News from Ireland 2020: Michael O’Leary led for-profit trades union declares results.

WorkRights, the private for-profit trades union founded by former Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has posted a post-tax profit of €1.2m after its first year of operation. O’Leary, addressing the company’s first AGM, welcomed the profit result as vindication of his belief that old fashioned trades unions were failing their members, and that an AA style operation would better serve modern employees.

“How is it that in a single year we have signed up 42,000 workers at a membership fee of €150 per annum? I’ll tell you how. Because WorkRights stands up for all its members, not just the ones who work in the public sector. And I’ll tell you another thing. WorkRights executives don’t have anywhere near the feathernested packages of ICTU and SIPTU big cheese! We put our membership fees into providing services for our staff.”

Since opening business in 2019, WorkRights has provided employment law advice to or represented over 12,000 non-unionised workers at the Labour Court, Rights Commissioners and Labour Relations Commission, as well as negotiated special pension, health insurance and other benefits for its members. O’Leary famously received a salary of €1 for his time as CEO, having promised that he could represent ordinary Irish workers better than “that crowd of hairy Hoxhas in Liberty Hall.”

SIPTU and ICTU delegates could not be reached for comment.

John Gormley is in danger of becoming Jim Hacker.

John Gormley has finally discovered the ultimate irony of sucessive governments neutering of local government with the carry-on over the Poolbeg incinerator. Just picture the scene: The minister for local government, responsible for appointing the city manager of Dublin, to enforce govt policy against the elected members of the city council, is now engaged in a legal battle with that self same city manager because he is trying to implement a policy against the wishes of the council for whom he has been given specific powers by the minister’s office to overrule.

In fairness, it’s not Gormley’s fault. Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour have all conspired to keep the status quo because A) They don’t trust their own councillors to make good decisions, and B) In a very Irish way, their own councillors oppose been given the powers because they then will be blamed for (the cheek!) using them. That’s not Gormley’s fault.

However, if the upcoming Dublin Mayor does not have the power to bend the county managers to his democratic will, that will be John Gormley’s fault, and he could find himself being humiliated by a newly elected Dublin Mayor demanding more powers, and JG finding himself in the surreal situation of defending the overcentralised political system he went into politics to change. Shades of minister Jim Hacker rejecting a petition started by a young MP named, eh, Jim Hacker?

An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Party Loyalist.

You can hear him in a quiet room, mouth hanging open, air rushing in and out as his dull eyes stare blankly into an imaginary distance. Occasionally, the waft of stale urine will emanate from him. For him, the party is everything, and the affixation or removal of party membership decides his opinion on a person. A party man can do no wrong, and a non-party man can do no right. The truth is that the party, with its open-to-all-with-a-pulse policy, has provided a social structure to him that exists nowhere else in his life. A two line notice of a cumann meeting is carefully scrutinised a dozen times and then placed on the carefully dusted mantelpiece over the fire where his mother knows not to touch it. Everyday, he takes it down to read again, to just make sure that he has the date and time and location correct, even though all three are the same every month. He will be at the meeting at least 45 minutes early, with a Club Orange in front of him bought with the €10 his mother gave him, and will twist in the seat every time the door opens to see if a party member is coming in. Read more…

News from Ireland 2020: Surprise Yes vote on Nuclear Plant.

Coming soon to Carnsore.

Wexford 2020: Despite a series of opinion polls predicting defeat by a 10 point margin, Wexford County today voted by 57.1% in favour of the ESB proposal to build a nuclear power plant at Carnsore Point. Leaders of the NO campaign were quick to condemn the result, pointing out that the voters had been bribed by the Community Gain package that had been promised by the government if the proposal was ratified by the voters of the county.

Under the package, every existing home will be entitled to a a tax free lump sum of €5000 each year, as a recognition of the county’s willingness to “bear the burden” of hosting the nation’s sole nuclear power plant. It is hoped that the scheme, which will last for 20 years, and cost the ESB approximately €28 million per annum, will protect property prices in the county.

The leader of the NO campaign, Sebastian Wilcox-Smyth, speaking at the count, said that the people of Wexford had no right to impose nuclear power on the “ordinary people”, and would be taking the matter to the High Court. Wilcox-Smyth was involved in a controversy during the campaign when it emerged that his group, People Before Everything, had previously campaigned against the building of wind farms near anywhere “where human beings dwell.” The YES campaign suggested building them on Mars.  

The Four Irish Economic Classes: A Primer.

Who creates it, and who wants to spend it?

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Most political disputes, indeed most social disputes, come down to money. Yes, we can have issues over gay rights and what flag who flies where and who apologises to whom, but when it comes down to it, it’s cash that dominates. Curiously, as a society, we don’t debate that reality much, preferring to debate how we would like to spend it (more Resources!) and being pretty uncomfortable as to how it is created.
We have in our society, more or less, four economic classes, and it would do us no harm to pay a bit more attention to their roles in how we live our lives.

