With the greatest respect M’lud, I differ

Today’s papers carry a letter signed by 8
former Attorney’s General in relation to the forthcoming referendum on the
right of the Oireacthas to make findings of fact as part of their inquiry. Our learned friends have been motivated by
what they see as the right to protect a citizen’s good name. They are worried that Oireachtas committees
will start asking a few questions that some people may be reluctant to answer.
A few of the signees have a few good reasons to be wary of anyone kicking over the carcass of the Celtic Tiger and asking questions. Dermot Gleeson served as Attorney General to the Rainbow government in the mid 90’s. That’s the same Dermot Gleeson who doorstepped Brian Lenihan to get the infamous bank guarantee scheme about 3 yearsago that has trashed the states finances.
Another signee is Harry Whelehan who has experienced the rough end of an Oireachtas committee following his disastrous handling of the Fr Smyth extradition case. Interestingly Whelehan's successor as AG is conspicuous by his absence from the list.

Goldman Sachs man in this republic is Peter Sutherland, attorney General to Garrett Fitzgerald’s
coalition in the mid 80’s and former FG candidate in Finglas. There are those who regard the collapse of the world economy in 2008 as engineered by Goldman Sachs for the benefit of
Goldman Sachs. Recently Suds as he’s known to his friends suggested we front
load austerity. God help the power divil, where has he been since 2008?

David Byrne who served as AG to that fine leader Bertie Ahern became competition commissioner in the EU. While he had no role in banking, one would
think that completion requires openness and accountability. I could go on but you get my drift!

This type of intervention makes me cynical. The net beneficiaries of any tribunal have been lawyers. We have no more money to pay out however it is now more crucial than ever that we get answers to some of the worrying matters that have damaged our country. I believe there should be a committee to examine the collapse of the 3 main banks.

It will strengthen our democracy
if politicians are seen to this competently as they did in the case of the DIRT report. The ideal vehicle to do this is through an Oireachtas Committee. There exist a number of reports like the Nyberg Report where the investigation work has already been done to provide any committee with the where with all to ask people like Peter Sutherland or Dermot Gleeson to explain why they did what they did and why they expect the irish taxpayer to shoulder the burden they now
do.

It’s the least we can expect of those who have been lucky enough to serve in the highest legal position in cabinet.
Company law already allows the appointment by the Minister of an investigator under the companies act. Greencore, Telecom scandals all investigated on the cheap effectively about 20 years and we all know what happened. Yes there were people who went off to the
courts in relation to the findings at the time and what is proposed differs little in process other than it’s the Oireachtas committee and not the minister who decides. The key thing is that cost
is significantly less and the time period is shorter. It seems that for 40 years one law is good enough for companies and accountants but is not good enough for Barristers.
To quote one eminent lawyer Dr Wynne Jones the citizens right to the high court still exists and any changes in the constitution still are in the context of that provision. That’s why I’m voting yes, I want TD’s to be able to act as legislators and representatives not as poodles.

Sola says goodbye

It’s been a while since there was as significant a jobs loss for Wexford. Unfortunately yesterday Carl Zeiss or Sola Lenses as they are better known here announced the end of production at their factory in Whitemill. Over 80 jobs will go as decades of production will end and the company retains its back office facility for Ireland with just 20 jobs as opposed to the hundreds that worked in the factory when Sola was at its peak. The production will be transferred to China. I really feel sorry for the workers who are losing their jobs, some of their children teach, some of the workers I’ve taught in the past. Some will never work again as age and skill sets are against them. It’s a really sad and worrying time for families.

