Grassroots February 2010

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Ógra Grassroots – February 2010

FROM FEBRUARY 2010 WELCOME CATHAOIRLEACH ÓGRA THOMAS BYRNE T.D. A Chairde, Tá áthas orm an chead Nuachlitir “Grassroots” a chur os bhur gcomhair.

Ógra member and WIP participant Adrian O’Higgins

An Taoiseach Brian Cowen T.D. with Senator James Carroll

THE WASHINGTON IRELAND PROGRAM FOR SERVICE & LEADERSHIP

JAMES CARROLL ELECTED TO SEANAD ÉIREANN

±

The Washington Ireland Program for Service and Leadership (WIP) is preparing the next generation of leaders for Ireland and Northern Ireland. It does this by bringing together promising students for a unique team development experience and by placing them in Washington’s most prestigious internships. ±± Students are placed in offices representing government, business, non-profit and media organizations. At the end of the summer, participants return home with enhanced professional and interpersonal skills as well as a new confidence in their own leadership abilities. ±± For more information and online application (now open) please log on to the website at www.wiprogram.org - Closing date for applications is Friday 5th February 2010. ± Below is a profile of WIP graduate and Ógra member, Adrian O’Higgins.

WIP Profile: Adrian O’Higgins (Class of 2009) 1. Tell us a little bit about yourself? I'm a 21 year old student and proud Kilkenny man now in my third year studying Law and European Studies at the University of Limerick. I'm presently on Co-operative Education from UL which is essentially work experience for 8 months. I spent the summer in DC on the Washington Ireland Program and am now working in MEP Liam Aylward's Office in Brussels until December. Then it's off to Toulouse on Erasmus until I have to return home to complete my fourth year in UL. 2. How was working for John McCain? Quite simply surreal! Everything that happened in our office generally appeared on CNN (or more likely Fox) within ten minutes of it happening! To meet the man himself on a number of occasions was great. No matter what you think of his politics he is clearly a very principled and hard working public representative. I'll always remember his reply when asked how he was doing after losing the Presidential Election, "I sleep like a baby; I sleep two hours, wake up, and cry. Sleep two hours, wake up, and cry". Sums it up really. 3. What do you care about? Apart from the obvious things like family, friends and food, I am very passionate about public service and politics. As Bismarck stated "Politics is the art of the possible" and I think no better example of this can be found then in our own country. It was through politics and political activity that Ireland as a nation went from being a colony and one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the wealthiest and most successful nations today. I know we're after taking a heavy hit recently but if you were to assess the hopes and dreams of the founding fathers of the State and compare them with what has been achieved today I think they'd be pretty impressed. 4. How has the WIP experience impacted on your life, personally and professionally? A better question might be, how hasn't the WIP experience impacted on my life! Personally, one of the big things is that you become much more confident in yourself. While staying in the US you begin to be influenced by their constructively positive outlook and their inspiring "can do" attitude. On a professional level I probably haven't had time to assess the impact of the benefits of the WIP experience due to the fact I went straight from Senator McCain's Office to MEP Aylward's Office in Brussels. However I would say that what you learn during your 8 weeks in DC can be applied to any area of life. The Program certainly makes you venture outside your comfort zone and encourages you to put yourself out there.

