State of the nation - A chance to demonstrate real change

Until now, the current Government has been getting away with blaming the last government.

Enda Kenny’s speech to the nation last night set out the agenda of the current coalition’s plans for coming years.

Henceforth, the Taoiseach and his colleagues are going to have to stand on their own policies, especially the budget announcements today and tomorrow. Last night’s speech was momentous in that our various Taoisigh have not delivered that many formal addresses the nation.

One of the earliest addresses was Éamon de Valera’s famous radio broadcast after the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. It was widely regarded as his most effective speech, and it was certainly his most memorable. Just about everybody who heard him that day never forgot where they were when the heard that speech.

Charles Haughey’s first address to the nation as Taoiseach in January 1980 is remembered for the wrong reasons. “We have been living at a rate which is simply not justified by the amount of goods and services we are producing,” he told the nation that night. “To make up the difference we have been borrowing enormous amounts of money, borrowing at a rate which just cannot continue.”

For the remainder of his first term as Taoiseach, however, his government did little to rectify the situation. In time it would become apparent that Mr Haughey himself was also living beyond his means.

It will be some time before it will be possible to assess the real impact of Mr Kenny’s address last night. But the omens in recent days have been disquieting.

The Government, which has promised a break with the past, included salary caps for public service employees. But both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have hired two special advisers each on salaries that exceed the pay scales recommended by the Department of Public Expenditure.

Members of the Government must be seen to be trying to fulfil their promises. Only a knave or a fool would have thought that they could get away with extravagant election promises during the last general election. Nobody could have doubted that the current Government was inheriting a mess, so nobody can effectively use that mess as an excuse for reneging on election promises.

The next couple of days will be crucial for members of the Government to demonstrate that they are determined to break with the past and fulfil their election commitments.