I’m really sorry that Carl Zeiss have made this move. It’s clear to me that the real decision was made some time back and that the company in the end ignored even requests to take even a phone calls relating to the company’s plans. The factory has been in wind down mode for sometime as work was sent outside the country in the last few years to other low wage economies. However when Carl Zeiss finally shut the doors and leave we are still left with a town where unemployment is going up and an economy still fragile and lacking in confidence. Coming this week after the successful Wexford EXPO which provided a forum for local enterprise, it’s another indicator that the road back to a successful economy will not be easy in any circumstances

Add this to the loss of Wexford Electronics and rapidly Wexford’s technological base is disappearing with no promise of a replacement. To be fair Coca Cola has arrived in town and there are high end jobs there, but the cold wind of economic prioritisation of major towns for jobs is leaving Wexford behind. Recently we had a motion at Wexford Borough Council that asked the IDA to pinpoint jobs for the town. The suggestion was that the Ida was only interested in places like Waterford. However when Talk Talk announced its departure from Waterford the clear suggestion was that Waterford was being by-passed by Cork for jobs. So Waterford jumps Wexford and Cork jumps Waterford. That leaves us in the third division when it comes to the IDA. The IDA believe that major job packages look for a large city with an airport, university and skill sets and that’s where they see their focus so all the regions are going nowhere.

It’s time for the IDA to wake up to the reality of Ireland beyond the college wall or airport terminal. Wexford has a high quality MANS fibre optic cable which is underutilised, a decent quality of life and very affordable housing for workers. Add to that the convenience of Rosslare Port with land provided for industry by Brendan Howlin, a good road and rail network there is the basis for industry if the IDA was prepared to push for the county. For sometime the IDA has ignored the town. This cannot be allowed to continue.

An inappropriate app!

The technological revolution knows no bounds. There’s an app for everything these days as your mobile phone or android can bring a whole world to your fingertips. Many useful but some are utter tosh. I was emailed about one app that you can download for immediate use on your android phone. This will one tell you if your child is gay!

It works it seems by asking you a series of questions about your child and based on your response it will give you a diagnosis. For instance it asks if your son prefers football to musicals or is your son careful when choosing outfits! Is your son a fan of Diva’s like Madonna or Brittany Spears? Most worryingly it seems that one of the tell tale signs is that your son takes a long time with his hair. Presumably the creators of the app have never had to worry about removing nits from a child’s hair? The question reflect more an interpretation of a simplistic cultural perception rather than an in depth assessment of how a child feels and relates to those around them. In my view it is dangerous and grossly in accurate. In a simple quiz similar to those of teenage magazines of the 70’s or 80’s the boxes are electronically ticked and a prognosis offered. Hey Presto!

What you are then supposed to do about it, I’m not so sure, perhaps there is somewhere a subsequent app that will sort that for you. However, I question the value of such an app. Why would someone not talk to their child? Can a parent not talk to their child and ask them how they feel? It’s a sad reflection on how lifestyles and values have changed when an app is seen as a replacement for real communications. The instantaneous nature of technology may be fine for processing a financial transaction however we’re talking about the human mind here, not a machine. A persons feelings are something deep that no app can get to the heart of.

I think that this type of simplistic questioning panders to ignorance and peddles stereotypical myths. Some may call this app homophobic. I don’t know whether it leads to prejudice against gays but it certainly doesn’t make for better relations between a parent and their child if a parent is stupid enough to take this type of advice above all others with something as important as their child’s sexuality. This app adds further ignorance which may well compound the initial ignorance of how a person’s child feels. Will it make a child feel better and resolve any doubts a child may have, (which is what I think is the key question about this app?) No!

Why Michael D is the man for me!

It’s almost 30 years since I first heard Michael D Higgins speak. It was in the political cauldron of Labour’s 1982 National Conference in Leisureland Salthill. Michael D was party chairman who opened the conference with a passionate analysis of Ireland’s economic difficulties and a critique of our social conservatism. He was delighted that the party conference had come to his own city. He ended with a passionate plea to those who shared our desire for change to join Labour and change our society.

Labour in 1982 was a very different place to where it is at now. Politically threatened from the left, internally riven with personalised rivalries and hosting a virus called Militant Tendency, Labour was not in a position to radically transform an Ireland in thrall to the constitutional crusade or GUBU politics. That conference ended Michael O’Leary’s tenure as Labour leader and you could cut the political tension in the air.

