Appalling hypocrisy

Fine Gael squander credibility

The latest instalment in the Irish Water saga adds considerably to the disappointment surrounding Fine Gael, especially some of its most senior and influential figures.

The party’s inability to behave in a way that might suggest that its promises around “a new kind of democracy” and transparency had any real meaning or value fuels the cynicism that has done so much damage to our political life. This suggests that the tragic assertion that “they are all the same” is far closer to the truth than the Fine Gael claim to the high moral ground would have us believe.

The contradictory stories offered by Taoiseach Enda Kenny around the nomination of John McNulty to contest a Senate seat do him no credit, a reality he has acknowledged. This acknowledgement, however, will have no value unless it leads to a change in behaviour. Already a considerable challenge that change is made even more difficult by RTÉ’s revelations yesterday about former Environment Minister Phil Hogan’s knowledge, which he steadfastly denied, of Irish Water’s expenditure plans.

These difficulties may be, as some would have us believe, the normal cut and thrust of political life, but anyone who clings to the idea that we might ever have a civic morality we can be proud of will reject that nonsense for what it is

Tragically, the ultimate consequence may be political turmoil which might undo our longed-for economic recovery.