Political pantomime leaves us with 7 dwarfs!

I wish the surviving 7 cabinet ministers good health. That may strike you as being out of character for someone who opposes the policy of the Fianna Fail government and as of a few hours ago it is a Fianna Fail single party government that runs this country for the first time since 1989. However if any more ministers resign and the Dail does not replace them then there will be no functioning government in this country. You need a minimum of 7 cabinet ministers for a cabinet meeting. This possibility would be farcical. My main concern is that the international standing of Ireland and the political standards that should apply in this country have been trashed by the government that is now leaving power.

As far as I’m aware there are no ministers junior or senior in the Department of Transport and the ongoing dispute at Aer Lingus threatens to escalate. What started out as an internal Fianna Fail matter brought on by Golfgate developed into a crisis after a good old fashioned Fianna Fail stroke backfired. The likelihood is that the next Fianna Fail leader will never be Taoiseach and that what we are witnessing is the relegation of Fianna Fail to the role of just another political party. They’re not a movement as Mary Hanafin claims but an embarrassment. Eamon Ó Cuiv’s hope’s of re-establishing the party on a parish by parish basis fundamentally misses the point that people’s focus under this government has gone from the community that they live in and the party stands no chance of re-invigorating a sense of societal participation as Fianna Fail spent the last 14 years in power cosying up to the wealthy at the Galway Tent. Many people live detached from their communities because they couldn’t afford homes in the communities that they were born in.

Brian Lenihan and Mary Hanafin seem to have shot themselves politically in the foot and that leaves the main battle between O Cuiv and Martin unless Connor Lenihan makes good his threat to run. Running is good for the profile and may be the difference between re-election and the P45. I hope Micheal Martin wins. Of all the candidates he spent the last 14 years in cabinet stoking up the bubble and he cannot distance himself from the impact of his policies. Fianna Fail under Martin will fit into the 2 and a half party system very well in the half party slot.

I expect a General election to be called for Friday February 25th. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fianna Fail appointed 3 new junior ministers as the vacancies exist and the appointments are by the government and not by the Dail. Here’s hoping that the people of Wexford put the boot in to the Fianna Fail ticket. It seems likely that the older FF TD’s with a reputation for clientelism will survive. That’d be a bonus as the image that a new Fianna Fail leader would like to create in the opposition benches will conflict with the reality.

Or maybe just maybe there may yet be a sting in the tail for us all? A reverse Tallaght strategy where Fianna Fail support Fine Gael so long as Enda Kenny follows the 4 year economic plan? Or Fine Gael falls short of a majority and is supported by the new right wing economist grouping? By the way isn’t it peculiar that these right wing economists will only stand for election in constituencies with good social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, LUAS, DART etc? If some of these guys felt that their policies were beneficial for the entire population why won’t they run for election in socially disadvantaged parts of the country?
Strange country with peculiar politics.

Snow Joke in Wexford when Gormley's grit hits the fan!

It’s early January and the government are out of bed! When they pulled back the curtains they found what the rest of us knew for 2 weeks. Wexford Town is treacherous with snow and ice. Wexford is no different to many other parts of the country. The N11 was particularly hazardous with the Gorey by-pass being especially bad. I wouldn’t attempt to drive a long distance in Ireland on the national primary routes that the Environment Minister claims are open. On Wednesday I spoke to Joe Duffy on RTE’s “Liveline” in response to concerns that Irish Ferries cancelled sailings when Wales had good weather because it was snowing heavily in Wexford.

Last Sunday with with a number of councillors, I spoke with the Director of Services for Roads and he explained that rock salt was more effective than anything else but that it was fast running out. To be fair to the officials (I hope I’m not accused of having been domesticated by officials), they cannot spread grit that they are not responsible for ordering. Rock salt supplies are ordered by the NRA and the provision is put out to tender because of the value. Moreover the council has let go workers because of the reductions in allocations by central government. The point I’ve made to people who’ve raised it with me is that I cannot spend what I’m not given to pay someone who isn’t there to spread what isn’t bought! And to be fair people are beginning to understand that. I did make the point to officials that sand should be used but they replied that sand blocks drainage pipes and gullies and will eventually lead to flooding. I understand where they’re coming from and that they have been put in this position by the government, however they can’t make the political points that I can

The Minister for Transport is said to be on holidays on the beach in Malta while the Minister for Environment (who says he’s not the Minister for Snow) told RTE News tonight that he didn’t know the minister’s whereabouts. There’s one thing John Gormley is sure of and that’s that he’s passing the buck to local authorities because they are responsible for the gritting roads, just as he passed the buck to local authorities for all the flooding by blaming flooding on rezoning. I’m fed up of last November’s floods being described as a one in a hundred year event or the snow as a one in a thirty year event. Minister Gormley is bang out of order when he said that Local Authorities have enough money, we don’t. We had a cut in both 2009 budgets and another in 2010. Our estimates reflect that and allocations are made arising from what we can raise. The minister needs to stop hiding behind clichéd figures plucked out of the cold air.