Ógra member James Carroll was elected to Seanad Éireann in November 2009. Senator Carroll is the first member of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party who was born in the 1980s. Who is Senator Carroll and what does he do? “I am 26 years of age and when I was elected to Seanad Éireann I became the youngest member of either House of the current Oireachtas. I am a former pupil of Harestown National School in Monasterboice and St Oliver’s Community College in Drogheda. I graduated in 2007 with a BCL law degree from UCD after serving as Students’ Union President in 2005/06. In June 2009, I was elected to Louth County Council for the Drogheda East electoral area. I worked as Parliamentary Assistant to Margaret Conlon T.D. (Cavan-Monaghan) for two years prior to my election to Seanad Éireann in November 2009. 2009 was a rollercoaster year for me both personally and politically. In late December 2008, I was selected to run in the County Council elections. It was a step into the unknown for me but I had the experience of running for two Students’ Union elections so I had some experience at electioneering. Polling for the council elections took place on June 5th and I was elected the next day on the first count receiving 1,495 votes (1.01 quotas). This was a real vindication for the dedicated and hard working campaign team who sacrificed so much during the previous few months. I really enjoyed working as a councillor, helping people with the wide variety of problems that arose. In early November, about five months after the local elections I received a call to say that An Taoiseach Brian Cowen T.D. wanted to meet with me. I was completely shocked when An Taoiseach told me he was going to ask the parliamentary party to support my nomination to Seanad Éireann, to take the late Senator Tony Kett’s seat. On Monday, 23rd November I was elected and I took my seat that Wednesday. It was a wonderful day for my family and friends who had all helped in so many ways to get me to where I am today. My first month was extremely hectic with the Budget going through the Seanad with some very tough decisions that had to be made. The Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has excelled himself in his new role and I hope that he can continue to do so despite his current illness. At the moment I am in the process of opening my new full-time constituency office in Drogheda which will serve the town and the surrounding area. 2010 is going to be a challenging year for us all and I hope that my addition to Seanad Éireann gives a voice to not only Ógra Fianna Fáil members but all young people throughout the country. If anyone has any ideas or issues on what the Party or the Government should be working on, I would be delighted to hear from you. If you have an opinion on legislation or have any ideas/views on what I can do to help enhance the country or your area, please call me at 01-6184374, email me at james.carroll@oireachtas.ie, contact me on Facebook or even write a letter.”

Join

join@ogra.ie

I was privileged to be asked by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen to become Cathaoirleach Ógra at November’s Youth Conference in Bundoran. Ógra has an important role to play in shaping Ireland’s future and I look forward to helping our organisation achieve its ambitions. I want to thank the outgoing Cathaoirleach Dara Calleary for his contribution over the past two years and on behalf of Ógra I wish Dara the very best for the future. The new National Youth Committee has been working extremely hard since November’s Youth Conference planning and organising for the months ahead. The committee meet again at the end of this month so I ask if you have any opinions or feedback for Ógra that you contact your local Ógra representatives or, indeed, myself. Full details of all Youth Committee members may be found inside this edition of Grassroots. The coming 12 months will see Ógra build on its strong campaigns, which are essential in promoting our aims and ideas. Ógra must be a support to the entire Fianna Fáil organization but if we do not constantly challenge assumptions provoke debate and inform policy-making, then we cannot consider ourselves to be the future. 2010 marks 35 years of Ógra Fianna Fáil. Ógra has come a long way since its founding by Jack Lynch and Seamus Brennan in 1975. There will be a suitable event to mark the occasion about which I will inform you soon. Is mise, le meas Thomas Byrne T.D. Cathaoirleach Ógra Ógra Fianna Fáil

MESSAGE FROM THE

LEAS-CATHAOIRLEACH Dear Member, It is a pleasure in this the first Grassroots of the new National Youth Committee term to be able to outline to you the plans we are working on for the coming term. I promise to work tirelessly on behalf of all of our members. The National Youth Committee had its first meeting on the 5th December. At this meeting we discussed what we wanted the organisation to acheive. Last year was an extremely successful one for the Organisation and we hope to replicate it this year. The many new events which took place last year will now become permanent fixtures in the Ógra calendar and will ensure that we have constant activity taking place throughout the year in which you can take part. This year we can look forward to the the Ógra Summer School and the Ógra Consultative to name just a few. Following the National Youth Conference we also identified the key policy areas which we would address. Foremost of these is the problem of Youth Unemployment. We have begun to put together a detailed paper on new approaches which can tackle this problem and if you have any concerns or ideas of your own please contact your NYC representative. We are anxious to ensure Ógra's continued development as a vibrant and dynamic organisation which responds to the needs of its members. To help us achieve this we will be sending a survey to all our members in the coming weeks I[SQVO aW] _PI\ aW]Z M`XMZQMVKM WN±ÕOZI \P][ NIZ PI[ JMMV TQSM IVL _PI\ aW] would like to see us do in the future. Please respond to this survey when it arrives in your inbox and help us build an organisation we can be proud of. As always if you have any issues which you would like to raise please do not hesitate to contact me at 087-6467467 or joseph.oneill@ogra.ie I look forward to meeting you all again in the coming weeks and months. Regards, Joe O Neill Leas Cathaoirleach Ógra Fianna Fáil

