Miriam Lord: Thespian Tom’s art of the 60-second monologue

What’s the difference between Fine Gael backbencher Tom Neville and the rest of his colleagues in Dáil Éireann?

The answer is that Tom is a trained actor. All the others are self-taught.

The TD for Limerick County, who succeeded his father Dan in Leinster House this year, has yet to make his mark on the national stage but we hear he has been listed as a finalist in the “One Minute Monologue” category at this month’s Richard Harris International Film Festival in Limerick.

His performance of a scene from the 1997 movie Contact is intended to convey "sensitivity, vulnerability and enigma".

Neville was up for a gong in the same category last year with his treatment of "Choose Life" from Trainspotting. Both performances are up on YouTube.

But it gets better, because the Dáil's best-dressed male TD is also in contention for the best actor award for his leading role in the short film Colour of Forgiveness.

He plays a man who is jilted at the altar and takes it rather badly, but then learns to forgive.

Before becoming a TD, Neville, who holds a master’s degree in music technology, trained as an actor in Australia where he was, among other things, a radio presenter and techno DJ.

He is a member of the cross-party committee on mental health and the committee on jobs and enterprise and, as might be expected, takes a keen interest in matters relating to the promotion and funding of the arts.

Perhaps he might consider giving his Dáil colleagues some tips on how to master the art of the one-minute monologue.

Most of them are just drawing breath after 60 seconds.

This is the fourth year of the Richard Harris International Film festival

It runs from October 27th-31st in Limerick’s Belltable Arts Centre. ***********

Enda’s round

There was an outbreak of pre-budget bonding among Fine Gael Ministers on Thursday night when the Taoiseach took them for drinks following their final cabinet meeting before B-Day.

The meeting in Government Buildings was delayed for over an hour because the Minister for Finance was detained longer than had been anticipated at the Dail Public Accounts Committee meeting.

When it eventually got underway, it didn’t last very long. While some last minute horse-trading is still going on between the Independents and Michael Noonan and Paschal Donohoe, the session was more of a rubber-stamping exercise as everything had been agreed beforehand.

Enda then repaired across the road with his Ministers to the Merrion Hotel’s Cellar Bar. All in great form, apparently.

The Independents got no invite. He’d probably had enough of them, having spent most of the day closeted with Paschal, Shane Ross and Finian McGrath. Noonan dodged the estimates discussions with the Independents because of his committee duties, but the Taoiseach and Donohoe also met Denis Naughten and Michael Harty to sign off on matters of concern to them, with rural issues to the fore.

As Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Naughten - the former Fine Gael TD turned Independent - has a very wide-ranging portfolio. He’s taking his responsibilities on the environment front very seriously, walking around Leinster House this week clutching what looked like a toddler’s plastic beaker.

This is the Minister’s “keepcup”.

Denis has given up using disposable cups because October is National Reuse Month. Who knew? We hear he’s planning to send a beaker to every TD and Senator this week in a bid to cut the number of cardboard cups used in Leinster House.

He wasn’t at Enda’s strictly blueshirt soiree in the Cellar. Neither was the Minister for Education, Katherine Zappone. She also headed straight across the road to a hostelry after the meeting, but to Dan McGrattan’s emporium off Merrion Street, where Catherine Halloran, long time political correspondent of the Irish Daily Star, was having going away drinks with colleagues.

Catherine begins her new job as Deputy Government Press Secretary on Monday.

Meanwhile, Ross and McGrath were a little miffed yesterday when they heard that Enda went to the pub without them. Particularly as Finian could have brought his guitar and tortured the Taoiseach into conceding another few million.

And where was junior Minister, John Halligan in all of this? He must have had their hearts broken with his list of demands for Waterford.

John is away on government business. Sent off to Japan and South Korea “in order to enhance Ireland’s international collaboration in Research Development and Innovation.”

The Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation had a packed schedule. He visited the Gyeonggi Centre for Creative Economy and Innovation in South Korea. He also attended the 13th Annual Meeting of the Science and Technology in Society Forum in Kyoto, where he “briefed Japanese and international interlocutors on the progress and priorities of Irish R&D.”

Gone all week. Only back this weekend.

