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Political Platform: Labour’s Ged Nash TD
Political Platform
Ged Nash TD
Labour Party spokesperson for finance, public expenditure and reform Ged Nash TD was first elected to represent the Louth Dáil constituency in 2011. Having lost his Dáil seat in 2016, Nash was subsequently elected to the Labour Panel in Seanad Éireann before returning to Dáil Éireann as a TD for the Louth constituency following the 2020 general election.
How did your political career begin?
I was always interested in politics and in current affairs. Figuring out how the world works and why it does not work better. My mother often reminds me how difficult it was to get me away from the TV as a young child when election counts were taking place. My dad was active in the Labour Party and as a shop steward in the 1970s and 1980s in the factory where he worked. Politics and labour alongside community and union values were a big feature of life for me when I was growing up and I have been involved in election and political activities for as long as I can remember.
I studied politics in UCD in the 1990s and contested the local elections in Drogheda in 1999 and was elected to Louth County Council that year at the age of 23.
What are your most notable achievements in the Oireachtas to date?
The opportunity to serve as Super Junior Minister for Business and Employment between mid-2014 and early 2016 allowed me to do what I think are some important things which have made life better for many workers across the country.
I set up the Low Pay Commission in law in 2015 and we now have a new, fairer way to set the national minimum wage, with increases to the minimum wage in every year since the Commission was formed. It also sparked the momentum towards the creation of a real living wage for workers.
New wage setting mechanisms I legislated for have also improved the pay and terms and conditions of hundreds of thousands of workers in construction, security, contract cleaning, and other sectors and it is a source of real satisfaction that these systems have now
Ged Nash TD
helped unions and employers deliver better wages and conditions for highly skilled early years educators.
One does not have to be in government to make positive change. Every legislator has a responsibility and indeed opportunities to bring about reform and positive change. A case in point is the way I managed, during my spell in the Seanad, to work with my Labour colleagues in opposition and the then government to secure the historic State in 2018 to the LGBTQ+ community for the way in which our laws and our society discriminated against citizens of the community for much of our history. The second element of my proposals – work on the introduction of a scheme to disregard convictions of many gay men before the 1993 law that decriminalised homosexuality was passed – is making good progress.
What is unique about representing the Louth constituency?
It is my homeplace and I am very much ‘of it’. I really love representing Louth and east Meath. Every day is different. In many ways it is a constituency of contrasts – the two largest towns in Ireland – Drogheda and Dundalk – at two opposite ends of a county which straddles the border at one end but practically borders Dublin at the other. It is one of the fastest growing parts of the country, especially the Drogheda, south Louth, and east Meath part of the constituency and this area has not really had the investment and central government support an urban area of its size, scale and significance ought to attract. The area must be empowered to reach its full potential.
What are your priorities going forward?
My immediate priorities involve ensuring that the State uses the wealth we do have to help support those who are on low and middle incomes through this vicious cost of living crisis. This is the single biggest and most urgent issue facing us all. The success of our country should no longer be measured by economic growth alone but how we make our country fairer and more sustainable through real progress on housing, climate, healthcare, and jobs. Every single economic and social measure we will propose will be considered through that lens.
How can the Labour Party maximise its impact in opposition?
We are at present a small party but with a reach into and a history in virtually every community in the country. We are ambitious for an Ireland that works, and we can maximise our impact in opposition by being constructive with government when it is in the interests of the country and be critical but solutions-focused when government falls short. Unlike some parties who are hellbent on pleasing everyone, Labour knows that the kind of dishonest populism we are being sold now will only serve to put off the structural economic, tax, social and environmental reforms we so badly need today. We do not see it as our role just to opposeothe Government for the sake of it. The Opposition is not some kind of monolith and while we cooperate with other opposition parties, we will carve out our own unique positions.
What are your interests outside of the political sphere?
I am an avid Drogheda United fan and I azm a regular gig-goer with my wife and friends. I have a history of involvement with the arts. During the dark days of the pandemic, I really missed the theatre, cinema, and live music. This summer I really enjoyed the chance to reengage with live music again and I am looking forward to catching as many plays as I can this autumn and winter.
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1. Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC; Danielle Conaghan, Arthur Cox; Kevin O’Sullivan, Irish Times; Fiona McCarthy, Environment Ireland and Brian Mac Sharry, European Environment Agency 2. Eamon Ryan TD, gives the opening address on day two of the conference 3. Emilie Wadsworth, Green Action Trust Scotland; Randal Counihan, APEM & Katherine Steentjes, Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations, Cardiff University 4. Stutee Rampal, Antaris Consulting; Geoff Dooley, Antaris Consulting & Michael Cook, Circular Communities Scotland 5. Jo Pike, Scottish Wildlife Trust addresses Environment Ireland delegates 6. Geoff Dooley, Antaris Consulting; Johannes Klumpers, DG Clima, European Commission; Fiona McCarthy, Environment Ireland; Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications; Oisín Coghlan, Friends of the Earth & J Owen Lewis, IIEA Working Group on Climate and Energy 7. Jeanne Moore, NESC asks the panel a question 8. Henk Van Der Kamp, Planning Consultant & Alison Fanagan, A&L Goodbody 9. Ellen Costello, Owen Cahill & Eoin O'Sullivan, MKO 10. Delegates visiting iCRAG exhibition stand 11. Séamus Clancy, Repak; Bruce Harper, Antaris Consulting; Claire Downey, The Rediscovery Centre; Michael Cook, Circular Communities Scotland & Philip Nugent, Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications 12. Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC addresses delegates 13. Elaine Mulcahy, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change asks the panel a question 14. Delegates visiting GeoDirectory exhibition stand 15. David Cully, Cully Automation Ltd; Maria Talbot, Department of Agriculture, Food and The Marine & Theresa Green, Arup 16. Oisín Coghlan, Friends of the Earth; Grainne O'Callaghan, Arthur Cox & Fiona Kearns, Arthur Cox 17. Johannes Klumpers, DG Clima, European Commission
eolas Magazine attended the Fianna Fáil ard fheis where Micheál Martin TD delivered his first – and likely last – leader’s speech as Taoiseach.