The Creators.
These are the people who create wealth. Whether it is writing a song that others buy, or inventing a product or service that others will pay for. It’s true, they need the framework of a state about them which protects their investment and their right to benefit from it, but broadly speaking, they create more wealth than they use up. Some are crooks, and use corrupt practices, but broadly, they bring more Euro to society’s table then was there beforehand. They’re not all millionaires either. Some own corner shops and drive taxis and write chick lit novels. The important thing is that the create money out of pretty much nothing.  

The Value Adders.
This would be the biggest group, covering most of us. We work for someone else, taking their wealth and adding value to it, whether as lawyers drafting contracts or putting cans of beans into cardboard boxes. We don’t create wealth, but add a bit on. Again, our key attribute is that we bring more to the table than we take. 

The Takers.
This is, ironically, the most socially diverse group, from big farmers receiving CAP payments to dodgy bankers to guys making millions merely by rezoning land, to people permanently on the state payroll or social welfare. They bring little to the table, in that most of them pay taxes but take more money from society (and the state) than they bring to it. The key is that their wealth is primarily as a result of the tangible efforts of others.

The Utilised.
These are the weak, and again, not necessarily the poorest in society. They are the exploited, underpaid workers or consumers, the people big business and the unions and the state roll over. The difference between them and The Takers on welfare is that they can actually add value, and bring more to the collective pot, if only they were helped.  

Here’s the problem: In Ireland, only The Value Adders and The Takers are regarded as legitimate. The Creators are despised by the jealous, and The Utilised are just ignored, with what might help them instead going to the better organised Takers.

A pension for the Mayor?

John Gormley has an interesting opportunity with the Dublin Mayor legislation to deal with an anomaly that has crept into the public service, that is, the huge public sector pensions. The deal was always that although public service workers traditionally earned less than private sector workers, they were rewarded for that with relative job security and a good pension. Fair enough. But why should the proposed Dublin Mayor have his pension paid for by the taxpayer? After all, he or she will earn at least €100k per annum which is good money in anyone’s book, so why not require him/her to pay for their own pension, like most Irish workers?

The minister should put his foot down on this issue and the other nonsense that says that we won’t get high calibre candidates if we don’t pay at least €200k. If there is one thing that the last two years has taught us about Irish public life, it’s that, unlike other countries,  high pay is no guarantee of anything. I’ve been in touch with the Department of the Environment’s press office to clarify the facts of the issue, and they’re normally quite good at getting back promptly on this stuff, so watch this space, because Gormley has a real chance here to stand up for the little guy. 

An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: “Fairness”

Fairness? Fairness? I'll give you a damn good trashing!

“Fairness” is the Scaletrix of Irish politics, in that the debate goes round in circles and circles and is incapable of a new direction. It starts from a simple proposition. We all believe in fairness, don’t we? You’d want to be Jabba the Hutt to be against fairness. Everyone nods sagely at the desire for Irish society to be built on fairness. But don’t dare ask for details, because if you do, you’re a hateful Thatcherite, a Victorian despatcher of children down the mines, their little tummies aching for a crust, a stale crust at that. Or worse still, you’re Michael McDowell.

But what is fairness? Is it fair that some people are going to bed hungry? Of course not. Is it fair that some families are scraping together euros and cents to pay for their kids schoolbooks? How could it be? What about if one of those families spent their money on a kickass 42″ Plasma screen TV, whilst their neighbours didn’t? Who is more deserving of fairness now? What about the mother who works overtime in a launderette to pay for her daughter’s maths grind? Is it fair for her to pay more tax than the mother who’s on the scratcher, after all, she brings home more money, therefore she’s richer, therefore it’s only fair that she should pay more tax, isn’t it? It’s only fair.

But taxing the rich, we can all agree that that is fair, right? Of course it is. Higher taxes are the price of membership of our society, but is it fair to want to punish someone for being successful? Is it fair to want to take half of someone’s take home pay, one in two euro they make, for the crime of creating a business and (the  bastards) giving people jobs? Is that fair? Is it fair to have rich people at all? Would it be fairer to have no rich people at all, even if it meant we were all poorer?

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But want to debate the idea? No, because we don’t do debates here, it wouldn’t be fair. 

The reasons Irish politics are so boring.

1. Our electorate are policy averse, leading to politicians who also avoid stating positions that involve taking a side in a political argument. I have canvassed thousands (I’m not exaggerating) of houses over my political life. The vast, vast majority of doorstep queries were on local matters, which are important, but if we’re not going to discuss policy in a general election, then when? What is particularly extraordinary in the Irish psyche is that there is no connection between the level of taxation and government spending. Every single party, from the former PDs to People Before Profit all run (or ran) on the same fundamental platform, that your taxes can be low, but the level of public services can be high, and let’s not talk about the fiscal Bermuda Triangle in the middle.

2. Most of the 1000 elected officials in this country have little actual power. Curiously, this has been a deliberate policy of FF, FG and Labour in government, as it has created a class of politicians who treat the decisions of government as some sort of natural phenomena over which they have no control: Witness local councillors “calling on/condemning” the county council they are members of. In Saudi Arabia, the king is regularly petitioned by nomadic bedouins for action on different issues. The difference between the feudal desert kingdom and Ireland is that the king doesn’t shrug his shoulders and say “Sure, you know what them fellas up in Riyadh are like!”

