Irish Examiner view: Can we find the courage to change?

Resolving our unequal society will define the legacy of today's politicians

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar speaks during the leader's speech at the Fine Gael’s 80th Ard Fheis in the RDS at the weekend. 

The shorthand used to describe great challenges is a reliable way to cut to the core of a generation’s litmus test. Today we mark the centenaries of the achievements of our revolutionary generation in a way that celebrates the opportunities their determination afforded us. That cohort, described today in a reverent, celebratory shorthand, was followed by the generation who lived through the Second World War. They were followed by the emigrant generation as half a million Irish people moved to England or Scotland in the dark 1950s. Tens of thousands more sought a new life — nearly any life — elsewhere. That haemorrhaging led to free education and our membership of the European Union. Those brave steps were transformative and remain so. They changed Ireland radically, almost always in a positive, rising-tide way.

Yet, the dividends of those social advances are unevenly spread. The bounty seems beyond the reach of an ever-increasing number of our citizens, especially our younger citizens trapped in an exploitative housing market. This was recognised by Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar who, in his leader’s address to the Fine Gael Árd Fheis at the weekend, flagged a shift for his party by committing to widen social welfare, introduce statutory sick pay, move to a living wage, and give all employees access to an occupational pension. "The pandemic has caused us all to re-evaluate what matters the most,” he said.