Quality of TDs has ‘seriously deteriorated’

THERE has been a serious deterioration in the quality of politicians going through the doors of Leinster House over the last 10 to 15 years.

In a hard-hitting swipe at the Government, former Labour Party general secretary, and now chairman of the Sustainable Energy Authority, Brendan Halligan said he could say this now, but he wouldn’t have in the past for fear it would have affected his career.

“We’ve got to think of things we would never have thought of before. There needs to be an interplay between the private and public sectors so that we can get the best from both,” he said.

Mr Halligan was speaking at the annual conference of small business group ISME which took place in Dublin yesterday.

Also speaking was public affairs director with HP Ireland Una Halligan who said that HP would not pull out of Ireland “in the morning” if the corporation tax rate was increased, but the company would stop investing in Ireland as a result.

She said that HP corporate does not see Ireland as a “basket-case”. They realise that there is a “gold mine of talent” here.

“We don’t see Ireland as being unstable, and corporate HP bases this on what they see and do here,” said Ms Halligan.

ISME chairman Eilis Quinlan called for radical reform of the political system and told the 300 small and medium enterprise delegates that the Government’s lack of innovation, ideas and leadership was a “significant contributory factor” to the current economic crisis.

She also called for a redrafting of the Croke Park agreement, saying it needs “to include cuts in numbers and pay”.

Chief executive of ISME Mark Fielding said times had changed since the agreement was reached, and it needed to be re-examined to reflect that.

“We can’t have an elite in the public sector looking on at the rest of the economy bleeding. We cannot rob Peter to pay Paul,” he said.

There was a call for unity in the Government and also a push for the Government to draft in economic experts to help plough through the crisis.

Bloxham economist Alan McQuaid said that the Government doesn’t understand how rates and rents and utility charges affect small businesses and said this needs to change.

“I don’t think the people we have in Government are qualified enough to get us out of this mess,” he said.

“The political establishment has let the country down,” he added.

Also speaking at the ISME conference yesterday was solicitor Gerald Kean and chief executive of Glen Dimplex Sean O’Driscoll.