Elaine Loughlin: An eventful first 100 days defined by Covid-19
An eventful first 100 days for the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party together in their historic coalition. Picture: Harry Burton
A truce following a century of civil war politics was delivered after a momentous election. However, the government has met a fairly hostile reception, not helped by its own failings, writes
When the dust settled and the empty ballot boxes were stacked away after February’s vote, the leaders of the three main political parties must have been scratching their heads.
The result of this year’s general election failed to leave any party with a clear or significant majority resulting in a prolonged negotiating process which was drawn out even further by the Covid emergency.
Fianna Fáil’s 38 Dáil seats provided them a margin of just one on Sinn Féin, who cleaned up across the country, taking 37 seats.
Mary Lou McDonald’s one regret was not running more candidates. Fine Gael couldn’t be ruled out either, after returning 35 TDs.
Sinn Féin were left scrambling for support from the smaller parties and Independents after both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael refused to do business with them.
Leo Varadkar also appeared to rule out leading his party into any type of Government, stating he would “relish the challenge of leading the opposition, providing good, robust, detailed, and forensic analysis to the next government”.
But as the days and weeks wore on, Mr Varadkar’s party began to reassess.
Doing a deal with another party is always a fraught process, as sharing power with others doesn’t come naturally in politics. But for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to even consider a deal together required a new level of pride- swallowing.
While Ms McDonald’s party made half-hearted attempts to assemble a government of the left, increasingly the attention turned to the two civil war parties.
In April, with the country in lockdown, both parties agreed to put their fractured past behind them and entered into a ‘shared future’ agreement.
The document, which was finally hammered out four months after the country went to the polls and involved a rotating Taoiseach, bridged a century of rivalry between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael . The Green Party was added into the mix to make up the numbers.
On June 27, in the vast auditorium of Dublin’s Convention Centre, Micheál Martin was nominated and voted in as the Taoiseach of the 33rd Dáil and another page of Irish history was written.
When Eamon Ryan was first elected leader of the Greens back in 2011, he vowed to attract a new generation to the party.
Nine years later, it was this new generation of Green Party members that almost cost him the leadership The Green Party constitution dictates that a leadership contest must be held within six months of a general election, so the race itself came as no surprise.
Mr Ryan, who steered his party from the total wipeout of 2011 to the green wave of the 2019 local and European elections, went into the competition having secured an unprecedented 12 Dáil seats.
He should have felt confident that his position was secure, but the opposite was the case.
As the party expanded, rumblings began to grow and an increasing rump of younger and more radical members put their support behind deputy leader Catherine Martin.
Covid forced the contest online and the four leadership debates were held over Zoom, but this did not dilute the deep divisions that emerged and came to a head, often with pointed and personal attacks.
Allegations of bullying within the party swirled, with Mr Ryan telling one of the online hustings that the party had been “swamped” by this issue.
In the end, Mr Ryan retained his position as Green Party leader by a margin of just 48 votes.
“It was a really close result,” Mr Ryan said in his acceptance speech. “There is no two ways about that. The result could have gone either way. I will reflect on that.”
Negotiations on entering power with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had left the Green party bruised and battleweary, with many coming away extremely disappointed.
The internal party discussions around the programme for government had sparked lengthy and at many times fractious debates between those who wanted to do a deal and those who believed the party would be better placed in opposition.
Two distinct groups emerged — the environmental side and the social justice group.
These arguments around policy and the party’s future became the catalyst for the creation of a splinter group of members who wanted to stick with the green agenda, but couldn’t stomach many of the decisions that were being made in their name.
In entering Government, the party lost a number of high-profile members, including Saoirse McHugh who had ran as a Green in the European elections. She hit out at a “toxic” culture within the organisation. Many agreed with her position and the views of other defectors but didn’t want to fully give up on the party.
On July 24, just a month after the Government was formed, a affiliate group was established with a stated aim to “educate, agitate and organise for social justice, peace and community, inside and outside the party”.
The ‘Just Transition Greens’ were set up ahead of the leadership contest and a letter signed by founding members of the group claimed that both candidates needed to do more to engage with the social justice element of the party, as well as with rural and disadvantaged communities.
