‘Asses’ make their own case for a big reduction in Dáil numbers

By Matt Cooper

Friday, May 21, 2010

THE argument that the country needs 166 Dáil members is diminished somewhat by the tardiness of the Government’s approach to holding the three by-elections to fill vacant seats.

It may only be three, but it means Dublin South has only 80% of its supposed requirement of TDs, Waterford just 75% and, most strikingly, Donegal South has just 66%. If, as is the implication, the constituents of these areas can be represented by up to one-third less of the normal compliment then it follows we could just as easily get by with just 120 TDs.

Indeed, when TDs start howling at each other, pantomime-style, about being asses, as we paid for on Wednesday, you wonder if perhaps fewer than 100 might be an altogether better number.

There is no good reason why a by-election should not be held within three months of the vacating of a seat, even by way of death. This, however, would require a constitutional amendment, we’re told.

Instead, the decision to move the writ is usually at the discretion of the party to which the late deputy was attached (if there was one), to be approved by vote in the Dáil.

There have been some utterly bogus arguments advanced to excuse why seats vacant since last June (Donegal) and January (Dublin South and Waterford) have been left unfilled.

One is the cost of holding the by-elections – or rather of the cost to the parties of canvassing votes – and another is the distraction that would be caused to government at a time when it has more important things to be getting on with.

The truth is more prosaic and known to everyone: Fianna Fáil is fearful of the expected consequences for the Government’s continuance should, as expected, opposition parties win all of the three seats on offer.

The majority that the FF/Green coalition, with independent support, enjoys at present is wafer thin and protected by the absence of three deputies. The outcome of the by-elections could lead to an almost immediate defeat in the Dáil and a general election that would result in a change of government.

It is fascinating then that the Green ambition to hold the first Dublin mayoral election in October could torpedo the government of which it is part. If that vote is held, then there will be no excuse not to have the by-elections the same day. John Gormley, pertinently the minister with responsibility for organising the votes, conceded this to me in an interview last month. Eamon Ryan got headlines this week for saying as much. But something their party colleague and chairman Dan Boyle said yesterday had merit. Maybe we should do away with the idea of by-elections at all and introduce a system similar to that which applies in the European Parliament. There are no by-elections to it when a seat is vacated.

Instead, at the time of the election, candidates nominate an alternate, somebody who would replace them if they were forced to vacate their seat. Therefore the party they represent, or cause should they be independent, can continue to be represented.

SIMON COVENEY, the Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, raised an interesting point this week in discussing government response to the loss of jobs at Pfizer. He said that during a national jobs crisis the IDA priority should be to attract foreign investment to our major hubs of Cork and Dublin. Which is bound to upset people in the rest of the country.

It makes sense to use and protect the best infrastructure we have. Exporting from these locations is probably more cost-effective and there is probably a larger supply of more highly qualified labour available, increasing the attractiveness of these areas to investors. You protect and develop the main centres and then, as things progress and improve, you supply the regions.

It just so happens this agenda also suits Coveney’s domestic political needs, as many of the Pfizer workers live in his constituency. That is a happy coincidence for him, but his point isn’t any less valid because of it.

But the Last Word text line went into meltdown on Tuesday evening after he delivered this message to listeners. The "what about us?" comments came from Cavan (where many Quinn workers fear for their jobs), from Limerick (where thousands of ex-Dell workers remain unemployed), from Waterford (where thousands of former crystal manufacturers lost their jobs over the years) and from Mayo (where pharma companies have cut jobs).

And from Newbridge in Kildare where Pfizer jobs will definitely be lost: at least plants in Cork and Dublin are being offered for sale as going concerns.

It is understandable such complaints were made. Fine Gael candidates in those constituencies most probably will promise their potential voters that they’ll do anything they can to bring jobs to their local areas instead of to Dublin or Cork. That’s the way our political system goes.

The most blatant related example came a couple of weeks ago when Mayo TD Michael Ring joined me on the programme to discuss potholes in our roads. Although a national spokesman, Ring insisted Mayo had the worst potholes of all. And when I pressed him on it, he insisted when Fine Gael took power the road network in Mayo would be transformed. If so, we’ll see if Ring or his party colleague Enda Kenny gets the credit. I suspect John O’Mahoney, the other party TD in Mayo, won’t get a look in: he needs to fill the holes in the Mayo football team he manages instead.

FOUR games in which Munster have been beaten by Leinster, twice in semi-finals when they were unable to score a try. No wonder there is talk of the end of an era: it may not be misplaced. It happens in all sports that dominant teams go into a decline that is not easily arrested. Even when it is halted they may not return to old glories.

Here are just two local examples: the Cork hurlers did not win an All-Ireland senior title until nine years after 1990 and how long the stretch goes from 2005 worries many. After completing a three-in-a-row in 1986, it was not until 1997 that Kerry won a senior football title again.

Everything seemed wonderful for Munster when the Ospreys were hammered in the 2009 Heineken Cup quarter-final and half the team got picked for the Lions tour to South Africa under Paul O’Connell’s leadership. Since then there have been great achievements – especially victories against Perpignan and Northampton in the Heineken Cup – but as many dire days.

The problem has become consistency. Just how Munster rebuild, and how quickly, is going to be a major challenge for the largely foreign management, a fact that puts them under even more pressure.

But it is a Dubliner they need worry about more. The financial ability of Munster to rebuild could be threatened by his television plans. (Leinster’s needs are not as many). Bad enough that a Dub would do that but that a Corkman in the shape of Dan Boyle has come to his support makes it worse.

The Last Word with Matt Cooper is broadcast on 100-102 Today FM, Monday to Friday, 4.30pm to 7pm. The revised and updated edition of his book Who really runs Ireland? is in shops now.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, May 21, 2010