Ă“gra  Grassroots  â€“  February  2010

Ă“gra  Grassroots  â€“  February  2010

3RD LEVEL UPDATE by  Eamon  Quinlan

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In  recent  months,  Ă“gra's  third  level  Cumainn  have  once  again  showed  themselves  to  be  at  the  forefront  of  the  organisation  in  terms  of  activities,  recruitment  and  organisation.  The  mobilisation  of  these  Cumainn  for  the  Lisbon  2  Referendum  has  been  credited  at  every  level  in  Fianna  Fail  as  having  played  an  important  and  ultimately  decisive  role  in  the  successful  outcome.  It  was  in  this  campaign  that  Ă“gra's  ability  to  get  numbers  of  articulate  young  activists  on  the  ground  putting  forward  the  Yes  side’s  arguments  and  refutingthe  No  sides  assertions  that  showed  our  strongest  qualities  in  shaping  events.  The  recruitment  campaigns  of  this  term  also  proved  highly  successful,  with  several  third  level  units  reporting  an  increase  of  membership  subscription  on  previous  years.  Special  mention  should  be  made  of  our  newly  founded  cumann  in  St.  Patrick’s  College  Dublin  and  we  would  like  to  wish  them  every  []KKM[[ Âą The  highlight  was  of  course  our  National  Youth  Conference  in  Bundoran.  Third  level  cumainn  [PW_ML OZMI\ WZOIVQ[I\QWVIT IJQTQ\a QV \ZIV[XWZ\QVO TIZOM V]UJMZ[ WNÂą\PMQZ LMTMOI\M[ \W \PM KWVNMZMVKM for  a  very  enjoyable  weekend  of  workshops,  canvassing  and  downright  fun.  For  the  post  Christmas  college  term,  many  colleges  have  an  ambitious  programme  of  events,  which  include  ÂŒ <PM ?QTTQIU ,ZMVVIV KWUUMUWZI\QWV LIa QV *MTNI[\ ÂŒ =+,Âź[ \ZQX \WÂą\PM -]ZWXMIV 8IZTQIUMV\ QVÂą*Z][[MT[ ÂŒ =4Âź[ \ZQX \W -]ZWXMIV +WUUQ[[QWV QV ;\ZI[JW]ZO ÂŒ =++Âź[ 2IKS 4aVKP ;XWZ\QVO 5MUWZQIT _MMSMVL ÂŒ == 6=1/[ ZMKZ]Q\UMV\ KIUXIQOV[ ÂŒ <PM Ă•OZI *ITT ÂŒ <PM 5IZKP VI\QWVIT _MMSMVL

Ă“gra  members  celebrate  the  Lisbon  Campaign  victory  at  Dublin  Castle.