“We have heard that our party needs structural change to cope with the enormous increase in members and staff, and cultural change to unite and heal the divisions which have been caused in recent months,” Ms Martin said after she lost the leadership race to Mr Ryan.
But when Micheál Martin announced his Cabinet, it resulted in an outcry of consternation from all angles. The lack of women and omission of representation in the west were major issues and individuals who felt they deserved a promotion aired their grievances.
Cabinet announcements and reshuffles always ruffle feathers, however, in the days following the Cabinet announcement there was a vocal outpouring of discontent.
Veteran Limerick TD Willie O’Dea was among those to hit out at the ministerial choices, claiming the Taoiseach had “insulted” the people of Limerick.
“I am bitterly disappointed for the people of Limerick that the third city of the Republic and economic driver of the Mid-West has been completely overlooked for either senior or junior ministerial appointments,” he said.
“I have been inundated with messages from people who feel let down and grossly insulted.” Michael Moynihan, who had been a long-time supporter of Mr Martin accused the new Taoiseach of “disrespecting both him and his community”.
Such was his anger that the Cork North-West TD demanded a meeting with the leader.
“It was a full and frank discussion,” said Mr Moynihan. “I gave it to him both barrels. We had a very fraught discussion, I explained a few home truths to him. It was a very frank discussion.” Others within the party pointed to the obvious omissions of Dublin Bay South TD Jim O’Callaghan from Cabinet and the decision to give deputy leader Dara Calleary the role of chief whip instead of a ministry.
There was undoubtedly disappointment among the Fine Gael ranks too with a number of heavy hitters including seasoned ministers Michael Ring, Richard Bruton, and Michael Creed getting the axe. However, Leo Varadkar’s party was more gracious, or at least less public, when it came to expressing their anger.
It wasn’t all rosy in the Green Party either, as the lack of female representation was raised.
Deputy leader Catherine Martin said that the Green Party junior ministerial appointments were a “missed opportunity to promote women”.
“We talk the talk in relation to promoting diversity and inclusivity but if we’re not acting on it I think that’s regrettable and that’s something I’d like to see changed,” she said.
Barry Cowen paid the ultimate political price for what he described himself as “terribly stupid, stupid mistake”.
In the end it was the slow but constant drip-feed of information around the TD’s drink-driving debacle that put an end to his short-lived career in the Department of Agriculture.
When the story first broke, it was reported that Mr Cowen had been stopped at a checkpoint and had found to be over the limit. He had also been driving on a provisional licence at the time.
The Offaly TD issued a statement saying he was “profoundly sorry” and the Taoiseach, who had learned of the conviction the day before it hit the media, said he was “disappointed” that he had come to know of the incident in this manner.
In the following days there were multiple apologies from Mr Cowen, both in the Dáil chamber and to the media.
He told the Dáil that he had been stopped on his way home from the All Ireland football final but stressed that it had been a “stupid mistake”.
“Before the match I consumed two drinks and following the game had a light meal before driving home to Offaly,” he said. “On the way to drop my friend home I was stopped by gardaí and asked to participate in a breathalyser test. I did so, and both this test and a subsequent test at a local Garda station confirmed that I was over the legal alcohol limit.” Although the opposition were still baying for blood, it seemed as though the controversy was abating.
However, there was one last plot twist when it was reported that Mr Cowen had been pursued by gardaí after doing a U-turn before the checkpoint.
He strenuously claimed this was a false account and hit out the leaking of garda files from the pulse system.
The following Tuesday, the Taoiseach again faced a barrage of questions from Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald.
Mr Martin provided a cautious defence.
Just before 9pm on July 14, a total of 18 days after the controversy first emerged, Mr Martin went to the Dáil to announce he had sacked Cowen over his refusal to make a further statement.
It was just after 7pm a quiet Thursday evening when a story was posted on the Irish Examiner website and immediately phones began to ping.
Irish Twitter had already gone into meltdown by 9.06pm when then Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary tweeted an explanation and an apology.
“Last night I attended a function I committed to a number of weeks ago, to pay tribute to a person I respected and admired greatly. In light of the public health guidance this week I should not have attended the event, I wish to apologise unreservedly to everyone.” But that was just the start of what would evolve into a scandal involving a Government minister, multiple senators, a European Commissioner and a Supreme Court Judge.