In 1982 the late Michael O’Leary (who was slaughtered at the time for his response) was in charge as Garret Fitzgerald was on an holidays when snow fell. He acted to convene an emergency cabinet meeting, if a minister couldn’t make it then he got Health Boards, Garda Commissioners, Army Chief of Staff and RTE, Emergency services and anyone who could affect change. Soldiers were put out on the Curragh to protect abandoned cars, Irish Rail ran a train to bring milk to Dublin, Radio stayed on air 24 hours broadcasting information. My point is that every state body played a role. At least to O'Leary's credit he tried to do something. Now when a similar emergency is even longer all we get is finger pointing at the local authorities. Why? Because FF don’t control them.
Calling out the army will make little impact in Wexford. We have 2 full time soldiers and 20 RDF members in the town. Indeed RDF numbers are being run down in line with budget cuts. The RDF will not be mobilised, Wexford’s needs will still go unmet. The “problem” is merely now seen as one of keeping roads free and then everything else will fall into place. Many of our major roads are tolled and constructed by PPP. When the projects finished and opened early they were held up as examples of how things should be done. Should the PPP companies now be charged as the state has to step in to maintain them? I think there’s a case for levying these companies now.
There are a wider number of needs, isolation in particular among the elderly, medical as the injured make their way to A&E as well as leaks that can mean no water or sewage or increased cost in water treatment. Social welfare payments didn’t arrive at some post offices while there now exists a clear need to pay now the fuel allowance so that those on limited means can kept their homes warm.
My own party spokesman on Education Ruairi Quinn’s suggested that schools make up days that are lost. I’m not so sure how this would work. I’m also not so sure as to who would do the work. Where caretakers or secretaries were in working during the snow, would these be expected to show up on the extra day and would they be paid extra? When would the days be worked? In the event of a teacher who may have been on maternity leave on the “snow day” and had returned before the snow day was worked, would she have to work a day that she never had off? I don’t believe that the Department of Education will go there given the wider reality of frayed industrial relations in the state.

It should provide an opportunity for neighbours and communities to pull together rather than for Minister Gormley to pull the other one! We’ll make it through despite the government. There exists the possibility of more snow before the week-end is over, Lets hope we cope better. At least Minister Dempsey, who gave us the e-voting machines won't have to worry about a cold front where he is!

Fur coat and no knickers. Green sandals distract from FF scandals

I was once thought that Fianna Fail were unique because they were in denial. I stand corrected. The programme for government has finally proven that the greens have lost touch with reality too. Our own Eoin Colfer would be proud of this, its up there with some of his own books in terms of quality fiction.
Senior ministers have spent a lost week negotiating with one another to deliver the following; Green procurement to be introduced across the public sector to promote the green economy, 127,000 jobs to be created in the Green and Smart economies over the next decade, a cap on incineration capacity, Real time passenger information for 500 bus stops in Dublin and Cork by end 2010, a Bray to Balbriggan cycling and pedestrian route and registration for off road vehicles. Water charges, abolition of PRSI ceiling and introduction of carbon taxes but interestingly no time lines or dates for delivery.
The big news item is a decision not to increase college fees but an admission that college registration fees are not covered by the agreement. The Greens claim to have reversed the education cuts, in fact they haven’t. Last years cuts removed over 2,000 teaching posts. This plan proposes to re-employ 500 over 3 years. They will ban stag hunting and phase out fur farming over3 years.

Ciaran Cuffe said if they hadn’t agreed by Friday lunchtime the minister would walk. Given how underwhelming the programme is I wonder what was going on? This deal could have been agreed in 5 minutes. Was the stage managing of the discussions designed to distract from the John O’Donoghue affair? Is it a case of using sandals to distract from scandals?
The Green Party has decided to continue on for another 3 years. They’ve accepted crumbs that don’t even have a use by date! They will continue as lobby fodder to bail out the Baileys. I’m pleased at one thing and that’s their decision to leave circuses untouched, God knows you need something to laugh at in these recessionary times. There’s no sign of any turn around on the horizon. Presumably they’re hoping against hope that something will happen and that their party will be saved from extinction. Right now I can’t see that happen. What happens to them if the slump worsens?

Rolling in it? Pull the other one!

