Tánaiste Leo Varadkar used his speech at the Fine Gael Ardfheis in Athlone to rally the party faithful ahead of his return as taoiseach next month.
If you were playing Fine Gael bingo, you would soon have crossed out all of the boxes on your card.
An attack on Sinn Féin? Of course. According to Varadkar, the main Opposition party’s policies “would be a disaster for our country” and he ruled out any coalition between Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, saying “no, no way, no chance”.
Law and order? Cross out another box. He highlighted plans for tougher prison sentences for serious crimes and sent a message to the “criminal underworld” that “we will take the fight to you head-on”. In fairness, a crackdown on gang crime benefits all of society.
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And what Fine Gael gathering would be complete without a reminder that at times in Ireland’s history the party “stepped in to save the economy”? Varadkar served up red meat to the Fine Gael audience and it went down a treat.
But what was in it for anyone else? In some respects, not a whole lot that was not already known.
Varadkar reiterated the party’s ambition to further cut taxes for middle-income workers. He said it is committed to ensuring over several budgets that no one earning below €50,000 will pay the top rate of tax. This has been party policy for years.
Perhaps, notably the proposed new 30 per cent tax rate championed by Varadkar was not mentioned. The idea, floated ahead of the budget, had a lukewarm reception from Fianna Fáil and the Department of Finance. While the ardfheis passed a motion calling for it to be brought in for 2024, it passed by only two votes.
[ Housing crisis main theme of party leader speech at Fine Gael ardfheisOpens in new window ]
Parents got a promisethat the 25 per cent reduction in childcare costs in budget 2023 will be matched with another 25 per cent cut in the next budget. This has been flagged before.
Perhaps the one surprising part of the speech was a warm tribute to the leader of the old enemy Fianna Fáil. Varadkar said Micheál Martin has been a good Taoiseach, who, through the pandemic and Ukraine war, “has been a voice for decency, kindness and for common sense”.
Climate action got a nod, with a worthy ambition for Ireland to be a leader in the area and become an energy exporter — a goal that should be this country’s “21st-century moon shot”.
But if there was one overriding message to the public at large it was an acknowledgement that the Government needs to do more to tackle the housing crisis.
Fine Gael prepare for Varadkar's return as taoiseach
The Coalition has come under unrelenting attack from Sinn Féin on housing, something that will only intensify as the general election approaches.
Varadkar highlighted achievements such as the 150,000 new homes built during Fine Gael governments “so far” and 16,000 people buying their first home in the last year but he acknowledged “it’s not near enough”.
[ Sinn Féin to bring forward Dáil motion declaring housing emergencyOpens in new window ]
In broadcast interviews on Sunday, he outlined ways he plans to accelerate Housing for All.
He said he’d like to be able to fight the next election telling people that “things are definitely going in the right direction” with fewer homeless people and more first-time buyers being able to afford a home.
The level of progress made when he returns to the top job in Government Buildings will be crucial to hundreds of thousands of people looking for a home. And it will make or break Fine Gael’s — and the Coalition’s — chances of returning to office.
