A policy of doing the popular thing, not the right thing

Originally posted on AdamMaguire.com

As silly season nears an end and we head towards the start of the real election campaign and a new Dáil term the cynic in me says we should prepare for more political policies and decisions that will defy logic but appeal to what seems like the majority, even if they are just the very vocal minority.

Two incidents in recent months have highlighted the fact that this Government does not bother itself with doing what is right for the voters but instead doing what will appease the most extreme groupings around. One is a very current issue and the other is no more than a has-been, despite the fact that there has been no resolution and no potential solution. It just so happens that both of these involve the Department of Justice.

Ignoring the debate over someone, God forbid, taking the blame during the CC/Mr. A incident earlier this year there was one political anomoly that boggles the mind. In the wake of the crisis Michael McDowell stated correctly that there was no legal blackhole and that new legislation should not be rushed; as rushing it would ensure its failure. Only days later, and most certainly as a result of a verbal thrashing by Fianna Fail, Mr. McDowell produced some legislation. This legislation had been hammered out over a frantic weekend, it was full of holes and as it passed through the houses of the Oireachtas most conceeded that the issue would have to be revised before more constitutional problems arose from the statutory rape law.

There was hysteria around the Mr. A case; the reactionist tabloids had a field day and RTÉ Radio amassed its troops outside Leinster House to protest. Fianna Fail and the PD’s had a simple choice; tell the public the truth and point out the fact that good legislation is better than quick legislation or give them what they wanted. The decision was made and we now sit with incomplete legislation and no-one willing to take responsibility for the fiasco but most importantly for the Government there is the perception amongst those that shouted loudest that something was done and everything is A-OK.

The Irish Independent now reports that the Government is planning to impose work restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian citizens when their respective countries become EU member states in 2007 (or possibly 2008). This move is to pre-emptively appease those who believe that immigrants have taken our jobs, made it more difficult for first-time buyers (despite the new EU citizen being prolific renters) and are threatening to put Irish people in the minority (people do actually think that). The vote-grabbing move by the Government completely ignores the fact that no restriction available to our Government can hinder the free access all EU citizens have to our country as “tourists” and it turns a blind eye to the growth in the black market in the 13 “old” EU states that decided to limit the 10 new countries in 2004. Speaking with reason, if Romanians or Bulgarians want to come to Ireland when their countries join the EU there’s nothing we can do about it and if they want to work restrictions will only mean the jobs they find will be poorly paid, of no benefit to the Irish economy and potentially dangerous.

It is hard to say who is in the majority; the people who think immigrants are taking jobs from the Irish or those who do not and the people who thought there was a legal blackhole after the CC case or does who knew otherwise; in both cases I suspect the latter were in the majority but the former were the most vocal. It now seems that the only time the vocal minority get recognised as a minority is when they call for a minister to resign.
As the Dáil prepares to return to business and the real election campaigns get underway expect more of the same from the Government, and probably other parties too. When you’re looking for votes the last thing you want to do is tell the people what they need; it’s far more lucrative to promise them the moon.
(as a quick aside the recent article in the examiner on the dropping crime rate in Poland being linked to emigration was ignorant of the fact that Polish people are going elsewhere besides Ireland, the UK and Sweden; if anything the three countries offering legitimate work are getting educated individuals, the kind of people that are not willing to work in a black market economy; I hate to seem assumptious but guess what portion of any population are…)