No wonder Enda and Paschal went out on the beer.

By the way, this year’s budget set-piece in the Dail is starting much earlier than usual with a much more sensible 1pm kick-off.

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Ministers stay away from Taiwan party

Government Ministers were under strict instructions this week not to attend any celebrations marking Taiwan’s national day. The Department of Foreign Affairs sent around an email strongly advising them to resist all invitations to a knees-up with the Taiwanese.

They dutifully complied.

Which is more than can be said for their less-exalted colleagues, many of whom could be seen tottering away from the Westbury Hotel earlier this week bearing exquisitely wrapped little boxes of sweeties and bottle- shaped gift bags.

“Meetings between Irish and Taiwanese public representatives are perceived in China as implicit recognition of the government of Taiwan and thus breach the One China Policy which has been adhered to by successive Irish governments,” the email said.

“Attendance at this event and other Taiwan-related incidents have led to considerable disruption in the advancement of Irish policy goals with China and the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade had to go to considerable lengths to reassure China of Ireland’s good faith and commitment to the bilateral relationship between our countries. Any resumption of these events would place further strain upon the relationship and could provoke a strong negative response from China.”

But the niceties of international diplomacy can’t hold a candle to the allure of good wine and prawn dumplings.

Hence the usual stampede from Leinster House on Tuesday night to celebrate Taiwan’s National Day with officials from the Taipei Representative Office in Dublin.

This gathering is a popular event on the Kildare Street calendar. A very large contingent of TDs and Senators attended this year’s shindig, which began with renditions of the Taiwan and Irish national anthems followed by speeches.

Simon SK Tu (Ireland doesn’t maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan) spoke in English and Taiwanese and Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness replied at great length, but only in English.

He couldn’t speak highly enough of the growing friendship between Ireland and Taiwan, with its huge untapped market just waiting to be explored by Irish business.

Our man on the inside – who knows his way around a canapé – was most enchanted. “John couldn’t praise them enough . . . They didn’t spare on the wine either, and it wasn’t any old muck. French, I think.”

The attendance included Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer and Joe Carey along with former Seanad Cathaoirleach Paddy Burke and current leas Cathaoirleach, Paul Coghlan.

Fianna Fáil was well represented and the likes of Dara Calleary, Margaret Murphy O’Mahoney, Fiona McLoughlin and Timmy Dooley were joined by an exuberant Senator Terry Leyden, fresh from his election as deputy chairman of the Committee on European Affairs.

After the reception, a cross- party group of parliamentarians continued the celebrations across the road in McDaids pub. They were all closely guarding those bottle bags.

Inside each was a very nice bottle of Kavalan, an award- winning single malt whisky distilled in Taiwan which was named Best Single Malt at last year’s World Whiskies Awards.

Hard luck, Ministers. *****

Senators still knocking

We may have been little bit previous in our prediction last week that the simmering row between Senators and TDs over membership of a Special Committee on the Future of Healthcare will be resolved soon.

As we reported, a number of senatorial noses are out of joint because members of the Upper House cannot join this committee, which was established immediately after the general election when the 25th Seanad was yet to be established. Subsequent attempts by a group of Senators to become involved in its deliberations have been repeatedly rebuffed.

The committee is chaired by the Social Democrat’s Rosin Shorthall and it aims “to achieve cross-party consensus on a single long-term vision for health care and the direction of health policy in Ireland and to make recommendations to the Dáil in that regard.”

Senators lobbying for inclusion have met and corresponded with Shorthall, but she has been unable to accommodate them.

Fine Gael’s Colm Burke, who is leading the charge, indicated that his party intends to move a Dáil motion amending the rules under which the committee was established so Senators can join.

However, it seems now like that support is lukewarm. One of the 14-strong membership tells us emphatically that Shorthall is merely reflecting “the strong and unanimous view of the committee.”

They say they have already done a huge amount of work and believe the addition of more members will slow them down as they attempt to meet their reporting deadline at the end of January.

It seems the TDs have already achieved “cross-party consensus” on one issue, and it doesn’t augur well for their cross-party colleagues, the senators. If a motion is moved in the Dáil, they might well be embarrassed by the result.