THE TONE of the new Dáil session was set yesterday when Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Sinn Féin combined to vote against the Order of Business and to signal their intention of harassing and bringing down the Government, which has been surviving on a narrow voting majority. The absence of more than a dozen TDs, who were unable to return home because of the closure of Irish airspace, added to the tension. But the Government survived.
In spite of that reprieve, it was another depressing day for Fianna Fáil backbenchers. They remained sunk in gloom following the earlier disappointment of a pre-Easter Cabinet reshuffle. A skimpy legislative programme offered them little incentive. And Brian Cowen’s demeanour at Question Time suggested that more dour times lay ahead. Early byelections were openly dismissed as self-destruct mechanisms. For them, the safety of a summer recess could not come quickly enough. And this is April.
A sustained attack on the Government’s handling of the financial crisis and, specifically, on its failure to impose controls at senior banking level was launched by Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore. The destruction of €2.5 billion in wealth by the lending practices of Michael Fingleton at Irish Nationwide was a cause of particular concern as was the pension top-up received by Richard Boucher, chief executive of the Bank of Ireland. Mr Cowen’s explanations were less than convincing. His lack of knowledge, while minister for finance, of cavalier practices at Irish Nationwide was as strange as his unwillingness to link Mr Boucher’s arrangement to retire at 55 years to his €1.4 million pension top-up.
We can expect a continuation of the assault in the coming weeks as the Opposition parties use debating time on the Central Bank Reform Bill to explore these and the growing list of horror stories from the financial sector. Mr Kenny has indicated that banking guarantees and the Taoiseach’s involvement in events leading to the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank are of interest.
Although the Government is highly unpopular, the Opposition parties are deeply frustrated by their inability to land a knock-out blow at this time. They will continue to stoke public anger over financial mismanagement in an effort to deny Government the support of Independent TDs. But, in the absence of a major scandal, Mr Cowen is likely to lead on. From his perspective, the alternative is bleak.
The Government has a crowded and challenging agenda. Although acceptance of the Dublin Castle agreement by public service unions is uncertain, reform of the system is vital. A further €3 billion in savings will have to be pared from the December budget and those decisions will have to be taken in the coming months.
Most importantly, hope has to be given to the unemployed through a jobs creation and skills-improvement programme. The Taskforce on Innovation offered ideas for the creation of more than 100,000 highly skilled and sustainable jobs over the coming decade. That report should become one element of a broader economic recovery programme.