‘Journalists forced to be Coalition’s chief critics’

The media has taken over the role of opposition to the Coalition due to the country’s “bizarre crisis”, a Fine Gael TD has warned.

Wicklow’s Simon Harris said problems within Dáil opposition parties had led to a situation where a government could be “contemptuous and dismissive”.

Mr Harris, who admitted he and other backbenchers are used as “lobby fodder” to a degree in the current Dáil setup, insisted much of the public anger directed at the Coalition was “media fuelled”.

“Journalists are now fulfilling the role, on many occasions, of the opposition. That is part of the bizarre, chronic, crisis situation we are in. The media have felt the need to fill that vacuum and become constant critics of the Government rather than [being] reporters,” he told RTÉ.

He used a speech at the Parnell Summer School to press for a different attitude to politics and public life.

Mr Harris warned that with a “scattered, incoherent” opposition in the Dáil it was easy for a government to become “contemptuous and dismissive”.

“Another downside is the effect on the public — the sense that opposition is meaningless, just high-profile playacting. This is not good for the public perception of politics and politicians of every hue.”

Mr Harris, who at 26 is the youngest TD, urged his colleagues to stop moaning and get on with their jobs.

“Fighting the system when it stops caring for the people I represent — that, to me, is the perfect definition of public sector reform. Politicians recognising that they owe it to this country and its public service to reform from the top will be the maturing of our Republic,” he said.

Former PD leader and Tánaiste Michael McDowell urged a firmer opposition within parliament, but stressed he was not involved in setting up a new political party. He dismissed speculation he was involved in talks with former Europe minister Lucinda Creighton about the formation of a new right-wing bloc. She has also insisted there is no truth in such rumours after she was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party for voting against X case legislation.

Mr McDowell used an address to the Parnell Summer School to attack those who had branded Ireland a “failed state”. Mr McDowell, who is the leading figure in the campaign to retain the Seanad, said a new sense of patriotism for the constitution was needed.

He attacked commentators for “wallowing negativity” about the state of the country.