Bertie Ahern’s first intervention into electoral politics since he stood down at the 2011 general election has Fianna Fáil doing damage control, just before a crucial by-election.
With Dublin Central not voting for a Fianna Fáil candidate since the 2007 general election, when Ahern and Cyprian Brady won two seats for the party, the May 22 by-election marks the party attempting to win back a seat that has eluded them.
In an attempt to get councillor John Stephens over the line, the former Taoiseach went on a canvass, but his comments set off a political firestorm in the process.
Speaking to a would-be voter, the former Taoiseach was directly quoted as saying “the ones I worry about are the Africans,” in relation to the debate on immigration.
“We can’t be taking in people from the Congo and all these places; I think there’s too many of them,” and later said he was “not worried” about the current generation of Muslim immigrants, but was “worried” about the “next generation when their kids are growing up.”
A party spokesperson claimed that Ahern was “not aware” he was being filmed until the end of the conversation.
In an attempt to walk back his comments, Ahern told the Irish Independent that his views on immigration were neither “careful or polished,” but claimed that people get “jumped on” for wanting to discuss the immigration issue.
The former Taoiseach stated he “stood on my head to try and help” the Muslim community.
Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader and Dublin West TD Jack Chambers has distanced himself from the comments, saying that the former Taoiseach’s comments were “totally wrong and inappropriate.”
Minister Chambers told reporters that Ahern’s comments “did not reflect my party’s value of people who’ve come to Ireland, and the contribution they make across our public service and across our economy,” adding that Ireland’s strength as a country is a result of “the diversity of the people who’ve come here.”
Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has said that Ahern should issue an apology, with the Ireland South MEP telling RTÉ “words matter, and it is important that his words are clarified,” adding she was “surprised and saddened” by the comments.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said that “there are people feeling very hurt,” in the wake of the comments being published.
The Fine Gael leader said, “it’s up to individuals to decide what they want to do, but knowing Bertie Ahern, he wouldn’t have intended that harm, and therefore, he should reflect on it further.”
Ahern’s comments can be interpreted as the former Taoiseach telling voters what they wanted to hear on the doorsteps; the North Inner City area elected Malachy Steenson as a councillor in the 2024 local elections, and the Irish Times/TG4 poll has the anti-independent councillor on 7% and Gerard Hutch, who has espoused anti-immigrant comments on the campaign trail, on 14%.
North Inner City councillor Nial Ring, who has been a councillor for the area since 2014, claimed that the controversy is a non-story and is merely “orchestrated outrage from out-of-touch critics.”
Ring said, “I have known Bertie Ahern as a political colleague and a friend for a long, long time. I have walked the streets of the inner City with him in the past. I know his character, and I know for a fact there isn’t a racist bone in his body. He has spent his entire life in the service of the people of this city and this country, helping individuals of every background, race and creed.”
“The people of Dublin Central are no fools; they know Bertie Ahern. They are the ones who put him at the top of the poll for many years because they knew his heart. Their judgment carries far more weight than that of so-called experts and commentators who are jumping up and down,” he claimed.
The independent councillor said that Ahern’s work on the Northern Ireland Peace Process is a testament to Ahern’s achievements as a politician, and that politicians who are “queuing up to attack him” have not achieved nearly as much.
“This ‘gotcha’ politics is a pathetic diversionary tactic. We have huge issues in Dublin Central—from the housing crisis to public safety—that require our full attention. Instead of addressing these, critics are latching on to a fragmented, illegally recorded conversation to create a false narrative. It is a race to the bottom” he claimed.
“The people of the North Inner City and Dublin Central care about delivery and progress, not social media outrage. It’s time for candidates in the by-election and other “outraged” politicians to stop the performance and start focusing on the real issues facing our community, We need solutions for our constituents, not manufactured noise and false outrage about non-issues,” he stated.
Members of the opposition were not as kind in their assessment of the situation.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik remarked, “it is deeply ironic that Bertie Ahern would have the temerity to fuel rhetoric that blames immigrants for systemic problems in Ireland.”
“This is the man whose politics and policies brought about the worst financial crash in the history of the state,” she said in the Dáil on Wednesday.
Labour’s by-election candidate in Galway West, Helen Ogbu, is performing above expectations, with analysts noting that the social media abuse aimed at her (Ogbu lived in a Direct Provision centre after arriving in Ireland as an immigrant in 2005) has actually helped her in the polls as an answer to racist abuse on social media.
Ogbu herself has demanded an apology from Ahern, with the Labour councillor saying “to hear immigrants being singled out and scapegoated by a former Taoiseach and current member of the Council of State is shocking, the level of ignorance behind those remarks beggars belief.”
Labour has criticised the government for not taking action on online racist abuse, with party sources speculating that the government parties are too timid to pressure Facebook and Twitter to take action on racist abuse for fear of upsetting the tech giants, which pay significant taxation revenue.
The party has said that a member of Ogbu’s campaign has a specific job to delete racist comments about Ogbu on the party’s social media platforms (the party was among those to leave Twitter in January in the wake of the Grok scandal, but Facebook has become the new hotspot for online racist abuse in Ireland).
In a Galway Advertiser profile on Ogbu, the article noted “Ogbu is being protected by the party she joined almost five years ago because of the appalling abuse she is receiving online,” with the party using AI to help weed out racist, hateful comments about her.
As per usual, however, online discourse does not have a material impact on election results, and progressive candidates are likely to have the last laugh following the May 22 by-elections.
The Irish Times/TG4 Dublin Central poll, published on the evening of May 14th, saw Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan securing the most first preferences, but Social Democrats councillor Daniel Ennis is the favourite to win on transfers, aligning with the Northside People’s prediction in the May 6 edition.
The candidate that Ahern was canvassing for, Cabra-Glasnevin councillor John Stephens, is polling on 4%, making it unlikely that Fianna Fáil wins back the seat that has eluded them since 2007.
Ennis said, “the last few years have seen a rise in hate and exclusion towards those who seek refuge, asylum or simply a better life in Ireland. Mr Ahern’s vile rhetoric only serves to further the agenda of those who seek to divide us by spreading fear throughout our communities.”
The Social Democrats councillor called Ahern’s comments “odious” and said his comments do not reflect the modern realities of Dublin Central.
“Dublin Central needs voices which will hold the government to account for years of poor policies and underfunding across housing, childcare, community facilities and public safety; not a voice like Bertie’s, who blames the country’s problems on some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” he said.
With the May 22 by-election almost certain to result in Dublin Central being the only constituency in the country to have no government party representation (Fine Gael’s Ray McAdam’s transfers base won’t be enough to get him over the line based on current polling), the soul-searching is likely to begin again within government parties.