'Pandering to populism' - Brendan Ogle slates government for drifting to the far-right

Trade unionist and activist Brendan Ogle lashed out at government parties yesterday, saying that he believes Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are moving to the right of centre politically.

Speaking on the Hard Shoulder on Newstalk yesterday afternoon, Ogle claimed that the "political establishment itself" is not holding the centre as they once did, and instead is pandering to "what they themselves would call populism".

"In the last election cycle Fine Gael and Leo kept talking about the importance of the 'centre holding'", Ogle said. "One of those cliches they use to keep lefties in their place".

Here’s my #HateSpeech ‘soapbox’ from @TheHardShoulder with @AntonSavageShow on @NewstalkFM from earlier…….. https://t.co/zNUloLx1uT

— Brendan Ogle (@OrielCelt) April 3, 2024

"There has been a drift to far-right hate speech, particularly xenophobia and racism", said Ogle, pointing out that Newly appointed Taoiseach Simon Harris and Fine Gael have made little mention of Justice Minister Helen McEntee's controversial proposed Criminal Justice Bill, now known as the Hate Speech Bill.

Ogle explained that he himself is not a fan of the current proposed legislation, as he claims it doesn’t properly define hate, and the penalty fines and sentences aren’t tough enough.

Despite these perceived flaws, Ogle is still adamant that the legislation should be passed, saying that there is now daily occurances of false racist claims, as well as daily attacks on refugees in Dublin. 

'The State has a responsibility to act from a legislative and judiciary point of view', Ogle said.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has thus far resisted calls to scrap the legislation, which has been stuck in the Seanad since last year after concerns were raised about the lack of definition around the word “hate”.