Next few months will reveal if Leo is man of substance or just style

After  a summer of wetsuit posing, efforts to expand his appeal through social media and going unrecognised by Irish students on their J1 visa Taoiseach Leo Varadkar now gets down to the real business of running the country, writes Alison O’Connor.

HIS opponents would have us believe he is an inveterate poseur, torn between self-adoration and what they dismiss as derisory efforts to woo voters from outside the traditional Fine Gael base. Even his supporters have been getting ever so slightly worried about him overdoing the slick, spin-over-substance persona.

The reality is that it is too soon to tell. The rubber will really hit the road for our new Taoiseach over the next few weeks, and it is only by Christmas that we will have a true sense of what kind of a leader Leo Varadkar makes.

Even that is a relatively short space of time but given the acute issues facing him it will become apparent quite quickly what chance there is of getting a few long-running and seemingly intractable problems sorted out.

He chaired his first cabinet meeting back after the summer this week and in less than four weeks we will hear details of the first budget under his new regime. In the meantime there are a terrible trio of issues to be dealt with — our severe housing shortage, the disintegration of the reputation of An Garda Síochána and the perennial problem that is our health services.

These are monumental issues and in the case of the housing crisis it is no hyperbole to describe it as a national disgrace that brings shame on us all.

"I'm not sure how we're going to manage.. it's emotionally draining."
Ireland's #HousingCrisis with @SarahAMcInerney at 9pm on @TV3Ireland pic.twitter.com/L5GWoUwxVH

— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) September 14, 2017

Given what we now know has been going on inside An Garda over decades — treatment of whistleblowers, breath testing, Templemore finances — the most remarkable thing perhaps is that things managed to stay contained for so long.

Elsewhere our health service is gearing up for another long winter of discontent or so it seems.

The retirement of Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan this week has actually presented the Taoiseach with a huge opportunity to show that he means business in terms of reform of the force.

He needs to undertake a shake-up so extensive that the only one left unsurprised is himself.

This sort of a move could come to symbolise immediately what sort of leader he intends to be. As things stand no one individual, whether an outsider or not, and no matter how well qualified, will be able to turn this around single-handedly.

This will take radical action. The renaming of the force should be considered. There is much to recommend the suggestion of former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Denis Bradley, of a properly resourced Policing Authority with politicians from all parties being members of the authority, just as they are on the policing board in Northern Ireland.

The breaking of the link between the force and the Department of Justice would also be a far healthier situation. We’ve had too many half-arsed efforts to resolve this situation so real political bravery is called for here.

The soundings we’ve been getting from the Government on housing are somehow reminiscent of the British government on Brexit without the naked belligerence and with more empathy.

There is lots of noise, plenty of announcements, more promises that you can keep count of, but you can’t help but suspect no one really has a clue what is happening and whether what is happening will work.

Is it simply a convenience to blame, as has become fashionable, local authorities around the country for not getting the finger out?

Not unlike the Taoiseach it is too soon to tell how Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy will ultimately perform but if nothing else he appears to be battling with the plethora of announcements made by his predecessor Simon Coveney.

It sounds like that for all his sincerity and ability to listen the Corkman got out of this ministry just in time. What would he have had to show for himself now if he remained there? Slim pickings, that’s what.

Colleagues around the Cabinet table say they are impressed with the new Taoiseach’s intellect and his grasp of detail. It keeps them on their toes, they say.

According to the non-FG ministers Mr Varadkar doesn’t have a conniption if someone disagrees with a particular point of view, nor does he send out signals that he views such behaviour as disloyal.

He is apparently happy to have a “healthy” discussion on an issue that may be proving controversial.

The Independents will tell you that former taoiseach Enda Kenny took a poor view of such behaviour although he was a great man, they recall, for “promising the divil and all” during a meeting but often failing to deliver.

They feel positively enough towards the new man but are biding their time to see if his pledges are actually delivered upon.

While not seeming as acute right now as the other two issues our health services have the potential to cause serious difficulties for the Government.

Funny, it’s the tradition that the minister for health is the one that gets the most flak of any minister, with a department seemingly full of landmines, but that minister has some company now in the shape of his colleagues in justice and health.

Leo Varadkar knows he is open to the taunt that he deserted the Department of Health and

has said he will take a special interest in it as Taoiseach.

Since being elected he keeps in really regular contact with Health Minister Simon Harris. It would be a really be a wonderful thing if he publicly showed his support for some of the very good work that Harris has been doing, even turning up at the odd hospital or two.

At its most very basic he needs to tell people what Fine Gael health policy is now. He may be aware of it, but no one else is.

But if the Taoiseach has spent the summer devising plans for these three hot topics the one that will take most political skill and experience is a fourth and that is the referendum on the Eighth Amendment.

The Taoiseach has said there will be a referendum next year but no one has the remotest idea what question might be put on the ballot paper. It would be no surprise at all to see two minority reports emerge from the Oireachtas committee established to examine the issue.

There is then a very real scenario around whether the Taoiseach would even be able to get a vote through the Dáil to have that referendum. You could have a yawning gap between those who might feel whatever is proposed goes too far and those who believe it does not go anywhere near far enough.

So our new Taoiseach has plenty to be dealing with and the next few months will show us whether or not he is a man of substance or just one who likes to turn on the style.