The gathering of people for a post-golf social dinner at a hotel in Clifden, Co Galway would set off a domino of resignations and enrage the public many of whom had made significant sacrifices since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
The first head to roll was that of the Fianna Fáil deputy leader, who by 8am the following day had announced he would be standing down. A slew of apologies and party whip removals followed as the day progressed.
RTÉ’s Liveline show is always a good barometer of public interest. For days there was wall to wall fury with members of the public lining up to vent to Joe, one listener dubbing it “a thundering and lightning disgrace”.
On twitter #georgeforeman was trending in Ireland, not because lockdown had renewed an interest in home cooking but because the famous grill had been one of the prizes on offer at the Oireachtas gold society event.
The story of a social gathering in a Connemara hotel became an international scandal and was even picked up by the New York Times. It also severely damaged the credibility of the Government and raised questions around a ‘them and us’ mentality when it came to Covid restrictions.
Big Phil Hogan first entered politics at the age of 22 when he won a seat on Kilkenny County Council.
In the end ,it wasn’t the ballot box that halted his political career (which in the intervening time led him to the Dáil, Seanad, ministerial office, and the European Commission) but his beloved pastime of golf.
While Dara Calleary’s resignation was swiftly delivered, it was another six days and took interventions from both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste before EU Commissioner Phil Hogan came to the “reluctant conclusion” that he should step down from his Brussels post.
As controversy rumbled on and Mr Hogan refused to budge, the Taoiseach said he had “undermined the whole approach to public health in Ireland”.
The focus had turned not only to Mr Hogan’s attendance at the golf event, but had also shifted to his movements around the country when he returned from Brussels.
When asked about the Government advice to restrict movement during an RTÉ interview, Mr Hogan said: “Well, I don’t accept that… I did everything possible to ensure that I was no risk to anybody.” Bowing out, Mr Hogan insisted he had “broke no law”.
A defiant Mr Hogan added: “It was becoming increasingly clear that the controversy concerning my recent visit to Ireland was becoming a distraction from my work as an EU Commissioner and would undermine my work in the key months ahead.” But the scandal didn’t end with Mr Hogan’s departure. The Government tested Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s patience when they mulled over who they would select as candidates to replace the Trade Commissioner.
For a while it seemed as if the Government would go against the request for a male and female candidate as it was rumoured that Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney would be the only name put forward.
However, a direct intervention from Ms von der Leyen through the European People’s Party, forced the Government’s hand and Mairéad McGuinness and Andrew McDowell were eventually put forward as candidates.
“Good morning everyone, I need to speak to you about Coronavirus and Covid-19,” Leo Varadkar began.
Members of the media who had gathered outside for a hastily arranged early morning briefing on the steps of Blair House in Washington knew something significant was afoot. But the announcement delivered before the sun had fully come up was stark.
Announcing the closure of schools and restrictions on gatherings, the then taoiseach said: “I know that some of this is coming as a real shock and it’s going to involve real changes in the way we live our lives and I know that I am asking people to make enormous sacrifices, but we are doing it for each other, together we can slow the virus in its tracks and push it back.
“Acting together as a nation we can save many lives, our economy will suffer but it will bounce back, lost time in school or college will be recovered and in time our lives will go back to normal.” Almost seven months on and we all know that normality is still a long way off.
However, as the virus lingers and public unity has waned and fatigue has set in. The opposition has been quick to point to a lack of coherent messaging coming from the new Government, something which is crucial in maintaining public buy-in.
From confused guidelines, to policy changes and row-backs, this Government has given the opposition ample fodder to chew on.
In a television interview over the summer, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly baffled viewers when he tried to compare the corona-virus to jumping on a trampoline.
There was further confusion when Mr Donnelly said he was examining “appropriate powers” to deal with house parties, but the Cabinet put a stop to his gallop and ended any notion of allowing gardaí enter private homes.
Another kite that was quickly pulled out of the sky was a proposal to issue on-the-spot fines to those who refuse to wear masks and we are still waiting for rapid testing at airports which has been signalled for many months now.
