Divide and conquer tactics must not pay off

It is now official. After months of kite flying the Minister for Finance confirmed today that the public sector will be hit and hit hard in December’s budget. Expect to hear a lot about waste in the public sector, inflated salaries, Rolls Royce pensions and anything and everything designed to paint a picture of a bloated and inefficient public service. A clear attempt is being made to divide and conquer and to pit public and private sector workers against each other. This is dangerous as well as divisive and must not be allowed to happen.

I need to make it clear that I am all for cutting public spending where necessary. Indeed my party has put forward reasonable and practical proposals to government on how public spending can be curbed. However in doing so we must protect front line services and those on low and middle incomes. Contrary to the picture being painted most public sector employees are on modest incomes and many are on less then the average industrial wage. The Rolls Royce pensions we hear a lot about are reserved for a privileged few at the top.

Reform and cuts are necessary but they must start at the top. We also need to recognise that the public sector has already seen thousands of job losses as well as abolition of overtime and the introduction of pension and income levies. New and severe cuts as is anticipated will result in dire consequences. While it is the Government who are making the running on this issue they are being closely followed by those in Fine Gael. If these parties have their way expect to see savage cuts in public services and the loss of front line staff such as teachers, nurses and gaurds. Too borrow and twist a Fianna Fáil election slogan ‘a lot were done – we have more to do’. But only if we let them.

Sinn Féin forces O’ Donoghue’s resignation

Earlier today the four Sinn Féin TD’s called on the Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue to resign. They did so because his position was untenable. Labour and Fine Gael followed suit. He has eventually announced his resignation and rightly so. He must go further and pay back expenses which he unnecessarily claimed. However the point has to be made that this cannot be seen as the end. John O’Donoghue should not be a sacrificial lamb. His actions were a symptom of a much deeper problem in the Irish political system. The lavish and outrageous expenses he enjoyed are enjoyed by many in both houses of the Oireachtas. His resignation must herald a new beginning of accountability, transparency and proportionality when it comes to the spending of tax payer’s money.

There is much talk of the need for the banking system to be cleaned up. It is now time to clean up our political system once and for all. The entire system of salaries and expenses to elected representatives at every level must be overhauled. One resignation is not enough. There are many more John O’Donoghue’s and Rody Molloy’s. However at the end of the day it is the system which needs to change. All political parties must now commit themselves to achieving this and bring about a new era of transparency and accountability in Irish politics.

Junket John must go

Recent revelations surrounding the lavish spending habits of Ceann Comhairle John O’ Donoghue are an example of the same cavalier attitude to the spending of public money that became all-pervasive during the Celtic Tiger years. It is an area that I have highlighted time and again and have consistently called for change. A culture of unaccountability and a sense of entitlement prevailed and has not passed with the death of the Celtic Tiger. It must come to an end.

This culture is not confined to John O’Donoghue. The lavish expenses enjoyed by TD’s and Senators are obscene. Our local Oireachtas members between them have drawn down hundreds of thousands of Euro since the last General Election. Those at the top in some state and semi-state bodies are equally as culpable. I am sure what happened at FÁS is only the thin end of the wedge. The un-vouched nature of some expenses to councillors must also be tackled.

While being rightly outraged about recent revelations we must keep a sense of perspective. Reasonable expenses and travelling is required by elected representatives and others in public life. The key here is accountability, transparency and proportionality. All of the political parties must sit around the table and thrash out new guidelines for the spending of public money. However the cavalier attitude of John O’Donoghue has made his position as Ceann Comhairle untenable and he must resign.

Mixed feelings as I stood at the Brandenburg gate

I was catching a plane to Berlin early on Saturday morning as the early indications of the Lisbon result began to emerge. It looked like it was going to be a decisive yes vote. I arrived in Berlin in the late afternoon and joined hundreds of thousands of Berliners in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Berlin is a magnificent city rich in culture, heritage and history. As I stood looking up at the splendour of the gates and took in the history of this once divided city I did so with mixed emotions. It was great to be celebrating with the people of Berlin the unification of Germany but disappointing to hear of the official Lisbon result – two thirds in favour.

The result was unsurprising. The yes side had the weight of the entire establishment behind them not to mention most of the media. The treaty itself was presented as mere window dressing and its proponents skilfully turned it into a referendum on jobs and economic recovery. The result was always going to be a foregone conclusion. As the campaign dust settles we can now ponder on what it is we actually voted for. We have taken another step towards complete EU integration and the development of a European super state. We have given the EU more power, reduced our voting strength in key institutions, created a constitutional framework for the EU to act as a state on the International stage, lost our veto in key areas, given the EU power to significantly amend existing treaties without recourse to national parliaments or referendums, voted to reduce the size of the commission post 2014 and elevated competition rights over those of workers and public services. It felt ironic to be celebrating the ending of centralised power across Eastern Europe only to see history repeat itself once again. Only time will tell if this will be good or bad.