Ă“GRA INSTRUMENTAL IN YES VOTE FOR LISBON TREATY by  Brendan  Hayes

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The  Lisbon  Treaty  Referendum  held  last  October  was  the  culmination  of  many  months  of  hard-work  and  was  over  overwhelmingly  accepted  by  the  Irish  people,  with  67%  of  the  electorate  voting  yes  on  the  day.  With  the  result,  Ireland  can  now  reclaim  its  place  at  the  heart  of  European  politics.  The  result  was  a  good  day  for  Ireland  and  a  good  day  for  Europe.  Ă“gra  Fianna  FĂĄil  played  a  central  role  in  promoting  a  Yes  Vote  in  last  year’s  referendum.  We  were  one  of  the  first  organisations  to  commence  our  campaign  with  a  launch  event  being  held  in  Cork  in  late  August  with  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Micheal  Martin,  Minister  for  Europe  Dick  Roche  and  Ireland  South  MEP,  Brian  Crowley.  The  event  was  very  well  attended  with  members  travelling  from  across  the  country  for  a  weekend  event  that  also  included  workshops  on  economic  recovery. What  followed  the  successful  launch  event  was  eight  weeks  of  intense  campaigning,  debating  and  canvassing.  At  a  local  level,  every  Ă“gra  unit  in  the  country  engaged  with  the  campaign  in  some  way,  drawing  on  the  support  of  members  and  supporters  across  the  constituencies.  Many  units  organised  talks  in  their  areas  that  focused  on  the  Treaty  provisions  itself  while  almost  all  units  worked  with  the  senior  organisations  in  their  respective  areas. Apart  from  the  important  work  of  canvassing,  Ă“gra  used  the  Third  Level  Recruitment  Campaign  to  great  effect,  publicising  a  yes  vote  among  the  student  bodies  with  posters  and  literature  across  all  campuses  in  the  country.  We  also  embraced  the  new  generation  of  media  by  designing  videos  for  use  on  social  networking  sites  such  as  Facebook  and  YouTube.  These  videos  contained  interviews  with  special  guests  and  Ă“gra  members.  Ă“gra  was  the  only  youth  organisation  to  use  this  medium  of  campaigning. The  success  of  the  Lisbon  campaign  and  the  visible  role  Ă“gra  took  in  its  success  is  a  testament  to  the  work  of  all  members.  The  campaign  should  act  as  a  platform  from  which  Ă“gra  can  develop  its  focus  on  campaigning  and  the  organisation  should  be  instrumental  in  ensuring  that  Ireland  itself  re-engages  with  Europe.  Every  Ă“gra  unit  deserves  credit  for  the  hard  work  of  its  members,  which  yet  again  showed  how  visibly  strong  and  vibrant  our  membership  is.

THANK YOU FROM THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS I  am  delighted  to  acknowledge  the  vital  contribution  made  by  the  members  of  Ă“gra  during  the  Lisbon  Treaty  Referendum  Campaign. Âą Following  Ă“gra’s  launch  of  their  Yes  to  Lisbon  campaign  in  Cork  on  the  29th  August,  members  participated  in  canvassing,  in  local  debates  as  well  as  making  their  voices  heard  through  the  media. Âą -]ZWXM PI[ ITZMILa XZW^QLML ML]KI\QWVIT MUXTWaUMV\ IVL QV^M[\UMV\ WXXWZ\]VQ\QM[ Âą 1\ PI[ [PW_V \PMZM Q[ TQ\MZITTa I KWV\QVMV\Âź[ _WZ\P WN XW[[QJQTQ\QM[ 4Q[JWV Q[ JZQVOQVO ITT \PQ[ KTW[MZ Âą 1\ _QTT IT[W LMTQ^MZ new  opportunities  such  as  the  new  European  Voluntary  Humanitarian  Aid  Corps,  the  inclusion  of  young  people  in  democracy  as  well  as  fairness  and  openness  in  sport. Ă“gra  can  be  proud  of  the  role  it  played  in  delivering  this  Treaty  for  young  people  throughout  Ireland. MicheĂĄl  Martin  T.D. Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs

Ă“gra  members  Duane  Brown,  Joey  Crawley  and  Jessica  Brennan  recruiting  in  DCU

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  events  lined  up  across  the  country  over  the  coming  months,  all  of  which  are  down  to   individual  members  initiative.  Over  the  coming  term  the  third  level  cumainn  will  work  together  to  make  such  events  bigger,  more  inclusive  and  successful.

