Concert fiasco - Coalition pulls out all the stops

Four hundred thousand fans will be absolutely delighted this morning that the Garth Brooks concerts at Croke Park are on the cards again. While the number of gigs has yet to be decided, the critical development came when residents most opposed to staging the concerts agreed to some going ahead.

For the singer, the multi-million dollar question is how many concerts will he play? Three this month and two more at the end of his global tour? The U-turn by residents will be depicted as a public relations coup for Taoiseach Enda Kenny. But what does it say of Government priorities when a Taoiseach devotes his energies to salvaging a country and western music concert while seemingly putting the Cabinet reshuffle on the backburner? Short of sticking its nose into the planning process, the Coalition has pulled out all the stops in a bid to save Ireland’s ‘reputational image’. When the entire event was axed, it responded instantly to calls for action from hoteliers, restaurateurs, and vintners hoping for a bonanza and looking to concert-goers, including 70,000 ‘tourist’ fans, not only to enjoy themselves but to spend around €50m in Dublin, revenue the sector badly needs.

Coalition involvement at the highest level in this affair is in stark contrast with its year-long foot-dragging failure to resolve the medical card controversy until forced by Labour’s decimation at the hands of voters in the local elections. With the Coalition in neutral for weeks now, concerts have suddenly taken precedence over politics.