it comes to housing. That’s not what we need. People want solutions. Renters are getting fleeced, and it’s time they get a break.”
But as Leo Varadkar visited Limerick again this week, the Fine Gael leader insisted they are the only party who can be trusted to manage the economy steadily and shepherd Ireland through the next phase of Brexit.
And Fine Gael Senator Maria Byrne sang a very popular tune as she promised more disposable income for people to spend on their families and in their communities.
“Everybody deserves more money in their back pocket. That’s why we will also remove any person who earns less than €20,000 from paying the Universal Social Charge. Workers in Limerick should not be penalised while earning a modest wage. Fine Gael are the only party that is committing to this policy,” she declared.
Meanwhile, there were echoes of an old Michael Jackson number when Green Party candidate Brian Leddin pointed out that “our children are our future”. The city councillor says he wants to see more done to reduce the cost of childcare in Limerick.
“While childcare costs in Limerick are a little below the national average, it’s also true that the cost of childcare in Ireland is significantly above the European average. The state should play a greater role, to ease the burden on parents and safeguard the well-being of children,” he added.
