Una Mullally: What exactly does Fianna Fail stand for at the end of the day?

Unlike a Programme for Government, or certainly an election manifesto, there’s something more honest about this so-called Confidence and Supply Arrangement. It was compiled in the context of bargaining and negotiation. Therefore, there are few frilly promises conjured out of thin air, or aspirational fluffiness promised to lure voters. Instead, we get the bare bones of what Fianna Fáil’s priorities really are.

There's a chunk on the economy, including reductions in the USC "on a fair basis", whoever gets to decide what "fair" is. There's the highly technically-named Rainy Day Fund as well, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Fianna Fáil are committed to maintaining our 12.5per cent corporation tax, which allows billion-euro companies to pay as little tax as possible through elaborate tax avoidance schemes, exploiting a system that is set up to allow the richest global entities to maximise profit and minimise tax. This is now, of course, a global disgrace, but Ireland keeps the head down as the scandalous moral and ethical behaviour we've seen undertaken by giant companies continues. As Fianna Fáil's document puts it, they want to "engage constructively with any measures to work towards international tax reform while critically analysing proposals that may not be in Ireland's long term interests", the second half of that sentence rendering the first half redundant. On public sector pay, we get a quango - the Public Service Pay Commission that will examine pay levels in the public service.

There is nothing about Nama, the increasingly dextrous outfit that started off as a bad bank and is living the Irish Dream, becoming what Ruairí Quinn described as the biggest property company in the world, as well as a developer, a leaseholder, a lender, and since last year’s budget, a magic social housing provider. I suppose it goes to show that no matter how small you start out, dream big you can become anything you want to be and more. Just hope that no one asks any tough questions along the way.

There is nothing about drugs policy. For young people in Ireland, there is nothing about student fees, or JobBridge, a scheme which Fianna Fáil previously called for the abolition of. There is a vague line about tackling “the problems caused by the increased casualisation of work”. Presumably this means zero-hour contracts, short term contracts, unpaid internships, and other things Fianna Fáil TDs don’t have any personal experience of.

On housing, as Ireland is in the grip of both a housing and homelessness crisis, the vagueness continues. They will “expedite the delivery” of social housing units and increase the rent supplement - a supplement now almost worthless in a rental market thousands and thousands are locked out of both due to cost and a lack of supply.

There is little from Barry Cowen’s ‘Generation Rent’ document, which is odd considering he only published it in August and was at the forefront of Fianna Fáil’s negotiating team. In that document, Cowen promised to deliver affordable rent and a Deposit Retention Scheme. he was going to overhaul the PRTB and introduce landlord certification as overseen by local authorities, to strengthen landlord rights. There was going to be 150,000 homes by 2021 and , affordable rent with increases capped by median benchmarks based on similar properties in an area. He would end rent supplement discrimination, a national inspection regime, reducing commercial rates, etc., etc., etc. Mind you, that was only a policy document compiled by people in opposition. I might as well have written it and nailed it the door of Buswells for all it’s worth.

Child poverty, according to Fianna Fáil's document will be tackled by "increasing community based early intervention programmes." There is one line on childcare, not a lot for a country with what is essentially a childcare crisis, and that is to "develop targeted supports to reduce childcare costs", and "broaden parental choice", whatever that means. For a country with a creaking health service, a waiting list crisis, and a people-on-trolleys crisis, there is practically nothing written down to examine health issues, services, infrastructure and more apart from measly firefighting in the form of getting €15 million from somewhere next year for the National Treatment Purchase Fund to use to shave a few people off waiting lists.

With suicide at epidemic levels and the lack, quality, cost and access to mental health services repeatedly criticised, the mental wellbeing of our nation gets 11 words, "Fully implement 'Vision For Change' in the area of mental health." 'Vision For Change' is a ten-year-old document on mental health that came out of an expert group, back when Tim O'Malley of the PDs was a Minister of State at the Department of Health & Children.

In contrast to those two and a half pages where Fianna Fáil’s priorities are laid out across all the areas and topics that they see fit to address, there are nearly two pages on Water Services. There is nothing on the pressing issues of ending direct provision, nothing on a referendum on the eighth amendment. Women and asylum seekers can go and whistle, it seems. But at least now we know what their priorities are, at least we know what’s important to them, and so those who voted for Fianna Fáil can rest easy that they’re fighting the good fight on a water utility bill and not much else. Phew. For a moment there, you might have thought they’d get something done over the next while until this government falls.