Brian  Lenihan,  Minister  for  Finance  on  Budget  Day

BUDGET 2010 by  John  Regan

The  medicine  is  painful‌  the  alternatives  are  unthinkable.  The  2010  Budget,  introduced  by  Brian  Lenihan  on  December  9th  certainly  achieved  what  the  Government  had  set  out  to  do  â€“  bring  certainty  to  the  economy  and  halt  any  further  rise  in  the  deficit.  The  scale  of  the  budgetary  adjustment  necessary  had  been  signalled  for  months  -  4  Billion  had  to  be  saved  just  to  stand  still.  Next  year  the  economy  is  expected  to  contract  by  1.25%  with  an  upswing  in  the  second  half  of  2010.  The  decision  to  cut  public  sector  pay  by  1.3  billion  put  the  Irish  government  into  direct  conflict  with  the  public  sector  unions.  The  Government  proved  that  it  was  willing  to  take  this  tough  decision  and  not  shirk  its  responsibilities.  Painful  as  they  may  be,  public  sector  workers  enjoy  a  large  degree  of  job  certainty  which  private  sector  workers  do  not.  Like  any  employer  or  household,  the  State  must  balance  its  books  and  live  within  its  means. The  other  area  of  significant  adjustment  in  this  budget  was  social  welfare  payments.  Since  1997  the  government  has  increased  social  welfare  payments  by  130%  on  average  with  Child  Benefit  rising  by  over  330%.  The  cost  of  living  has  risen  by  about  40%  during  the  same  period  and  has  fallen  by  over  6%  in  the  past  year,  with  substantial  falls  in  food,  clothes  and  rental  accommodation.  The  cuts  of  4.1%  to  most  social  welfare  payments  (with  the  exception  of  the  State  Pension)  and  the  16  reduction  in  child  benefit  will  come  into  effect  from  January.  Making  these  modest  cuts  today  and  helping  to  close  the  deficit  will  ensure  deeper  cuts  are  avoided  in  the  future  and  the  high  levels  of  social  protection  offered  can  be  secured  in  the  long  term. Addressing  the  unemployment  problem,  Minister  Lenihan  provided  an  extra  136  million  in  funding  for  training  schemes  and  support  services.  This  brings  the  total  number  of  training  places  and  government-backed  places  to  180,000.  PRSI  exemptions  will  be  offered  to  encourage  employers  to  take  people  off  the  dole.  The  recently  announced  changes  to  the  Temporary  Employment  Subsidy  Scheme  will  also  help  to  alleviate  the  problem  over  the  coming  months. The  Budget  also  contained  a  number  of  measures  designed  to  get  the  economy  moving  again.  Consumption  taxes  have  been  cut  to  provide  a  stimulus  to  the  retail  sector,  which  has  been  hit  significantly  in  recent  months.  The  increased  investment  in  the  tourism  sector  and  the  â€˜subsidised  travel’  scheme  for  older  tourists  is  a  welcome  boost  for  our  rural  communities.  Fianna  Fail  in  Government  is  also  maintaining  one  of  the  largest  capital  investment  programmes  in  the  EU,  investing  in  our  roads,  schools,  communications  and  energy  infrastructure.  The  long  term  gains  from  these  investments  over  the  past  12  years  will  ensure  Ireland  is  well  prepared  for  the  21st  century. This  budget  should  be  welcomed  by  everyone,  particularly  young  people.  Taking  tough  action  today;  getting  our  budget  deficit  under  control  and  keeping  our  national  debt  as  low  as  possible  will  ensure  future  generations  are  not  burdened  by  crippling  tax  rates.  This  government  is  committed  to  ensuring  Ireland  does  not  have  a  â€˜lost  generation’  much  like  the  1980’s.

An  Taoiseach  Brian  Cowen  with  delegates  at  the  Ă“gra  Conference  in  Bundoran.

NATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE 2009, BUNDORAN by  Conor  King