Almost 30 years on the issues may be different but the passion for empowerment of people is still the same. That’s why Michael D will make an outstanding president. What separates Michael from the other candidates in this election is his analysis of how we can have a better country. We have a passive society, where the expectation of the populace is that something is done for them regardless as to whether there is an entitlement or not. It is a curious aspect of the Irish mind that we feel that the need to have another individual solve matters for ourselves. That’s not to write off our society, we’re second to none in our concern for other people who are suffering.

Add to that societal changes in media and values which emphasise the ego. A recent survey of children showed that jobs now considered desirable are pop singers, soap actors and models. A huge change from the fireman or train driver, occupations of service to society, that predominated a generation or 2 ago. Society is now heading in a direction that values celebrity not participation. I find these changes worrying for many reasons as they exclude swathes of society. An exclusive society will produce a stratified Ireland. The flirting with celebrity in this election is another indicator that rather than confront the societal changes some parties are pandering to it.

Michael D Higgins believes in something fundamentally different. Where a society engages with its citizens outcomes are much better, society more stable and participation improves. Active citizenry is a very democratic idea. It is inclusive and has the potential to transform our damaged society to a better place. It encourages all regardless of income or sex, age or ability. It is enormously positive at a time when people need to hear something that will give them hope. It marks Michael out uniquely as a candidate that appeals to all citizens, it can help bridge that gap through which in the last 14 years citizens have slipped.

I mentioned earlier that we as a nation are generous to those worse off. Ironically through our generosity especially to 3^rd world countries we have helped societies where participation is more active than here in Ireland. If we can make the difference abroad we can make that difference at home too. Its just a month to the Presidential election. Michael’s analysis is the reason why he is attracting more support in terms of first and second preference than the other candidates. It is the single positive message of this campaign and it is why when all the controversy over letters and NI is over and the votes are counted he deserves to win.

The issues may be changed but the passion and values of Michael D still stand out.

Don't mention the war

So Martin McGuinness is the latest candidate to get a nomination for the Presidential Election. Martin is not the first republican to run in such an election. I haven’t met anyone yet who thinks he will win. Most people think that his candidacy is about Sinn Fein replacing Fianna Fail as the main opposition party. The hype behind McGuinness is about creating the impression that only Sinn Fein has an alternative to the government. At one fell swoop the ULA have been marginalised by SF as they set about the task of peddling the myth of Martin the man from Damascus, while his namesake Micéal watches from the sidelines. McGuinness will add Fianna Fail and some independent support to his own and will probably get about 25% of the vote.

Martin is not one for deep thoughts. Derry is not the hotbed of left wing radicalism that West Belfast likes to portray itself as. McGuinness’ Ard Fheis speech was a folksy, Uncle Martin ramble, the last remaining Chuckle Brother still managing to smile back. Derry is fundamentally a place of established socially conservative nationalists, McAteer, Hume (who genuinely did the state some service and has been deliberately marginalised by SF & FF) and now the teetotaller McGuinness. The journalist Suzanne Breen tells a story of how McGuinness attacked her publicly for writing about the sexuality of Pearse and Roger Casement. When the past is mentioned Sinn Fein now are only looking forward and want to talk about the future deal. Expect the SF campaign to adopt the Basil Fawlty defence of don’t mention the war.

Ironically the campaign will attack all other candidates as establishment ignoring the realities of Catholic Derry politics where nationalism has been the established force and driver for the last 40 years. In Derry Eamon McCann was the anti-establishment candidate at the 2011 Assembly elections. However SF won’t let facts get in the way of presidential spin! The disastrous underpinning of clapped out banks through the bank guarantee scheme which SF so enthusiastically supported in 2008 didn’t happen. When the party could have done Ireland some service by staring at the political spot on the wall in Leinster House, they jumped in with 2 feet first to wave the green flag defending the banks.

