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The silly season normally waits until the dog-days of August but it has come early this year. Incredibly, the main government party was planning a self-congratulatory event today in Merrion Square Park, close to Leinster House, to mark 12 months in government.
Labour was the cutting edge of the new Coalition in the last 24 hours. We had Pat Rabbitte, Joan Burton, Ruairi Quinn and Brendan Howlin all emphasising the need for stringency and there was a particular emphasis on the importance of real change under the terms of the Croke Park public sector pay and reform agreement.
There will be a kerfuffle when the Dáil returns tomorrow over the form that the banking inquiry will take. Most of the Sunday broadsheets yesterday reported that the Government is veering towards a Commission of Inquiry model.
That’s the concept brought to us by Michael McDowell. And, yes, it works. Very well too. But it’s not a utility player as such. It’s specialist. Worked well with Judge Murphy’s investigation of how the Dublin Archdioices responded to allegations of clerical sex abuse. It was also effective when inquiring into the death of a young boy whilst in custody.
The summer won’t be as quiet politically as previous years. We are awaiting important reports from ‘An Bord Snip Nua’ and the Commission on Taxation and, of course, the Greens will be wrestling very publicly with their consciences.
The great are only great because we are on our knees: Big Jim Larkin statue in O’Connell Street, Dublin (Photograph by Frank Miller)
It’s often said the age of political oratory is dead but, if that’s the case, then Labour’s Pat Rabbitte is the exception to the rule. Here is an early transcript of his speech in yesterday’s Budget debate where he took a swipe at the Greens that even had Taoiseach Brian Cowen teetering on the brink of laughter. In the interests of balance and fairness I am giving the remarks made by Green Party leader and Environment Minister John Gormley later in the day.
Keeping the art of parliamentary oratory alive: Pat Rabbitte at Leinster House (Photograph by Brenda Fitzsimons)
Bigger parties must wonder what they have to do to get the media attention that is lavished on the Progressive Democrats. Probably the reason is that the PDs were different: not a catch-all party that stood for anything and everything but a radical party of the right. (more…)
