Post Election 16

13/03/2016
It's not surprising that people are disenchanted with politics and politicians. Looking at the behaviour of all the recently elected TDs, particularly the two biggest parties, can only lead to the conclusion that they are all hypocrites. After the election, all the talk was about "listening to the people" and 'hearing the message" from the electorate. Now we're off on another red herring - 'Dáil Reform', according the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. This is the same Fine Gael that spent 5 years in government, promised to reform politics in Ireland and did nothing, except make a mess of abolishing the Seanad. 

The issue here is not about Dáil reform or reforming the political system. It's about trying to do the things that people want i.e. solving problems. The issues are well known - Housing Crisis, Health Crisis, Poverty, Living Wages etc. At a European level, the refugee crisis is tearing the heart out of the EU and the majority of people want to see a solution, with at least some humanity shown to the people suffering under appalling conditions in Greece and other countries.

It can be assumed that all politicians agree that these issues need to be dealt with. So why can't 158 elected representatives apply their collective grey matter to tackle these problems, particularly the national ones? Take each issue one at a time. Devise a plan, identify the obstacles to solving the problem, work out ways to overcome these obstacles and implement the plan. Housing is a problem - build more affordable houses. In the past councils and corporations built houses for rent so why can't that happen now. What is stopping it and what needs to be done to start it up again? The same should apply with the health service and the other issues. 

It's ironic to think how both Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party were prepared to 'jump through hoops of fire' to raise money to pay bondholders who gambled on reckless banking practices, yet they bicker and squabble among each other when it comes to dealing with the problems of the people they are "listening to". The same urgency should be shown when it comes to raising money to fund these social problems. Dáil reform will not be necessary if the politicians elected to it do what the people who put them there are asking them to do. After all, that's supposed to be the purpose of a national parliament - to act in the interests of the people it represents. However, taking into consideration the current navel-gazing and soul-searching of the main political parties, it's hard to imagine that representing the people who elected them is foremost in their minds. And the real killer is that most of them don't even realise that's exactly what they were elected to do.


05/03/2016
Now that the election is over, it is plain to see that Ireland has followed Greece, Portugal and Spain in rejecting pro-austerity governments. So much for Ireland being the 'poster boy' of Europe and its policies.One of the key issues of the election was water charges and the establishment of Irish Water. This was very badly handled from day 1 and previous experience in relation to water taxes  should have warned politicians about the sentiment of Irish people when it comes to paying for water. After all, it never seems to stop falling out of the sky  here.

That said, caution needs to be exercised by those declaring a victory over water taxes. A glance at any newspaper and the comments of the two main political parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, show that the spin has already started. Both parties are talking about the charges continuing following a review, while Fianna Fáil is in favour of abolishing Irish Water. Representatives of neither of these parties have mentioned privatisation. Water charges have now been introduced by Fianna Fáil in the past and by Fine Gael in 2015 it can be assumed that both support this measure. However, a crucial issue is whether it will be privatised in the future! 

As regards privatisation, there is one simple question - who gains? The answer is the owners of a privatised water company. Private water companies make billions in profits by charging for water. It seems that the real issue is which party's political cronies will be given the largesse? Why can't the government take on the responsibility of providing a very basic human need, invest taxes in water infrastructure and see a return to the exchequer from a fair charging system? The original reason put forward for water charges was conservation, but that's no longer on the agenda, as people do not pay for the amount used. 

Irish Water was created for national balance sheet manipulation i.e. to keep its borrowings off the national debt. This failed due to the 'low charges', which according to the EU was direct subsidisation from the government. This is the bottom line here - don't add to the national debt. No problem adding to the national debt to buy an election but not so in relation to a basic human requirement. The government could have (and should have) invested in water infrastructure after years of neglect but in order to keep the borrowing off the national debt, a 'vehicle' had to be created - Irish Water. Fine Gael was ambiguous, to say the least, about the future plans for the privatisation of Irish Water and the Labour Party was virtually silent. The Labour Party misread the mood of the population and spurned an opportunity to save itself by opposing water charges in government when things began to get out of control. This would have brought down the government but probably saved the Party from the wipeout it received in the election.

In conclusion, the priority is to legislate, by way of a constitutional amendment if necessary, that the privatisation of water will never happen in Ireland. If privatisation is off the agenda, then a rational debate can take place, in the context of overall tax policy, about how to fund water infrastructure into the future in Ireland.