Social solidarity is necessary in the time ahead

I have given a lot of thought in recent times as to what type of society has emerged in Ireland as a consequence of the Celtic Tiger. Such analysis is important if we are to both work our way out of the current crisis and build a fairer society. Margaret Thatcher once famously declared that there is no such thing as community only individuals. Her Government fostered a dog-eat-dog mentality and worked against any notion of social solidarity. The welfare state had to be dismantled; public services privatised, small Government and low regulation was sacrosanct and massive wage differentials necessary to increase motivation. All ideas that underpinned Government policies here during the Celtic Tiger years and that has created a nation of individuals as opposed to a society.

Now that our economy has come crashing down around us and our public finances are in freefall the failure of these policies are obvious. People are becoming more and more irritated at the unjust and unfair nature of our society. Golden handshakes, outrageous expenses and the immoral salaries of bankers, business executives and some at the top of the public sector is causing understandable consternation among those feeling the pain of the current crisis. So how do we get out of this mess and what kind of new patriotism do we need?

We need a new commitment to social solidarity. We need to move back to being a nation of communities and not individuals. Thatcherist policies need to be given a decent burial. In November the trade union movement is mobilising for a national day of action designed to force the Government’s hand in advance of an expected painful budget. These are mostly the same trade unions, with notable exceptions, that acquiesced to Government policies through successive partnership agreements that increased wage differentials and did nothing to tackle poverty. There is one certainty about what needs to happen in the future – the need to sort out our public finances. This will require a combination of tax increases, cuts in public spending and fresh policies to grow the economy. To get back to what I was advocating earlier – social solidarity – all of this needs to happen with an explicit commitment to protect the most vulnerable, the unemployed and those on low pay.

Lies, damn lies and statistics

As we approach the final few days of the Lisbon Mark 2 campaign it is fair to say that the debate has seen its share of lies, damn lies and statistics. If we are to believe everyone on both sides Lisbon is about Job creation and job losses, economic recovery and economic ruin, strengthening democracy and ending democracy as we know it. The first casualty of this campaign was truth. Some on the fringes of the no campaign say that if Lisbon is passed the Minimum wage will be reduced to less then €1.80 (lie), conscription will be introduced (lie), abortion will be legalised (lie) and our elderly will be the victims of euthanasia (lie). On the other hand Fianna Fáil and their friends in Fine Gael and Labour tell us that if we accept Lisbon it will mean jobs (lie), investment (lie), will lead to economic recovery (lie), we keep our permanent commissioner (lie), our neutrality is protected (lie) and that workers rights are strengthened (lie).

So now it is up to the people to decide. It is going to be a difficult task for people to sift through the spin and the lies. Supporters of the treaty have very skilfully turned the referendum into a vote on the economy and recovery rather then on what we are actually voting on – the treaty. Equally groups on the fringes of the no side have brought issues into the campaign which have nothing at all to do with the treaty. When people go to the polls on Friday they will be asked to vote on one thing and one thing only – the Lisbon Treaty. The only question that people should really ask themselves is whether or not they believe Lisbon is good or bad for Ireland. All of the bogus issues should be left outside the polling booth. This will be difficult but if we are to do ourselves justice we must pass judgement on what we are being asked to judge – the treaty.

Community allotments and Gardens should be provided

With the current economic downturn people are looking at ways to become more self sufficient. I followed Corrigan’s farm on RTÉ and I enjoyed the first series. A second series will be aired shortly. The programme motivated me to submit a motion to Waterford City Council calling for the provision of community allotments and gardens as a method of civic participation in creating a healthy, clean and sustainable environment. It is actually something that came up a bit on the doorstep during the recent local election and it is an area that many community groups are interested in. There are currently no allotment spaces available for members of the public to rent from the city council.

Section 2(1) of the Acquisition of Land (Allotments) Act 1926 (we really need to update some of our laws) states that the local authority may provide allotments as a result of demand made by members of the public. Does such a demand exist? I believe it does. Interestingly the Minister at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has recently announced that he will be ensuring local authorities include an allotment officer who will work to ensure the provision of adequate land for allotments and provide support to users.

There are many benefits to providing allotments and community gardens. Aside from the obvious one in that it could provide a valuable source of income for the city council it could also help meet the social needs of citizens and maintain a sense of community. It would also be good for the Environment and possess a range of health benefits. I also see opportunities in providing educational benefits to children and others to learn about vegetable growing. It might even provide opportunities for some of those who are out of work. As Chairperson of the Council’s Environment Strategic Policy Committee this is an issue I intend to pursue. I have submitted a motion to be debated at a full council meeting and I hope it is both supported and implemented.