Fianna Fail TD Eamon O Cuiv has  told RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan that that his party did not stick to what made them so popular over the years in the run up to the 2011 election and paid the price in the voting booth.

He went on to say that Sinn Fein was the major beneficiary of Fianna Fail’s downturn and that they had done well by adopting the core beliefs once held by his party.

“Now what you’re finding is that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are around the 40 per support level together [...] If you dig down you can trace the continuity of the electorate. I think you will see that the idea or the position that Fianna Fáil held is still held by 40 per cent of the people; in other words they’re looking for a party that is holding Fianna Fáil values.” said O’Cuiv, speaking to TheJournal.ie.

Cuiv noted that both Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein share common traits over the Gaelic language and social issues, but he went on to say that he had not intention of joining SF.