Employment schemes - Government must listen to majority

CRITICISM of Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s stubborn stance on the issue of the Community Employment Scheme (CES) will hardly elicit any change in his attitude when he delivers his Budget today.

Despite the posturing by a cadre of his backbench colleagues, the chances of the minister providing any extra funding for the scheme is as likely as a Dáil revolt by those same backbenchers against the Government.

Other issues have arisen previously over which Fianna Fáil TDs fulminated at parliamentary party meetings and "gangs" of them of reportedly various numerical strength affected an air of dissent. Inevitably, they marched straight into the Dáil and voted with the Government, having vented their protestations.

The question of mortgage relief when it was last raised as a controversial issue was a notable example of the tenacity of dissident Fianna Fáil backbenchers.

So, too, with that of the CES. A review group, at the behest of the Department of Enterprise, has made a number of recommendations in relation to it. Although still unpublished, the review is understood to advise an increase in the number of the schemes.

Mr McCreevy has unwaveringly maintained that no extra money will be forthcoming for it. In the Estimates, the Government allocated €351 million for the CES next year, the same as this year, to retain the same number of people around 25,000.

The scheme crosses the urban-rural divide by providing employment in virtually every community, but because of cutbacks the numbers engaged in it have fallen and some of the schemes have been closed down.

With the Government's decision to merely maintain the status quo of the CES and Mr McCreevy's determination to withstand the pleadings of his own backbench colleagues to provide more funding, it is a serious internal problem for Fianna Fáil.

So much so that Department of Enterprise Junior Minister Frank Fahey became embroiled in a public row with Mr McCreevy over the issue.

It also caused a majority of Fianna Fáil backbenchers to press the Government to reverse its policy. A considerable number of them, and senators, were so exercised by the blank wall they met they put their names to a motion demanding terminated schemes be restored.

Quite obviously, a considerable swathe of backbenchers are seriously at odds with the Government policy on this issue and they are not being listened to. If this is so, then the people they represent are effectively without a voice, which has unfortunately become a characteristic of this Government.

It is irrelevant to the electorate that so many backbench TDs oppose cutbacks, in whatever sphere of the economy, if those same elected representatives ultimately just follow the party line sheepishly.

There must arrive a time when the Government listens to the people. Unfortunately, the traits most often applied to it, since it returned to power, are one of arrogance and being out of touch with the country.