3. It is nearly impossible to point a finger at anyone in government and say “This is your fault and I’m going to vote you out because of it.” Someone recently pointed out to me an injustice inflicted upon them by clampers, and asked me who would be politically responsible: The Dept of Transport? Dublin City Council? The Ombudsman? The Dublin Transport Office? The Clamping Company? Who do you GET at election time for this? A TD will say that it is not his fault. A councillor will say it is not her fault. So who carries the political can?

4. The closer Irish candidates get to power, the less willing they are to use it. I’ve known a fair few people who have gone into politics, and what is almost universal is the way the system grinds them down. They don’t become corrupted, they just become inert. It’s one of the reasons why I think term limits might be a good idea, to at least keep churning the talent. Don’t get me wrong, they work hard, especially with their constituents, but the reason they have to work so hard with their constituents is because in many cases the fundamental systems don’t work properly, and if politicians aren’t going to change that, who will?

I’m not engaged in an abstract, theoretical political wandering here. When I was a candidate, many moons ago, I too got a sense of satisfaction out of resolving an issue for a voter. But I came away with the sense, and it applies now, that aside from the material benefit to the candidate of actually winning an election, most electoral political activism is a pointless waste of time. I know that many of my readers are candidates, and will protest, pointing out the good work they do in their communities helping real people with real problems, and that’s true, but they could do the same amount of good work working for a community group. But trying to get someone elected to a powerless office? What’s the point? It’s just not a good use of someone’s time.

Having said that, don’t discount personal loyalty. I’ve helped a candidate whose party I found objectionable, but did so out of friendship, and I’ll probably do so again in the future. But what a system? Where a candidate has to rely almost entirely on the loyalty of friends and family because (as so many do) the political ties are so loose or just plain unattractive?   

The one sliver of hope that I’m curious about is the proposed office of Dublin Mayor. This will be unique in Irish politics, a directly elected executive office. Will it turn out to be a dud? Quite possibly, especially as it seems to have no budget and modest powers to begin with. However, what could be very interesting will be how the first holder of the office handles himself/herself. They will become the focus point for every bitch and complaint about daily life in the city, and will have to respond to it, and saying that “Sorry, I’ve no power” will only trigger the response “Well, piss off then!” It has the potential to either, through sheer force of will, make the city and county managers pay attention, or else get into a public fight with them over who runs Dublin, which would be a debate worth having.  

Serial killers thank Irish media for distracting Gardai.

The Centre for Homicidally Obsessed Persons (CHOP) would like to thank the Irish media for focussing so much attention on the release of Larry Murphy. By demanding the deployment of substantial Garda resources to track and follow Mr. Murphy, they have redirected those resources away from catching those of our members who are still active in the community.

On behalf of the serial killers, murderers and rapists of Ireland, we thank you, and knowing that the media is sincere in its wish to protect the Irish public from Mr Murphy, we know that they will continue to keep up this level of coverage about his actual whereabouts at any given time regardless of the waning effect it may have on an eventually bored public. 

Whisper it: Our health service is actually quite good.

Noel Whelan makes a very good point about cancer services in this piece, and also a general observation about media attitudes towards health-care in this country. It’s almost impossible to read a positive story in the Irish media about health services, or indeed hear the phrase “A&E” mentioned without  “crisis”, “third world” or “medieval”.

Yet here’s the funny thing: Talk to people with recent experience of the public health system, and you get a much more mixed picture. You still get nightmare stories about A&E from some people, about waiting for hours, and drunks and addicts fighting, and it does seem extraordinary that we can’t get a grip on that. But the fact is, the level of care you get once inside the system is good. I’ve seen it with my own family, in a public hospital. Do we have waiting lists? Yes, we do. That’s one of the side affects of having a health system that isn’t based on whether someone can afford treatment or not. Infinite demand meeting finite resources. Do other countries have lists as long as ours? No, but then they don’t have the best paid public medical professionals in Europe. We’ve created the health-care system we want, and you don’t hear health-care campaigners demanding cuts in the single biggest part of the health budget: pay. In Ireland, illness does not, for the most part, bring the total financial catastrophe that it brings in the US.  

Yet people are almost ashamed to admit it. I’ve seen people shouted down for daring to suggest that Irish healthcare isn’t bad. As a nation, we love to wallow in the idea that everything is f**ked and there’s nothing we can do about it.

When the Dutch were threatened with the sea wiping them off the face of the Earth, they elected competent governments that built dykes and actually made the sea retreat. We rotate the same inbred clowns (FF/FG: The Deliverance offspring of Irish politics) and then revel in what pathetic losers we are collectively. The Israelis don’t forget the Holocaust. But they’ve tooled up to ensure it’ll never happen again. We, on the other hand, almost rub our hands with glee at the opportunity to feel hard done by once again.