Irish Examiner View: Micheál Martin must heed lesson of 1990 vote

Taoiseach Micheál Martin is in the middle of an unprecedented challenge to his own position as leader of Fianna Fáil. Picture: Leah Farrell /  RollingNews.ie

The presidential election might be concluded, but the controversies it set in motion continue to roll. The recriminations arising from Fianna Fáil’s decision to run Jim Gavin continue, for instance, and the party might be well advised to look further back than a month or two to see how the after-effects from a presidential election shambles can linger.

There are echoes of another disastrous presidential election campaign for Fianna Fáil. In 1990, Brian Lenihan Sr was tánaiste, a popular politician whose positive public image seemed destined to carry him to the presidency. His campaign collapsed, however, when it emerged he had been engaged in efforts to pressure then president Patrick Hillery into not dissolving the Dáil in 1982.

Mary Robinson duly became president, but the ramifications for Fianna Fáil of that campaign were long-lasting. Charles Haughey, the then taoiseach, sacked Lenihan a week before the election. The decision boosted Lenihan’s popularity in the short term, but also undercut Haughey’s authority. Just over a year later, he resigned as taoiseach.

As a student of history, such events will be familiar to the current Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. He is in the middle of an unprecedented challenge to his own position as leader of Fianna Fáil, given the unhappiness in his party with the way Mr Gavin was selected, as well as the alacrity with which he was later abandoned.

Tánaiste Simon Harris has also been criticised, but he may not be quite as vulnerable within Fine Gael.

The internal rumbling within Fianna Fáil seems to lack a focus, however. There seems to be no credible alternative to Mr Martin — or someone willing to identify themselves as such; that is the more significant point.

Mr Martin has no intention of quitting, telling Irish Examiner political correspondent Tadgh McNally that he is “not going anywhere” and will fight any no-confidence motion. But the lesson of 1990 may be that a presidential election fiasco can mark the beginning of the end for even the strongest party leader.

Keeping tabs on data centres

A survey has found that people are resistant to the idea of prioritising data centres in the event of power shortages, while keen on new data centres being powered by renewable energy.

A Friends of the Earth survey of 300,000 people across the EU found that data centres were the lowest priority for support if power shortages arise in the future.

Irish people surveyed want all new data centres to be powered completely by renewable energy sources, a significant finding given the terrible environmental impact of such facilities. Data centres consume huge amounts of energy, which in turn contributes to high greenhouse gas emissions. They are responsible for significant water use for cooling, and for the generation of large amounts of electronic waste. Often they create air and noise pollution in their localities as well.

The Friends of the Earth survey also revealed people’s priorities when it comes to power supplies. In the event of an energy shortage, most would want housing, public services, and agriculture and food supply accommodated first.

The survey results may indicate a growing awareness of the negative consequences of simply facilitating tech companies without question. It is not unreasonable for these companies’ demands to be examined. Such interrogation is preferable to accepting their requirements without question.

It is worth noting the recent appointment of a tech company lobbyist to the Data Protection Commission. Niamh Sweeney was a senior executive with Facebook, WhatsApp, and Stripe before her appointment as data protection commissioner.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and a number of digital rights campaigners have complained against Ireland to the European Commission over Ms Sweeney’s appointment, given the appalling record of tech companies in scraping user data. For example, the DPC fined Meta, parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, €251m last year for a data breach.

“Ireland’s actions not only invite further reasonable doubts, but may also be interpreted by the tech industry as a signal of impunity from the Irish Government,” said the ICCL. “The European Commission must intervene.”

Housing crisis impacting pet ownership

It is now universally accepted that the housing crisis has contaminated many areas of life which at first glance seem unrelated to it. 

Traffic and parking issues caused by people forced to travel long distances, the mental health struggles of those who cannot find accommodation, the inability of employers to find workers who live within commuting distance — all of these are secondary effects of a crisis that seems to worsen with every passing day.

It transpires that more and more pets are being surrendered to shelters by owners forced to choose between animals and accommodation. A meeting of Cork County Council was told recently that more animals are being surrendered because housing list applicants cannot keep them when moved by the local authority into properties under the jurisdiction of approved housing bodies (AHBs).

As reported here by Sean O’Riordan, councillors stressed the benefits of pet ownership for the mental health of those struggling to find accommodation. The council is to write to the Department of Housing asking it to issue guidelines encouraging AHBs to adopt pet-friendly policies where appropriate. 

This is a welcome move. There is no need to punish pet owners disproportionately in this regard, particularly those who may already be in challenging circumstances.