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End of Oligarchy?
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Writing in today’s Irish Times, Jim Glennon, former FF TD for Dublin North, makes a plea for the end of oligarchy:
“The major pillars of late 20th-century Irish society – business, the Roman Catholic Church, politics, and various institutions of State – are all in tatters.
We need a politics that reflects not only the demands from those 30-somethings for replacement pillars but one which will also mirror society’s new diversity in a manner which unites, rather than divides, our people.
Make no mistake about it, there is real talent in the Dáil. Dara Calleary in Fianna Fáil, Denis Naughten in Fine Gael and Seán Sherlock in Labour, to name but one in each major party, have the makings of great ministers. It’s time to give them, and their 30-something generation, the reins of power.”
Alas, Jim, a handover to the younger generation may prove harder than you imagine. A quick flick through Nealon’s Guide confirms that ’30-somethings’ are thin on the ground in Dail Eireann. Only Lucinda Cregihton (FG Dublin South East), was born after 1980 and she’s not even on the FG front bench. Leo Varadkar, born in 1979, is though, but that makes him exceptionally young among Opposition party members to hold such a prominent position. In Fianna Fail, junior Minister Dara Calleary, is the only 1970s baby to hold office. At 47, the Green’s Eamon Ryan is the youngest member of the Cabinet, whilst newly appointed Minister Pat Carey, born in 1947, is the oldest.
Varadkar is one of seven TDs less than thirty five years of age. Only eighteen of our sitting TDs were born after 1970, compared with 56 who were born before 1955. And a significant number of the latter clock in as ‘war babies’ or even older.
Of the three biggest parties, Labour has the least enviable age profile among its ranks, with only Sean Sherlock coming from the post 1970s generation. Key Labour spokespersons – Joan Burton, Ruairi Quinn, Pat Rabbitte – all regularly touted as likely aspirants for high Ministerial office in the next government, are already in their sixties. If the current government were to last its full term and Enda Kenny was appointed Taoiseach in 2012, he will be 67 years of age at the end of his first full government term, and retiring (presumably) at 72 if FG were to win a second term.
Does age matter? Some of the younger turks, if you could even call them that, regularly sound older than Methuselah whenever they open their mouths. Radicalism, energy and vision are not necessarily age related. Most of the early politics of this State were dominated by thirty-somethings and look at the mess they made of things! There’s a lot to be said for wisdom and experience and we need a mix and balance among all age groups around any Cabinet table.
That said, there’s cleary an unfortunate imbalance in the age profile of the current Dail relative to the age distribution of our population. Then there’s the issue of continuity at Executive level. If the next government is dominated by individuals of an average age and appearance more reminiscent of the old Soviet Politburo, are they likely to inspire the country? How many of them are mentally captive to ideological perspectives that no longer have either relevance or resonance within modern Ireland? How many of them, realistically, can last longer than one term?
So what should happen? In appointing the next Cabinet, if he’s elected to the office of Taoiseach of course, should Enda Kenny tell his old guard that Varadkar, Coveney, English, Enright, Naughten, Hayes and Creighton are at the top of his list and only the best of the rest of them will make it through? And if Eamon Gilmore has fresh choices arising from a good electoral performance and seat gains, should he give preference to Sherlock, Ciaran Lynch and , perhaps, the likes of Alan Kelly if he makes it in North Tipperary, over the present front-bench cohort? Tough choices will have to be made about personnel as well as policies.
I thought that the appointment of Sean Connick to a junior ministry in last week’s cabinet reshuffle heralded a new approach to the disabled in Ireland. It is now clear that it was no more than a cynical piece of tokenism. In hindsight how can one expect anything noble from that human hog Cowan and his cronies.
What disabused me of my optimism was the announcement by education minister Mary Bimbo Coughlan that there would be 353 fewer special needs’ assistants in the education system, so those with special needs, whether physical or mental, had better paddle their own canoes.
The meeting of the FF parliamentary party highlighted difficulties in communication. This is incorrect. I think they communicate their policies loud ands clearly to the Irish people, who see that they consist of victimising the most vulnerable in society, in order to help out their super-rich gangster friends.
I described Sean Connick’s appointment as inspired. I apologise for my naivety, but the fact is we disabled people latch on childishly to any ray of hope which seems to offer liberation from being Ireland’s doormat.
@Veronica,
The Dáil is made up of the candidates whom the people voted for in free elections. It would appear in a majority of cases they went with the old dog for the long road. (As a budding early thirty something politician myself I may wish it were other but the world is as it is, not as we may wish it to be). Maybe people don’t particularly want young politicians?
(On a logistical note, and touching on topics mentioned in my previous post, there are likely also lifestyle/financial reasons why such young guns may be less prominent in the ranks of the our oireachtas members).
On another note if Enda is 62 assuming office I really don’t think it matters. If he commands a majority in the Dáil after a free and fair election then good luck to him at whatever age. Dev was Taoiseach into his 70s and still a head of state (final year as president) at 90.
@Ciaran,
You seem to have your mind made up already so not sure if you are interested in replies or mere polemic. How and ever..
Sean Connick is a talented young(ish?) TD who I congratulate on his elevation as a junior Minister. Again the fact that can do the job justifies his elevation. Where does disability come into it? And what has made you so disheartened in the week that you were initially optimistic?
James,
Dev’s long political innings did him no credit and certainly wasn’t of any great benefit to the modernisation of his country. When he died, a lot of then rather young people – now heading towards the knacker’s yard in chronological terms (like myself) – felt liberated and drank several pints in celebration of both his longevity and their own feeling of blessed release. Most historians take the view that he stayed too long and that Ireland would have been better if he vacated the Taoiseach’s office and hte leadership of Fianna Fail a good ten years before he did. But the political culture was different then.
I agree with you that it doesn’t matter if Kenny and GIlmore were 100 or 75 years old respectively, so long as they retain the confidence of their parties. It’s not at the pinnacle of leadership that we have a problem: I got a bit of a shock myself when I did the ‘headcount’ this morning and realised the imbalance in age terms of our Dail representation relative to the composition of our population. I believe we NEED more thirty-somethings, and twenty somethings too, elbowing their way into representational politics. Maybe it would provide some incentive to them to come forward and offer themselves as candidates if they saw people their own age and of commensurate ability being fast tracked into positions in Government, rather than having to spend years waiting for ‘Buggin’s turn’?
Dick Spring, whatever you may think of him, was hardly a wet week in the Dail before he was made leader and then Tanaiste and latterly went on to become Labour’s most successful political leader. Sean Lemass, arguably Ireland’s best Taoiseach of the 20th century, didn’t overstay his welcome either, even if he had to wait most of his political lifetime to attain the highest office, and resigned as Taosieach to give the next generation their shot.
Hence my ‘skip a generation’ fantasy in terms of candidate selection for all parties at the next election, appointments to the next government and should the opportunity arise, in the election of the next generation of party leaders.
I believe the demographic balance in Ireland now is that two thirds of the population are under 44.I bet two thirds of that two thirds ( of voting age ) dont vote.Hence political parties pick older candidates and an older electorate who bother to vote elect the older candidates.
Glennons sentiment is correct. The more often that view is articulated the more likely that parties might be brave and give younger candidates full backing. James and others may go grey waiting though.