In northern politics election time means 2 elections, a green one and an orange one. This election will be a double election also. There will be one for heading the poll between Michael D and Gay Mitchell and the other one for dominating the opposition. SF are in a one horse race in that. I expect the 3 party candidates to pull away from the independents. Second preferences will mean that Sinn Fein will have to appeal to the business types who back Sean Gallagher if he wants to remain in the race. This reality has yet to strike home with Sinn Fein. It is a sobering reality as it will mean that Sinn Fein will have to appeal to voters who are well beyond their core. That’s why there’ll be no mention of the war. The more that Martin’s past is raised the less likely it is that his candidacy will be successful.

We are where we are

100 years ago Wexford was a fundamentally different place. Most males worked in the foundry industry in Wexford town. The best known is Pierces but there were others in Selskar and the Star. In 1911 the employers locked out their employees as they wanted to join a union. In this case the ITGWU. Richard Corish was the main shop steward who worked at the Star Foundry in William St. Together with Connolly and Larkin he worked tirelessly to ensure that workers could be
represented by the union of their choice. The lock out resulted in immense hardship for many houses in Wexford. In those days foundries closed at Christmas and wouldn’t re-open until March. For many families managing on limited means was the order of the day. The lock out meant that for over 6 months most families had no income in Wexford during a long cold dark winter. During that period Michael O'Leary a local man going about his business in the street was baton charged by the RIC during a riot. He died as a result of injuries received.

It is difficult to imagine the type nowadays the restricted lifestyle people led. Families coped with the hardship because they understood that when it was over that things would be better and that the sacrifice was worth it. In those days few families paid tax, nor had bank accounts simply because incomes were so low. Wexford’s foundries dominated the Irish production of farm machinery. To this day ploughs survive restored by their owners as a testament to the skill of the craft of ironwork in a by gone day.

Indeed the metal industry in Europe has been undermined by changes from globalisation and many of the major producers of farm machinery from that era are now consigned to history. However it makes us what we are today and the social history of the lock-out has shaped the social structure of this town.

The next 6 months will see a number of events marking the centenary. Mayor Davy Hynes officially opened the road which appropriately contains SIPTU’s Wexford HQ. Peter O’Leary grandson of Michael, spoke of his pride at the opening of the road. Many of the O’Leary family were there and it was great to see a good turn-out in the community to mark a hugely significant piece of Wexford history.

The St Patricks Fife and drum band played marches and tunes under a lovely blue sky. It was an evening for the ordinary people and a great start to the centenary of the lock out

Rebranding Fianna Fail? It started on the Late Late Show!

Gay Byrne is an outstanding broadcaster who has through the years effectively been the standard against whom all others are compared, not just within Ireland but among Irish people everywhere. An inner city boy done well. He’s credited with bringing sex to Ireland as his Late Late Show allowed the forum for 60’s Ireland to discuss issues like relationships, womens rights, and sexual liberation against the backdrop of Vatican 2. Gaybo was always seen as being a closet FF supporter as indeed many of those in the entertainment business were in the 60’s. He has a sharp nose for good TV, allowing Terry Keane speak about her affair with Charlie Haughey, something we all knew for years before, Gerry Adams’ first TV interview and who can forget his hour long interview with Annie Murphy the mother of a child fathered by his friend Bishop Eamon Casey. All were key moments in Irish broadcasting. Gay was viscously opposed to the Garret Fitzgerald government who banjaxed the country in view. He forced a climb down of too by using his radio programme and massive audience to great effect. He hasn’t been above mis-judging his audience as I remember from the time he tried to campaign against a decision by Telecom Eireann to rebalance phone charges which subsequently fell flat.

Who better to rebrand Fianna Fail? Fianna Fail is a party that no one trusts. Gay Byrne real skill is that he naturally relaxes his audience and he is someone you can trust. A good president? His predecessor worked in RTE too and like Gay Byrne she was close to a few bishops in her time, an outstanding legal brain who in my view would have been a very good minister if she could have been elected to the Dail. She was an inner city girl who had done well too. So the spec for Fianna Fail president is there in the safe in Mount St. You don’t have to be a card carrying member to be Fianna Fail as any Seanie Fitz and many of his type who were put on state boards by FF in the last 14 years will tell you to be of the tribe.

