Decisions tend to be made at the speed of a slow bicycle race in Irish politics, but that does not stop the decibel levels rising at times to what you might expect from a Formula 1 grand prix.
A few familiar issues returned to the Leinster House agenda this week and dominated proceedings, generating more heat than light.
The Government might have hoped a decision last weekend to reverse an ill-fated plan to remove special-needs assistants (SNAs) from 170 schools, with an additional €19 million sweetener, might have drawn a line under the controversy.
No such luck. It was brought up in the Dáil and on every imaginable platform this week by the Opposition as a perfect example of an “out of touch” Government.
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To extend the Formula 1 metaphor (hopefully not too much), the review was ‘paused’ last week. But it became clear at the weekend that the vehicle was never coming back out of the pit lane and was being quietly retired.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton and others went to considerable lengths to point out that the specifics of the decision were not known at Government level and that the relevant Department of Education circular had been sent out without sight of Ministers.
It’s uncertain what they were trying to argue. Ultimately, it is Ministers who must take full responsibility for unpopular decisions made by their departments. If a Minister did not know that 170 schools were losing SNAs, they ought to have.
Rents rising but not as dramatically as hackles
This week saw the implementation of the plans announced by Minister for Housing James Browne last autumn to extend the rights of tenants in certain areas in exchange for some major concessions to landlords.
The first effect was that rent pressure zones (which provide for annual rent increases to be capped at the rate of inflation or 2 per cent, whichever is the lower) were extended nationwide. There is also an end to no-fault evictions and there are provisions for six-year leases, giving tenants more security of tenure.
The flip side is that, from this week, new tenancies can be set at market rates. There have been predictions that landlords will be able to jack up rents for new tenancies because rents have been deflated in some place.
The debate on the extent of rent inflation led to an unholy row in the Dáil this week. Sinn Féin got sight of a briefing by the country’s largest corporate landlord, Ires Reit, which suggested there could be an increase of 25 per cent in rental income without significant overheads.
It led to bad-tempered exchanges after the figures were disclosed by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald on Wednesday. By Thursday, however, the Government was pushing back, claiming that the main Opposition party had distorted the presentation.
At issue was how long it would take for the increase to happen. Tánaiste Simon Harris suggested the increase would be incremental and would take place over 10 years. He accused Sinn Féin of trying to suggest it would happen immediately.
It led to a verbal shemozzle in the chamber that descended into incoherence for anyone who was trying to listen in. The town criers of the Dáil – Pearse Doherty, Tommy Gould and Jerry Buttimer – were all in full voice.
A less-than-impressed Leas Ceann Comhairle John McGuinness asked visiting secondary school students to write an essay and send it to the Ceann Comhairle giving their opinions on what they had witnessed. It was pretty unedifying.
Flare row helps O’Donovan shows he’s no flash in the pan
Patrick O’Donovan, like Doherty, is another politician who does not come equipped with a reverse gear.
After witnessing the disgraceful behaviour of a small contingent of Drogheda United supporters – who threw flare on to the pitch in Dundalk last weekend – O’Donovan was very unsparing with his language and actions.
Hooligans, gurriers, he said.
He also suspended further funding for League of Ireland astro pitches pending the FAI’s and league’s response to what occurred at Oriel Park. Taxpayers’ money had, after all, contributed to the development of the artificial-surface pitch.
O’Donovan said in no uncertain terms that not another penny of public money would be spent without him getting assurances that it would not happen again.
For most politicians, the name of the game is to follow the line of least resistance and try to be a crowd pleaser. There are exceptions to this, a number of politicians who fall into the ‘truculent’ category. O’Donovan is a paid-up member of this particular union.
When asked by a reporter if he regretted his language in describing the perpetrators as hooligans and blaggards, he doubled down, asking rhetorically had the reporter seen the damage caused.
“It was like an air raid had happened,” he said.
Some of his Government colleagues muttered that his ‘corrective’ action was excessive but there was no give on that either. It seems to have borne results, with an FAI disciplinary committee imposing on Drogheda United a €15,000 fine and banning the club’s fans from four away games.
Crowded House
There have been a number of infestations in Leinster House over the past year, according to a report in The Irish Times on Friday.
Mice were spotted scurrying through a canteen last July. Pest controllers were also called in response to an “infestation” of ladybirds.
Leinster House authorities considered deploying drones against troublesome seagulls but the solution was rejected on grounds of cost. Labour TD Duncan Smith’s office was also invaded by an army of ants.
