Watch your house, Martin!

OK – time to nail my colours to the mast. There are many politicians I dislike, but there are few for whom I hold little or no respect. Of those few, bottom of the pile has to be Micheál “The Chicken” Martin.

For me, he epitomises all that is wrong with Irish politics, particularly the stereotypical Old Boys Network that is the Fianna Fáil party.

Before I criticise, let me get one thing out of the way. Full kudos to the man for being the Minister for Health who saw in the pioneering smoking ban. I acknowledge that most whole heartedly. Well done Micko.

I suppose I can also acknowledge the other things he seeks credit for, like criticising parents taking their kids out of school when he was Minister for Education, the creation of new jobs, and most recently, abolishing the Groceries Order, claiming that it would lead to lower prices.

But answer me this – what did he do when the Travers Report was about to be published? He fecked off to Australia on holidays, ironically taking his kids out of school in the process.

What did he do when jobs were actually lost, particularly in his native county of Cork?

What did he do when IBEC went ahead and increased the price of staple groceries regardless?

And what did he do when the Organ Retention Scandal came to light?

Little or nothing in each case.

I don’t know about you, but I expect politicians to take responsibility for their positions, not run and hide whenever trouble rears its head.

The scary thing is, he appears to be one of the front runners to take over when Comrade Bertski eventually throws in the towel.

SURELY even the Fianna Fáilers won’t let that happen? Or will they?