I welcome his entry to the presidential race. I just wonder though if after retirement and the end of the last decade but one whether his name really means anything to anyone under the age of 35 as he’s spent much of this time in retirement. It’s interesting that the poll for 4FM a semi national radio station aimed at the over 40’s shows Gaybo doing well. But what about those who listen to the youth radio? Another problem he will have will be that Fianna Fail already have another TV celebrity Sean Gallagher in the race and presumably as his campaign tanks on the back of his association with the most toxic party this side of Syria there is a desparate need for Fianna Fail to have something to shout about. That’s what’s in it for Fianna Fail.

The big problem Gay will have to shake off is his support from Fianna Fail and yet his claim that he will still be independent. I always thought that you couldn’t be slightly pregnant. You either are or you’re not. So if he’s not Fianna Fail’s candidate I presume he’ll tell us the names of the other political parties that are supporting him too soon. Otherwise the race will become all about Gay Byrne and not about the presidency and the country. To achieve this would be an outstanding feat on the part of Fianna Fail.

Fianna Fail is a cancer that has the potential to destroy this nation. Most people who suffer cancer believe when they enter remission it’ll never come back again. But it can and when it does it comes back more dangerous and pops up in parts of the body that were previously healthy. Ultimately it eats away at the body ending all hope. Let’s see if there is still any hope for this country.

Jeremy Kyle’s Britain hits the road

I never watched Jeremy Kyle’s TV show until this Summer holiday. Kyle hosts a show where family members outline their personal domestic dilemma. There is a common theme to the disfunctionality Kyle daily hosts. Individualism trumps responsibility, greed and consumerism beat generosity or community hands down. Part of what has happened to Britain since Thatcher fundamentally rebooted society is now being played out nightly. Thatcherism never went away you know! It’s all back with a bang.

The investment in communities that Hessletine oversaw after the riots of 1981 was effectively a sticking plaster. Communities have fallen apart not because of a lack of money but because of society has left young males mostly black behind. Societal changes in terms of skills set necessary to get on, the value of education, the need for a sense of responsibility both in terms of family and in the wider community have left some sub sets behind. Where there’s a vacuum alternative values will take off as a sub culture where new values that dictate power and esteem within peer groups seem alien. Young males seem to be at the bottom of the pile in Britain and even within that sub group, young West Indians seem to be even further down the pecking order.

Deploying extra police and scrambling COBRA to deal with the issue as if those responsible were Al Quaida members won’t really achieve as much as a good rain shower. The old fashioned right wing analysis of conscription or short sharp shock is as obsolete as the left wing analysis of community neglect by local and central government. After 1981 Michael Hesseltine did see that housing stock was updated, that communities did get the investment needed in terms of leisure centres, educational supports and youth projects. These communities have much more than many that I know in Wexford but such investment cannot make up for a societal value change.

Society has changed greatly, the looters are to organised mobile phones, blackberries seem to be the first thing to rob, followed by the top brands in sports wear. Then there are the designer clothes that can be sold on the black market, the plasma screens, the branded products and of course there’s the alcohol. The 21^st century rioter cares for the planet, recycling the empty bottles as petrol bombs. For the 21st century rioter it is all about power. I find it interesting that young males in the bond markets are playing havoc with the euro and company stocks. The young generation seem to be saying to older generations you haven't got the power you thought you had once.

David Cameron last year said he didn’t believe in the importance of multi culturalism. This is an enormous mistake Any society that ignores the warning signs is in trouble. If you want an insight to the mentality of those presently at the heart of this tune into to Jeremy any day.

Ireland is no longer a single culture society and we should carefully watch what is happening in the UK. Our minorities are smaller, they are more dispersed throughout the country and more integrated. However for us there also remains the real possibility that if societal values were to change here the result would be no different. There’s a real fear