GARRET FITZGERALD had a pronounced impact on Ireland not only as an active politician but as a thinker and commentator – a widely respected public intellectual in a society sometimes uncomfortable with the notion. He had a deep commitment to the role of the university, to UCD where he lectured in economics, and to the National University of Ireland of which he was chancellor.
Reflecting that relationship, an annual series of “Spring Schools” in his honour is being initiated by UCD, co-sponsored by The Irish Times. The first, “Democracy in the 21st Century”, opens this evening with an address by former president Mary Robinson on Dr FitzGerald’s legacy.
Throughout his life Garret worked to strengthen democratic politics on the island and to deepen engagement with Europe. The level of anger and mistrust directed both towards politicians domestically and the EU should concern us all as it did him. Whether a referendum on the new fiscal arrangements for the euro zone proves necessary or not, a widening “disconnect” between policy “insiders” and the public in attitudes towards deepening EU integration is a real and worrying prospect.
Deepening democratic engagement and the institutions that underpin it, at home and at EU level, are more critical than ever. In that context it cannot be said too often that the European “project” is not just about free movement of goods, labour and capital: the aspiration to a “social Europe” is to work towards socially inclusive societies with social rights available to all, intimately connected in its turn to a democratic discourse.
Whereas Europe is currently portrayed as dictating austerity in the interests of bankers and better off, much of the impetus for improvements in Ireland’s social and human rights infrastructure and policies came directly or indirectly from membership. There has never been a more important time for us to engage positively with the European project and make the case for the union we wish to see emerging from the crisis, rather than solely coming cap in hand for a reduction in the cost of the bailout. An integral element must be addressing the democratic deficit at EU level.
Along with democratic institutions and engagement, there is an urgent need to enhance the information base, the raw material, on which public debate draws. One of Garret’s most consistent themes was the importance of evidence and analysis to underpin public policy formation. He was famously happy when engaged with figures, from airline timetables to budgetary data and census population statistics. For him this was not just a hobby but reflected a conviction that only with solid evidence and analysis can we arrive at better societal choices.
Ireland’s experience over the last decade illustrates concretely that failures in analysis and understanding can undermine the quality of public debate and choices, with extremely costly outcomes.
It is not enough for good analysis to be available; it also has to be widely disseminated, not just among those directly involved in policymaking but much more broadly if democracy is to thrive. Here the media have a key role to play in ensuring citizens have access to information and evidence rather than simply opinion.
The value Garret placed on this type of activity is shown by the energy he put into his Irish Times journalism.
The media face a challenge in rebuilding trust, a matter of great concern to the fabric of democracy.
The universities also bear a real responsibility in this regard. While now being asked to justify the resources devoted to them, the focus tends to be narrowly on their direct contribution to economic growth and job creation, often in terms of science and technology.
This ignores and undervalues the contribution that study and teaching in the social sciences, and the arts and humanities, make to the society in which they are embedded.
As President Higgins put it in a recent speech on being awarded an honorary doctorate by the National University of Ireland: “The universities and those who labour in them are crucial in the struggle for the recovery of the public world, for the emergence of truly emancipatory paradigms of policy and research.”
Delivering on that potential is the best way to honour Garret FitzGerald’s legacy.
Prof Brian Nolan is principal of UCD's College of Human Sciences. For details of the Garret FitzGerald Spring School: iti.ms/wNSU8p