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Over  300  delegates  from  right  around  the  country  travelled  to  this  year’s  National  Youth  Conference  which  was  held  in  the  Great  Northern  Hotel,  Bundoran.  The  Conference  kicked  off  with  an  organisational  workshop,  chaired  by  Senator  James  Carroll.  This  was  followed  by  the  hustings  for  NYC  representatives  and  Ard  Chomhairle  positions.  After  some  vigorous  and  sometimes  heated  questioning  of  prospective  candidates,  the  TĂĄnaiste  formally  opened  the  conference  and  welcomed  delegates  to  Donegal.  She  reminisced  with  delegates  of  her  first  youth  conference  which  was  held  in  the  same  hotel.  The  final  event  of  the  night  was  a  hustings  for  the  position  of  Leas  Cathaoirleach.  What  followed  was  a  robust  debate  on  the  future  direction  ofĂ“grawith  both  candidates  taking  questions  from  the  floor.  With  the  formal  proceedings  over,  delegates  were  entertained  by  Mystic  Celt  and  Next  Generation,  while  last  minute  canvassing  by  election  hopefuls  continued  well  into  the  next  morning. The  next  day  started  bright  and  early  with  voting  beginning  at  9am.  For  most  delegates  this  meant  getting  an  abrupt  wakeup  call  by  candidates  trying  to  get  the  vote  out.  Once  polling  closed  the  motion  workshops  began.  Many  lively  and  interesting  debates  were  had,  including  a  suggestion  to  lower  the  voting  age  to  16,  a  call  for  top  public  servants  to  have  their  salaries  capped,  a  proposal  for  full  marriage  equality  and  a  motion  demanding  our  overly  restrictive  licensing  laws  to  be  brought  into  line  with  European  norms.   At  11:30am,  the  first  of  three  seminars  began.  Noel  Dempsey  T.D.,  Minister  for  Transport  and  Noel  Brett,  CEO  of  the  Road  Safety  Authority,  began  a  discussion  on  road  safety,  where  they  challenged  Ă“gra  to  raise  awareness  on  the  matter  among  young  people.  The  second  seminar  entitled  the  Smart  Economy  was  attended  by  the  TĂĄnaiste  Mary  Coughlan,  Minister  for  Education  and  Science,  Batt  O’Keeffe  T.D.,  John  Herlihy,  Vice  President  for  Global  Ad  Operations  at  Google  and  Rita  Shah  Managing  Director  of  Shah  Plastics  and  2009  Women  Mean  Business  Entrepreneur  of  the  Year  Award.  They  provided  a  fascinating  insight  into  the  challenges  that  Irish  businesses  face  and  where  we  as  nation  need  to  XW[Q\QWV W]Z MKWVWUa NWZ \PM N]\]ZM <PM NQVIT [MUQVIZ WN \PM _MMSMVL _I[ *]LOM\ +PWQKM[ _PQKP _I[ OQ^MV Ja 5IZa 0IVINQV 5QVQ[\MZ NWZ ;WKQIT .IUQTa )NNIQZ[ IVL *ZMVLIV ;UQ\P 5QVQ[\MZ NWZ )OZQK]T\]ZM .WWL <PMa [\ZM[[ML \PI\ \PM KW]V\Za PI[ \W]OP KPWQKM[ IPMIL IVL \PI\ \PMa _MZM ITT \WW I_IZM WN LQNNQK]T\QM[ XMWXTM NIKML QV \PMQZ LIQTa TQ^M[ An  Taoiseach,  Brian  Cowen  T.D.  addressed  the  conference  on  the  theme  of  renewal.  He  said  that  the  last  year  had  been  a  difficult  one,  both  for  our  country  and  for  our  party.  He  stated  that  the  government  had  to  take  tough  choices  to  restore  the  country  to  growth.  He  said  that  we  need  to  reform  our  party  to  take  account  of  changing  nature  of  Irish  society.  He  challenged  Ă“grato  be  a  leading  driver  of  that  change  within  the  party.  He  also  thanked  delegates  for  their  loyal  support  in  the  recent  European  and  local  elections  and  in  the  Lisbon  Treaty  referendum.  Outgoing  Leas  Cathaoirleach  Joseph  O’Neill  spoke  to  delegates,  stating  that  while  Ă“gra  has  many  challenges  ahead,  it  could  be  proud  of  its  work  over  the  last  year.  Attention  quickly  moved  on  to  the  election  count  with  the  results  providing  the  usual  mix  of  intrigue  and  drama.  The  conference  concluded  with  the  traditional  Gala  Banquet.  Guest  speaker  SeĂĄn  Gallagher,  of  Dragon’s  Den  fame,  shared  shared  his  experiences  of  Ă“gra  and  also  gave  some  advice  and  encouragement  for  the  future.  All  attention  then  focused  on  the  big  screen  to  watch  the  disappointing  first  leg  of  Ireland  against  France.  It  was  then  up  to  Blue  Moose  to  entertain  delegates,  which  they  did  brilliantly.  They  were  followed  the  DJ  who  continued  well  past  the  early  hours  of  the  morning.  Credit  must  go  to  Donegal  South  West  Ă“gra  and  Brian  Doyle  for  all  their  hard  work  in  organising  an  unforgettable  weekend.

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