However, perhaps the biggest calamity came on the launch day of the Government’s much anticipated medium-term Covid strategy.
While the plan set out five levels of restrictions, which aimed to give the public a clear idea of how the new normal will be applied to their lives in the coming months, Dublin was placed on a limbo level and stuck somewhere between stage two and three.
The day went from bad to worse for Mr Martin and his Government when the Cabinet was forced into self-isolation after Mr Donnelly fell ill. The Dáil was halted by a panicked Ceann Comhairle. Proceedings resumed a few hours later with junior ministers substituting for Cabinet ministers who were still restricting their movements.
In the end, Mr Donnelly’s test came back negative, but a day in which the Government had hoped to get its message back on track had gone completely off the rails.
Credit where it’s due, it’s one they definitely got right.
In July, the Government announced an unprecedented €7.8bn stimulus package to kick-start the economy and protect jobs.
The plan was an ambitious but much much needed move and included a surprise cut in the standard rate of Vat from 23% to 21%, at a cost of €440m.
The stimulus package includes over €4bn of direct expenditure, €1bn of taxation measures to directly support businesses as well as €2bn in credit guarantees.
Announcing the plan which involves 50 different measures, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the raft of supports would protect existing jobs while creating new and sustainable employment options in the months and years ahead.
“These measures will support small and medium businesses, give young people greater opportunities in training and education, support workers who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic and rejuvenate communities worst affected by the economic impact of the virus,” Mr Martin said.
The package includes €30m for the refurbishment of social housing stock; a stay and spend scheme to encourage people to holiday in Ireland; 35,000 extra places provided in further and higher education as well as 0% interest for the first year of SME loans.
The employment wage support scheme and the pandemic unemployment payment have been extended until April of next year.
The Leaving Cert is always a stressful time, but this year 61,000 students had to deal with the postponement and eventual cancellation of the State exams followed by the clunky rollout of a brand new assessment system.
Uncertainty abounded as the Government scrambled to come up with a new marking system and refused to release details of the controversial algorithm that they used to decide on individual grades.
The vast majority of students accessed their results — which were arrived at through a mixture of teacher assessments and a complex system of algorithms — online. The usual jubilant scenes of teenagers hugging outside of school gates did not happen this year as pupils were urged to stay at home.
When schools were first closed back in March there was still a hope that the Leaving Cert examinations could be sat as usual.
As students continued to work at home and accessed lessons online where broadband permitted, the reality of the pandemic was beginning to sink in for the Government.
In April, when the Junior Certificate was cancelled, it was decided postpone the State exams until the end of July.
Then education minister Joe McHugh had hoped that students would get back into classrooms for two weeks before exams kicked off on July 29, but details around timetabling and other logistics remained unclear.
But the holding of exams was always just Plan A and Mr McHugh in May said “Any minister who gave a guarantee on anything would be living in a fool’s paradise”.
A few weeks later, the Government was forced to go with plan B, a newly devised calculated grades system that would ask teachers “to draw on existing records and available evidence, to provide a fair, reasonable and carefully considered judgment of the most likely percentage mark that each student would have achieved”.
Newly appointed Education Minister Norma Foley, who maintained that students would be treated “fairly and equitably”, came under sustained pressure to explain and publish the system used to calculate Leaving Cert grades.
Serious flaws in the calculated grades system in the UK only added to the concerns of students.
With students already logged on to virtual third- level courses, it had been assumed that the Leaving Cert debacle had come to an end.
That was until this week when the Taoiseach unexpectedly announced in the Dáil that the Department of Education has found two errors in the Leaving Certificate calculated grades system.
The errors identified by the department affect around 10% of pupils many of whom have already started third-level courses.
It has been a bumpy 100 days for Micheál Martin, who has steered the Government from one crisis to another all while trying to pacify an unruly and vocal rump in his own party.
As Mr Martin tried to readjust from the role of opposition leader to that of Taoiseach it seemed he was being confronted with a new crisis with every day.
The antics of those within his own party have not helped matters and have led to “leaky shoes” jokes over the number of shots Fianna Fáil have fired at their own feet.
In the days where the country came together to halt the spread of Covid-19, Fianna Fáil was tearing itself apart.
