Irish General Election 2024: Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín hailed over hospital campaign

“Keep biting at their toes,” Gerry McDonald called after Peadar Tóibín as he walked down the driveway of his Navan home.

The Aontú leader would have been lucky to feel his own toes as he walked around the Meath housing estate in the freezing temperatures on Thursday evening.

The weather took a turn last week, making canvasses far less appealing for those out knocking on doors in the November darkness.

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Mr Tóibin conceded that he should have been wearing a hat, but admitted that “people don’t recognise you” if you do cover up.

Mr McDonald did recognise him, however, thanking him for the work he had done in campaigning to keep the A&E service in Navan Hospital open.

“I’ll give [my vote] to you anyway, Peader,” he said.

“I have no time for what is there at the moment. I think they’re weak, they’re terrible.

“That sh**e with Micheál Martin today…”

Just hours before the canvass, the Fianna Fáil leader had ruled out going into government with Aontú because Mr Tóibín did not have "respect" for him

He had called Fianna Fáil an “empty hollow husk” under Martin’s leadership.

“The next time I see Micheál, I’m going to give him a hug,” Mr Tóibín told Mr McDonald.

Aontú has said that it would be open to going into government with anyone but Fine Gael or the Greens after the election.

This is not Mr Tóibín’s first election campaign trail. In many ways, however, it will be the most important.

He was first elected as a Sinn Féin TD in 2011 but resigned in 2018 in opposition to the party’s stance on abortion.

He set up Aontú in 2019 and was the only TD returned in the 2020 election. The party is now running a candidate in all 43 constituencies in the hopes of returning 10 TDs.

Mr Tóibín said the party’s profile has increased in constituencies outside his own and, as party leader, he needs to get out to canvass with other candidates.

He explained: “The recognition factor is much higher than it ever was before.

“It is good in those terms. That [leaders] debate [on RTÉ’s Upfront with Katie Hannon] helped us no end as well.

“We’re getting a very good bounce off that.”

It is clear Mr Tóibín is a savvy operator. People in the Meath West constituency appeared to know him well. As he walked away, he handed people a “wee leaflet”, stating that his personal phone number was on the bottom of it if they needed anything.

“We have the busiest [constituency] office in Navan by far,” he said.

“It is like a doctor’s surgery; There are people queuing to get into the thing.”

At Keith Dunphy’s door, Mr Tóibín said he was prioritising the A&E in Navan, the rail line campaign and the “crime and anti-social” issue.

“Meath has the lowest number of gardaí, but we have the minister for justice. You’d have imagined that the minister for justice would have provided better for the county but…” he said, intentionally trailing off.

“That’s the girl?” Mr Dunphy asked.

“Yes, Helen McEntee,” he responded. “We’re fighting for more gardaí in the county.”

As he walked away from the door, Mr Tóibín said that the "translation of national issues into the local experience” is the “most important thing”.

“Investment has never kept up with population changes,” he said.

“I could probably pick out any social indicator, and I could tell you Meath has the lowest investment per capita and probably be right”.

One thing that is not coming up as much, Mr Tóibín said, is the issue of immigration. He suggested that it is coming up at one in every 20 houses.

“The heat is not exactly the same on it. People are shy on it as well. If you do get into a conversation, it will arise,” he said.

“Housing is coming up, especially for young people. Definitely older people, the hospital.”

Mr Tóibín’s pro-life party was set up in direct opposition to the repeal of the 8th Amendment. He said during this campaign he wants to see changes to the existing.

He has canvassed nearly 200 houses and the issue has come up four or five times, he said. “It is a dormant issue, politically speaking at the moment," he explained.

“But there are parties there like People Before Profit, who want to change the law. I have no doubt it will come up again as an issue.”

For now, however, the main issue will be how many TDs Aontú can return to the Dáil.

It will need to be more than just Peadar Tóibín if he wants to get his toes under the Cabinet table.

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