Today’s Wexford Echo has a headline saying “Corpo councillors rolling in the dosh”. Under the headline is a picture of me with the figure €14,516.25. The paper sets out the cost of councillors to the tax payer. Headings under which payments are made to all councillors are described using inverted commas, (wink wink, nudge nudge). Sadly the paper didn’t dissect my own cost and didn’t clarify that there’s a difference between cost and actual payments. Every councillor should account for what they’re paid, I’ve no problem with that.
Being a councillor is a job. I’ve never made any bones about this. When I’m on the doorstep I’ve always said that being a councillor is a job, the place for the interview is the doorstep in the next 6 weeks. Lets be clear I get the taxpayers money, as does every councillor before me and after me. The people are entitled to know not just how much but they’re also entitled to know more than the paper reveals; why and what they got for it. It’s because there’s a payment, transparency is essential, so here’s what I cost; €8,624.25, taxed at 40% and PRSI at source, annual allowance of €3,300 for expenses in relation to all WBC meetings, phone calls 2004-08 €83, Deputy Mayors allowance €500, Conferences 2008; €2008.75;including fees paid to organisers, expenses claimed for 3 over nights and mileage driven by me. By the way, I attended 5 conferences in 2008; 3 required 1 overnight each, 2 others were half days so no overnight was claimed nor paid. So when you factor out the tax and PRSI and fees and all the other expenses that goes with being a councillor, I’m not going to spoof you by saying I get nothing, I do, but rolling in it I ain’t, my passport is out of date 7 years. I note that my travel and subsistence exceeds Minister Gormley’s proposed ceiling by €8.75.
Here’s what I got, €9,933 and add to that about €670 from the VEC, which the paper forgot I was on! Now don’t tell that to the newspaper as it will only spoil a good “story”, (wink wink, nudge nudge!) If I was contacted by the newspaper, I wouldn’t have had a problem commenting. I pay my own postage and I’m not using Oireachtas envelopes. However I smile at Minister Gormley’s attack on junketing councillors. In 2008 he opened 2 of the conferences I attended and his department organised another at which he travelled from Dublin to speak. At neither did he air his concerns at junketing councillors but then at that time he wasn’t aware of the pending Green Party electoral meltdown at the forthcoming local elections. If it is a waste of money for me to attend any of these conferences then it was an even greater waste on the Minister’s part to propose a white paper on local government reform to directly elect mayors, something which I spoke against in relation to the south east as a waste of resources at the Dept of Environment briefing on the White Paper or when I was at the AMAI conference spoke about Wexford’s boundary extension.
I’ve concluded that Minister Gormley’s contribution should be carbon neutral and that we should plant a tree every time he grandstands to absorb his CO2. If councillors are travelling to conferences, signing on and immediately returning home introduce a requirement for a daily roll call. Require those attending to provide proof of car useage. The Labour Party’s Dermot Lacey usually organises Labour councillor’s meetings for conferences, other parties as best as I know do the same. It’s good to meet your own n the fringe. I don’t fraternise with developers or interested parties and I have no other access to objective advice on issues like planning or local government. I don’t go AWOL during term time for days on end to conferences but to be a councillor I need up to date, accurate and objective information that may not necessarily come from departmental spin or a vested interest. In my regard my expenses are a matter that I account for. To be fair to the Wexford Echo, in the round, they’re more than fair to me and there’s no hard feelings. I won’t however be forwarding a bottle of bubbly to them, nothing personal, its just that I don’t have the money for one for myself as it is!!

In closing I remember once David Norris recounting how he was phoned by a newspaper in relation to his expenses on a forthcoming trip and he was asked did he intend enjoying himself abroad to which David replied as only he can; "But of course, you don't think the taxpayer's are sending me abroad to look glum!" Now that's a unique way of looking at this!

No text’s please we’re Irish

It’s still over a week to St Patrick’s Day but Wexford will be green this week end as it hosts the Annual Convention of the Green Party. B &B’s, Hotels, restaurants and bars will be packed out as John Gormley leads his troops to the banks of the Slaney to reflect on what has been a torrid time for the party. While the party appears to fluctuate in polls close to where they scored at the ‘07 GE, there can be little doubt for Green members that the honeymoon is well and truly over. Wexford has been carefully picked, it’s a number one target seat for the party having been beaten for the last seat on the Borough Council in’04 by just one vote after 2 recounts and 3 days of counting. Moreover the Department of Environment will decentralise to the town in 2009 and Minister Gormley will become a regular feature around the town. They’ve a lot going for them but at the back of it all there’s a real doubt that the Greens can make that gain now. Nothing personal against the candidate, he’s a decent and honourable guy, but as people say to me they cannot wait to get the Greens or FF on the doorstep. In the words of one local FF councillor in this weeks paper “We’re going to be slaughtered”.