His leadership speech reflected on the record of his Government, whose time in office has been dominated by dealing with crises outside the State’s control such as the inflation crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Covid-19, the Taoiseach sombrely reflected on how “thousands of families mourn the loss of loved ones taken by this terrible virus, and it has had an impact which will take many years to truly understand and overcome.” He further stated that “the journey was not straightforward and there were some dark, difficult periods.”
Martin defended the Government’s record on Covid, stating that “Ireland saw nearly 5,000 fewer deaths than if we had been simply at the European average in our pandemic response – and over 7,000 fewer than our nearest neighbour”.
The ard fheis was held in the aftermath of Budget 2023, which gave the Taoiseach the opportunity to highlight the main measures to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis, including a €600 credit for winter energy bills and an ambition to give families a 25 per cent cut in childcare costs. Martin said to delegates that housing is the “single most important social issue facing this country” and outlined measures such as Help to Buy and the First Homes Scheme which the Government has taken. On Housing for All, he acknowledged that “our action on housing is not being felt by everyone yet” but that “by every measure, home building and renovations are up”.
On education, the Taoiseach said that “the Leaving Certificate has to be reformed; it has to provide more options for assessment and to measure a more complete range of skills”.
On the national question, Martin struck a notably reserved tone, stating that “we have to get on with the hard work of moving from talk to action”, outlining the work done by the Shared Island Initiative. In attendance at the ard fheis was the SDLP’s Justin McNulty MLA, in spite of the apparent severing of links between the two parties announced earlier that week.
The Taoiseach was introduced to party delegates by Education Minister Norma Foley TD, who launched a scathing attack on Sinn Féin, the main opposition party, referring to them as a “baseless, negative, and spineless” opposition who are “the most cynical opposition our country has ever seen”, much to the delight of the delegates in attendance.
Martin reiterated this sentiment in his address, stating that “the emptiness of the opposition’s policy, their lack of a credible alternative shows that they know that our plans will deliver and they are doing everything they can to block them”.
Exiting the stage to Fatboy Slim’s ‘Right Here Right Now’ Martin clearly reaffirmed his leadership of the party, although there were murmurs among delegates about how “Norma [Foley] stole the show”.
In the week prior to the ard fheis, Martin stated that he intends to return as Taoiseach in the future, as he prepares to resign the office in December and assume the role of Tánaiste.
Whilst by vote share, Martin has led Fianna Fáil to its three worst general election results since the party’s foundation in 1926, he can take solace in that he led Fianna Fáil back to government after many predicted their demise.
Ireland’s politicians make their cases for reunification
eolas Magazine attended the Ireland’s Future conference on 1 October at the 3Arena in Dublin. The very presence of all of the Oireachtas’ major parties at this event, as well as the 5,000 attendance demonstrates that Irish reunification is now a prospect which is being taken seriously at the very highest levels of Irish politics.
Former DUP leader Peter Robinson said in 2014, “I’m afraid Gerry’s [Adams] day is over. He’s not going to get his united Ireland; it simply isn’t going to happen” whilst acknowledging that unionism “could extract defeat from the jaws of victory”. Polling at the time indicated that a united Ireland was the expressed will of only 17 per cent of voters in the North.
Opinion polls since the 2016 Brexit referendum have shown a significant increase in support for reunification in the North, with the most recent LucidTalk poll show that 41 per cent in the North support unity, with 48 per cent opposed.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald TD received a warm reception from the audience and called on the Government to introduce a citizens’ assembly and to “urgently plan for constitutional change and unity referendums”. Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar TD was met with boos from a small section of the 5,000 crowd when he suggested that Northern Ireland could continue to exist as an entity with its own devolved parliament, policing, courts, education, and health services, as well as stating that co-operation between Britain and Ireland ought to continue post-unity.
Fianna Fáil backbencher Jim O’Callaghan TD said he “would be willing to go anywhere to argue for a united Ireland” and when asked if he “would like to be the first Taoiseach of a united Ireland” responded “yes”.
There were no unionist representatives at the event, although invitations were extended, but the contributions of figures such as actor James Nesbitt, who called for a “new union of Ireland”, and Karen Sethuraman, demonstrate that the terms Protestant and unionist are not mutually exclusive in the North. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MP argued that, in order to win a referendum in the North, people need to believe that they will be better off economically in a united Ireland, and that the merits of re-joining the EU will be a key selling point. This Clintonesque analysis will arguably be a factor which tips the scales in the event of a future referendum.
The gathering was an important steppingstone for broadening the debate on Irish reunification, and with continued engagement among Ireland’s political class, the arguments for unity can become more substantive. The objective from the organisers appears to be ensuring that the Irish political class are engaged on the topic, which has undoubtedly been achieved, but to convince a majority voters in the North of the merits of unity, significantly more substance will be necessary.
