Irish Examiner view: Parties keen to avoid any political hot potatoes
Simon Harris has shown disinclination for initiating debates on Irish unification. Picture: Getty
Taoiseach Simon Harris has already intimated that he has little interest in initiating wide-ranging debates about the unification of Ireland.
“Not a priority” was his summary, and that conclusion is likely to be shared by those who blanched at the headline estimates of the costs of the initial programme.
A figure of €20bn is a lot to stake on re-establishing a vision, although it fades to grey when you consider the €2 trillion the Germans spent on bringing the East and West back together.
The extent to which the British taxpayer might be willing to make a contribution, if at all, is imponderable. So, this can gets firmly kicked down the road for this campaign.
Another wild card would be the scope of any inquiry into the management of the pandemic. We have waited years, so we should not be surprised if this disappears into the deep freeze for all practical purposes.
It was in January that Mr Harris, who was the minister of health at the start of the covid crisis, said that terms of reference were being brought to Cabinet “shortly” and that the process should encourage “transparency”.
As we enter May, and with the Dáil scheduled to recess for summer on July 11, no one should hold their breath for substantive progress.
Another knotty matter is the unfinished business from the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which recommended decriminalisation of the possession of drugs for personal use in October 2023.
Leo Varadkar, in charge at the time, was firm that the “war-on-drugs” strategy has not worked.
During his tenure as the minister for justice, Mr Harris was a critic of drug culture. At one stage, he said that there was a direct link between “snorting a line or taking a pill” at the weekend and “murder, assault, and criminality” the following week.
He hasn’t been vigorously interrogated on this subject since taking over, but it would not be surprising if it was a subject on which he and Fine Gael might like to remain uncommitted ahead of the hustings.
Observers and campaign managers will note what is happening in some other jurisdictions which have previously liberalised their approach.
In British Columbia, provincial governors are to re-criminalise possession and use of drugs in public spaces.
The Canadians changed their laws in January 2023, allowing adults to carry up to 2.5g of drugs for personal use without facing criminal charges.
However, horrified by the manner in which users have taken over parks, streets, public transport, and even hospitals, that policy is to be overhauled. Consumption will still be allowed in a private dwelling, legal shelter, and at overdose-prevention sites and drug-checking locations.
Opinion polls show Sinn Féin continuing to lead, with a modest bump for Fine Gael following the arrival of Mr Harris — who has made visible strides with voters aged 18 to 34.
Neither of the main coalition parties will want any hostages to fortune in the next six months.
Policy decisions, and referendums, which fall into that category, are most likely headed for the back burner, to simmer away until the next administration is in place.
On one hand there are those who suggest that the British government’s Rwanda initiative, whereby asylum seekers may be deported to the African country, will not be effective in curtailing the activities of criminal gangs who illegally transport these unfortunate people.
On the other, our Government may be seeking to implement emergency legislation precisely because 80% of asylum applicants come to Ireland over the border with the North to avoid the new laws’ impact.
Both conclusions may be true and the issue is due to be discussed by Justice Minister Helen McEntee and her British counterpart, home secretary James Cleverly. It is forecast that British authorities will start their crackdown today.
Irish voters are cautious about what they are being told about applicants seeking protection. The EU pact does not come into effect until 2026. By then, the composition of our Government may look very different.
Don’t expect any great help from Westminster. It doesn’t feel it owes us any favours over this. Ireland is in a bind because a previous designation that the UK was “a safe third country” to which asylum seekers could be returned was overruled last month by the High Court, citing EU law.
That judgment looked unrealistic at the time. It needs to be reversed.
Senna was 34. Of the 52 deaths in the Grand Prix in 72 years, only one has occurred since the loss of Senna — Jules Bianchi in Japan in 2014. Technology may have made F1 a predictable procession, but it has also made it safer.
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