Let’s quote the appropriately named Green Day’s “Time of your life” So make the best of this test and don't ask why. It's not a question but a lesson learned in time. John Gormley may well find time to reflect on this at his National Convention. Last year’s conference highlight was his calculated snub to the Chinese Ambassador over Tibet, now he’s gone from hero to zero. Having avoided tackling Ahern over his contradictory tribunal testimony, looked the other way as they did u-turns on education cuts and made complete fools of themselves apologising or cutting OAP’s medical cards, all the party is left with is a tax on text which they claim will raise €1.2 B. More like a tax on pocket money! The party’s solution to the economic crisis is; get the finger out!
But its not as though the party hasn’t form in crazy ideas, can you remember the plan for driving licenses to go the church if you lived in the country or the plan to ban patios. The main topic for debate isn’t driving licenses or patios but a motion from Paul Gogarty TD to have a motion next year debating whether to stay in government or not. Recently I understand Mr Gogarty was at a public meeting where when FG Senator Frances Fitzgerald was speaking he rolled on the floor! Deputy Gogarty was the man who ate humble pie over his opposition to education cuts and emailed a constituent to tell them his party were going to leave government. I have my doubts as to whether Deputy Gogarty is cut out for politics. Clearly his Hot Press interview reveals some tensions in the party and it’ll be interesting to see what happens but at the end of the day its not hugely relevant, the real damage has been done already for June. The transfers that previously came their way from FG, Labour and SF will dry up leaving the Greens high and dry unless the ever-decreasing number of FF voters give them their last transfer.
That’s their lot, as Green Day say in “Time of Your Life” :- Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial. Guilty as charged!

Gormley’s Ryanair flight of fancy

Isn’t John Gormley very lucky to live in the ideal world? When he goes to a conference in Poland he can take Ryanair there and back. No long conference drawing out negotiations into the night but the conference finishes up well in time for the Minister and his party to make the check in time and wait for their flight. Maybe soon Minister Gormley will follow further the logic of his fancy for Ryanair and get Michael O’Leary to taxi him to and from the airport in the taxi he uses to evade gridlock and allow Minister Gormley leave the state car at home.
Interesting that John Gormley should set out his appetite for Ryanair at a time when it’s CEO has targeted the national carrier where the government holds 25% for a takeover. One wonders however given Ryanair’s new charges for additional baggage as to whether Ryanair will always turn out as good value as the minister believes. Given the possible size of a ministerial delegation, could you imagine paying the excess to Ryanair for luggage or hand baggage to be checked in on the spot for Poland to Dublin especially if the conference coincides with the Ryanair annual fares hike for the Christmas holdays?
Can’t see that as presenting value! Not to mind the terror on the face of the hapless Gormley should conference business over run beyond the Ryanair last departure and perhaps requiring an over night to connect the next day with the next flight.
When the Green Party entered government they made a precondition a Carbon offsetting scheme by which trees were planted to compensate for government jet flights and the CO2 emissions generated as a result. The intention was that government business would be carbon neutral. I’m not sure if the Green Party’s interest in Ryanair is motivated by one of cost, environment or the need to grandstand. The government jets are the sole fixed wing jet aircraft flown by the Irish Air Corps. Pilots are employed by the air corps as are flight attendants and paid an annual salary. The cost of the government jet at €8,000 per hour includes these salaries, if it’s sitting on the tarmac and Baldonnel it’s still costing, and that charge includes all 14 passengers carried so given a 2 hour flight and Ryanair’s routes to well away from main urban centres that you wish to go to and then transport has to be organised to take minister and officials the extra distance to the meeting. However
Ryaniar won’t refund if you miss your flight and instead will charge you through the teeth to travel if you arrive at the airport looking to board. So the good value that the minister thinks could be there may exist only in his mind.

I’ve a more effective way of cutting Ministerial costs. To be fair to the Greens I’m stealing one of their motto’s Reduce, Reuse and Recylce. How about re-visiting the number of Minister’s of State and reducing the number by 5 each cabinet member having just one junior? Reuse the cash saved on the minister, the entourage and the office and recycle the ex Junior Ministers as legislators?
Minister Gormley will shortly be re-locating to Wexford. The new offices for the Department of Environment are close to completion and work is progressing. The office is close to cycle lanes and the Bus Eireann stop as well the local town service stop. If the minister is as good as his word in the national media on reducing green house gases, I expect to see the Minister either alighting from an expressway bus or waiting for a connecting bus to the railway station as he sets out for Dail Eireann. I imagine he’ll be peddling down to the farmer’s market every Friday as it offers a great range of naturally produced local food at exceptional value. After all the Green Party don’t grandstand, do they?