Harney ups ante, driving Brennan further into political wilderness
MARY HARNEY, Minister for Transport. The title has a certain ring to it.
With the all-guns-blazing attitude of Seamus Brennan quickly spiralling into trench warfare with the unions, Mr Brennan's name was already being whispered in the context of June's Cabinet reshuffle.
But with this weekend's deliberate and forceful intervention by Tánaiste Mary Harney, the beleaguered transport minister must now be wondering whether his days really are numbered.
Mr Brennan launched himself into his brief after the last election in a blaze of glory, looking very much like a mini-Rambo determined to get things done.
The introduction of penalty points quickly followed but the Government's commitment to breaking up CIÉ and Aer Rianta saw things falter significantly.
Mr Brennan's penchant for promising to keep the unions on board while undermining them by ploughing ahead with his plans for public transport anyway, saw the unions becoming increasingly frustrated, until a strike looked inevitable. In the end, it took Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's intervention to twice head off industrial action at CIÉ and Aer Rianta.
And party insiders are not afraid to suggest Mr Ahern a traditionally cautious operator when it comes to union relations is increasingly losing patience with his transport minister.
Certainly, it now appears that Mr Brennan has lost so much trust in union circles that he is now probably the person least capable of bringing the unions onside in order to facilitate Government plans for semi-State transport companies.
Something had to give.
Cue Ms Harney's weekend assertions that the PDs would not be happy to stay in Government if it failed to liberalise bus routes and break up Aer Rianta.
For many, those comments will be seen as the Tánaiste pinning a badge of failure on Mr Brennan, while also applying for the job herself.
She has already made it widely known that she wants to change portfolios after the summer's elections and she was widely tipped to become transport minister two years ago when the portfolio was first created after the 2002 general election.
And, perhaps surprisingly, the prospect of Ms Harney as transport minister was cautiously welcomed by SIPTU insiders yesterday. "At least we would know where we stand with her," said one official, indicating that the union believes it can at least trust her more than the current minister.
In a way, Ms Harney has already done SIPTU a favour.
SIPTU president Jack O'Connor was desperately in need of something to prove to angry transport workers that he meant business and was prepared to stand up to the Government.
Ms Harney's comments offered Mr O'Connor the perfect opportunity to bring those members back on side after he over-ruled them two weeks ago to avert joint stoppages at Aer Rianta and CIÉ.
In that regard, SIPTU's decision not to attend Monday's opening of negotiations for the next round of Sustaining Progress will go down very well among the foot soldiers at Dublin Airport and in the CIÉ garages.
Ms Harney provided the perfect vehicle for him to make that stand.
Although SIPTU's continued refusal to enter Sustaining Progress talks would likely spell disaster for the future of social partnership, few expect that to actually happen at least not yet.
Monday was no more than an initial meeting and real discussions do not begin until after Easter, by which time SIPTU may well be back on board.
In the meantime, there is plenty of time for Mr Ahern to reassure the unions that the Tánaiste's comments do not mean the Government will not consider the rights of transport workers.
He said as much in the Dáil yesterday and will no doubt make similar public soundings over the coming days.
But the problem for the Government is that SIPTU looks increasingly unconcerned about the prospect of scuppering social partnership if it is not convinced of the Government's wider commitment.
Mr O'Connor has made no secret of the fact that he does not regard social partnership as absolutely essential, although he has warned of the negative implications a return to a free-for-all would have for society.
Social partnership saw Ireland successfully through the Celtic Tiger and contributed to 2003 being the most peaceful year ever for industrial disputes. But it is about to be tested like never before.
And as long as tensions over Government plans to break up Aer Rianta and CIÉ remain as fraught as they , the prospect of 2004 becoming a nightmare of industrial unrest still looms large.
Either way, if Ms Harney does take over from Mr Brennan this summer she will have a difficult challenge ahead of her.
Few expect the battle over Aer Rianta and CIÉ to be a clean one. It may already have claimed its first major political casualty.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
