Haughey fastens his seatbelt as junior ministerial posts catch public eye

THE EDUCATION PROFILE: SEÁN HAUGHEY, MINISTER OF STATE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE:The high cost of all 20 of the Government's junior ministers has attracted huge criticism in recent weeks. Seán Haughey, the junior minister in the Department of Education, is affable and popular. But do his main responsibilites – school transport and adult education – justify his large salary?

There are five junior ministers at the Department of Education and Science, but don’t waste your time looking for them in Marlborough Street. Only Seán Haughey, the mild-mannered Minister for Lifelong Learning, actually works there, and he keeps a low profile. As one education insider put it: “Haughey doesn’t exactly make a nuisance of himself at education”.

Every junior minister in the Cabinet has felt the heat of the searchlight this year, as a newly-radicalised electorate starts caring about how government works and how much it costs. The discovery of 20 junior ministers has jangled the public nerves. If we have to manage with old cars and supermarket own-brand cereals, then surely our governmental departments should learn to get by on one minister.

There is a sense that the flowering of junior ministerial posts has served successive leaders as a sort of loyalty scheme. If a back-bencher has been around long enough, a junior ministry is his by right. Party leaders withhold these posts at their peril – disgruntled bridesmaids with decent constituency support can quickly turn independent or worse.

When Seán Haughey was promoted to the post of Minister of State with Responsibility for Lifelong Learning and School Transport (and later social inclusion) in 2007, it followed a period of disenchantment that threatened to turn mutinous. In 2006 it was reported that Haughey was considering his position in Fianna Fáil after 14 years on the backbench. This former lord mayor of Dublin headed the poll in Dublin North Central in 2002 and he felt that his time had come.

Some commentators believe that Haughey’s long gestation period reflected Bertie Ahern’s aversion to the Haughey name. Others say that if he was not the son of the former Taoiseach, the gentle Haughey would never have made it on to the political radar. But the public is not asking whether Haughey is helped or hampered by his name. People want to know if he’s the right man for the job, and more significantly, is the job worth doing?

“Haughey has no budget and no justification for his role,” is the unvarnished judgment of one leading member of the opposition. “He’s a nice man, polite and courteous, but he doesn’t impress me. He can talk all he likes about the need to abolish fees for adult education, but he can’t make anything happen.”

One education commentator agrees. “He’s not making any impact on either of his so-called areas of responsibility. School transport rolls along nicely under the management of the VECs. Unless there’s a change in policy, he has little to do there. As for further education, he won’t rock the boat. He’s very pliant when it comes to Fianna Fáil policy.”

Haughey has been unfortunate in the timing of his promotion. The Trinity economics graduate came into the Department of Education under Minister Mary Hanafin, who famously squashed all resistance and gave no truck to juniors. Since her departure, it’s been all about the economy, stupid. Only cost-neutral crusades get the ear of the Minister. Adult education runs on a shoestring as it is, securing less than 2 per cent of the overall budget for education. (Other EU states invest up to 19 per cent.)

“Cinderella” stations such as adult education and mental health often rely on their junior minister as the only voice available to them. One leading player in further education believes that Haughey is a good candidate for a brittle portfolio.

“Primary, secondary and third-level education all have strong lobby groups to speak for them, but adult education has little muscle. It has to compete with some very powerful interests and it’s a complex area that few people care to figure out. Haughey has made a genuine effort to get to know the sector. He has been a constant, supportive presence since his appointment and has taken advantage of the fact that Batt O’Keeffe is too caught up in the finances to keep an eye on him. It’s essential that this sector retains a junior minister.”

However, this commentator concedes that Haughey can have little ultimate influence over policy in this vulnerable area. “I admire him for managing to hold our resources over the last 18 months, but we’re a soft target and he may not be able to protect us for too much longer.”

Haughey is certainly well-liked. Words such as “mannerly”, “likeable” and “affable” attach themselves to mention of his name. No one questions his efficiency or basic decency. A visit to his website reveals that he prides himself in his “nice guy” reputation. There’s a section set aside for every positive word that has appeared about him in the media since 1983, regardless of the source.

He proudly displays a Village magazine quote from Richard Bruton that some might regard as damning by faint praise. “He is a diligent constituency worker, he follows up fairly assiduously and he is a good attender of meetings. He is an honest broker, and he’ll never rock the boat. He’s quiet, he has a sense of humour, and he’s easy to get on with.”

Among more than 30 press quotes on the website, going back 30 years, Haughey features Olivia O’Leary (“Modest, gentlemanly, not a man to pull a fast political trick”), Nell McCafferty (“Political opponents haven’t a bad word to say about him. He has a face you could trust”) and Shane Ross (“If he was not his father’s son, Seán Haughey, TD would have been promoted long ago”).

Beneath all the warm fuzziness, however, is a political edge that Haughey reserves for emergencies. The stance he took against Bertie Ahern in 2006 secured him his ministry. He is capable of defiance when his personal ideology is assailed, as he demonstrated in a spirited attack on his own party’s intention to run the M3 through Tara. At the precocious age of 27, he assumed the mayoralty of Dublin.

Haughey has at least nominal responsibility for what could be regarded as Ireland’s best hope of long-term economic recovery. As chair of the inter-departmental committee set up to implement the National Skills Strategy, Haughey is charged with leading the drive to upskill 500,000 people by 2020. If he can keep the momentum of the strategy going by sheer force of geniality, he will have done the country some service.

Five go to Marlborough Street

- The overall number of junior ministers in Government has doubled to 20 since 1977.

- One-quarter of these are to be found in the Department of Education and Science.

- Before the 10 per cent pay cut of Budget 2008, each earned a ministerial salary of €54,549 and a TD salary of €100,191; a total of €154,740 before expenses.

Who are ministers of state at the Department of Education and what do they do?

Seán Haughey - Minister for Lifelong Learning and School Transport

Also operates in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Former Lord Mayor of Dublin and FF backbencher for 14 years prior to his promotion to Minister of State.

Barry Andrews - Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Also operates in the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Health and Children. Former secondary school teacher.

Jimmy Devins - Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation

Also operates in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Former member on the Border Regional Authority, the Border, Midlands and Western Assembly and chairman of the Institute of Technology, Sligo.

Conor Lenihan - Minister of State with special responsibility for Integration Policy

Also operates in the Department of Community, Rural, and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Former journalist and senior executive with a telecommunications company.

John Moloney - Minister for Equality, Disability and Mental Health

Also operates in the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform. Former air-traffic controller, publican and undertaker. Enjoys the distinction of making the highest expense claim in Cabinet in 2008.