“Fianna Fáil, more so than Fine Gael, have this dissident wing that seems to believe that the glory days are just waiting to be reclaimed,” said Gary Murphy of DCU. “That’s not happening, that somehow a new leader and a new vision will change the party’s fortunes. The glory days they yearn for are long gone.” However, the past two weeks have signalled a turn in the road for Fianna Fáil and Mr Martin appears to have got to grips with his new role as leader of Government. His Covid-19 addresses, while stark in their content, have been reassuring.
Leo Varadkar’s party got off to the best start in the new three-way Government but arguably had the easiest transition.
Having spent nine years in power, they knew their way around Government Buildings and so had a clear head start on both Fianna Fáil and the Greens.
As one senior Fianna Fáil member put it, Fine Gael were “match ready”, while their new partners in Government had yet to get stuck into pre-season training.
However, the party has been left bruised by February’s general election, which saw them go from 50 seats after the 2016 election to just 35 now.
Having enjoyed top office, Mr Varadkar was also forced into playing second fiddle to long-time political rival Micheál Martin.
This required a settling-in period and more than a few toes were stepped on when Mr Varadkar took to Twitter to get ahead of official Government statements. This included gazumping the Taoiseach to announce the lockdown extension in Kildare in August.
Immediately after February’s election, Mr Varadkar signalled that he would prefer to spend some time on the opposition benches. Whether the decision to go into government for yet another term was the right one remains to be seen.
Éamon Ryan’s party came in on a green wave, securing the 12 Dáil seats. However, since entering Government, their voices have been largely drowned out by the two larger parties.
As well as finding their way in Government, the party also must sort out affairs in their own house.
Deep scars were inflicted during the programme for government negotiations, with a distinct split emerging between those who favoured entering power and those who were looking to progress a social justice agenda from the opposition benches.
This fracturing of the party, which drove some to set up the Just Transition breakaway group, is new to the Greens.
But they are probably now experiencing what larger parties see as a normal, if unpalatable, part of politics. Division, back-biting, infighting, and rivalry are all side-effects to growing your numbers.
However, it will be up to Mr Ryan to ensure that all views are heard, or he could see another exodus from the party.
Smaller coalition partners often struggle to be identified with particular policy changes and Mr Ryan will also be under pressure to deliver on the Green agenda items set out in the programme for government.
Usually, it’s the Healy-Raes who stop traffic with an impromptu ceilí outside Leinster House on the first day of the Dáil, but this year it was Richard O’Donoghue, the Independent TD for Limerick County, who had heads turning when he showed up in a vintage car.
The Wicklow TD has escaped the Department of Health but often continues to act as the minister without all the responsibility attached. He has also cleverly used his social media channels to directly speak to the people and post cute pictures of his daughter for extra voter points.
The Cork South-West TD has been a vocal advocate for many since entering the Dáil after a nailbiter in February. The Social Democrat has raised a number of social issues, including sustainable farming and the postcard lottery of visitors restrictions in maternity hospitals.
The Donegal TD was elevated to the Agriculture portfolio after his two predecessors were forced to resign amid separate scandals.
The Solidarity-PBP TD has raised the emotive issue of dying with dignity and has put it front and centre on the Dáil agenda this term.
Spending an afternoon on a golf course followed by a beef or salmon dinner has now become a sackable offence.
Changes to speaking arrangements caused fury and several walk-out on the day before the Dáil broke for the summer recess.
The changes came after backbenchers in the main parties complained that they rarely got time to speak. Now, Independents and smaller parties will now have less time on their feet.
A pilot scheme to shoot seals with high-powered rifles from boats was dubbed “insane”.
Heritage Minister Darragh O’Brien revealed that the Government is examining the potential for a scheme that would grant licenses in Kerry and Cork to protect fishermen’s catches.
The Offaly TD didn’t get a chance to mucky his wellingtons before he was forced to resign as Minister for Agriculture over a previous drink driving offence.
The former Fianna Fáil deputy leader was passed over for a senior ministry and was instead offered the job of chief whip.
He lasted just 37 days as Minister for Agriculture before he was forced to resign over the Golfgate scandal.
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