Slap - POLITICS

slap

3

Photo by Gary Fox

48

politics CONTENTS A Spring Thing

Ă“rla Sheils talks to Dick Spring about life after Labour........pg 50 Hassle in the Castle

SinĂŠad Keogh visits the Mahon Tribunal...............................pg 59 Into the West

Ross Loftus reports that the Rossport campaign is still

going strong...............................................................................pg 69

49

OVER RAINBOW I

50

Photo by Órla Sheils

THE

Former Labour leader Dick Spring speaks to Órla Sheils about life after the Rainbow Coalition

t’s been a while since the nation have seen him, the man who played such a central part in modern Ireland’s history. Dick Spring has done many interviews with journalists and though he has been six years away from the political world, nothing has really changed. He is still the man who held the position of Tanáiste three times, filled several ministerial positions in government and was leader of the Labour Party for 15 years. This is somebody who knows something about journalists.

Through the course of the interview he absentmindedly spells out names, speaks with fluency but doesn’t stray from the subject matter and even smiles charmingly from time to time. Dick Spring knows who he is and has a reputation of being, at times, a gruff individual, but he is also humble and charismatic enough to get away with it. You would almost be forgiven for recording everything he says verbatim; such is the ease

with which he answers each question. It is little wonder that his political career was a success.

Spring describes himself as being “born into politics”. His father, Dan Spring, was elected to Kerry County Council in 1942 and to the Dáil the following year where he held the seat for Kerry North until 1981. At a time before politicians had formal clinics, the Spring household was “like a railway station, there were people coming and going all the time, it was a hive of political activity.”

The young Spring was also consumed with sport, playing rugby, gaelic football and hurling. Indeed, he even has seven national caps for rugby and played on the Kerry team in both gaelic games. He admits he was “a maniac for sport” and “tended to captain most teams”, something which perhaps was indicative of what was to come.

Spring has three children although he admits none of them have any real interest in following in his footsteps. He speaks hopefully of his

nephew Arthur Spring, who he says is working to regain the old family seat in North Kerry: “it will be difficult but we may have the flag flying again.” Spring flew the ‘flag’ after his father, holding the Kerry North seat until 2002 when he lost it to the Sinn Féin candidate Martin Ferris. He has not sought to be reelected since.

How has Spring found life after politics? “As you can see I’m very miserable,” he laughs. All jokes aside, he says: “I had 22 years in politics and I felt there was little left to achieve or to do.” Spring is now working in financial services and is the executive vice-chairman of Fexco. He says that the transition from politics to business has been “a serious learning curve”.

He is also very preoccupied with the charitable work he does in his role as chairman of the Realta Global Foundation, an organisation which works with people affected directly and indirectly with HIV or AIDS in the poorest countries of Africa.

He is then as busy as ever, and perhaps the perfect candidate to lend a few words of advice on life after the Dáil to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. “I’m not sure Bertie Ahern would want any advice from Dick Spring,” he comments wryly.

“Bertie has served a long time in Dáil Éireann and I’m sure he has built up skills over the years which he will put to good use.” He describes the end of Ahern’s leadership as “most unfortunate, a very sad end to an illustrious political career”. On Ahern’s involvement in the investigations of the Mahon Tribunal, Spring remains relatively cautious: “The monies that had been donated or collected should have been declared from the outset, it wasn’t the proper manner to treat the tribunal. But you feel sorry that someone who had such a great achievement on Irish politics ends his career with that sort of sully mark over it.”

Despite Spring’s smiling assurances that he doesn’t miss politics, when he speaks of the Labour Party he leans forward in his chair and gently clasps his hands together on the table. He admits that it is more difficult for the party in contemporary affluent Ireland but adds: “the Celtic Tiger has an injured leg at the moment, it’s running on three legs instead of four and there is probably a need for the Labour Party to become vocal on the issues, they need to become an issues party.” The issues, he says, are

“I’m not sure Bertie Ahern would want any advice from Dick Spring”

health and education. He warns that if Ireland is going to compete in knowledge based society, then she has to have more fourth-level graduates.

Spring certainly appears quite sure of where the Labour Party needs to go in the future. He agrees that the party should be open to the prospect of a future coalition with Fianna Fáil, amid growing speculation that the new Taoiseach Brian Cowen might be more amenable to such an arrangement. “I think that from a policy point of view, the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil would probably be quite compatible, now that Fianna Fáil have a record of making coalitions work in the last ten years,” he adds.

Despite the fact that his tone remains level and his experienced media face expressionless, you can’t help feeling that that last comment is surely a dig at his former coalition partners. Few Irish people will forget Spring’s unprecedented action in 1994 when he withdrew his support for his government colleagues, Fianna Fáil, who were then under the leadership of Albert Reynolds and instead formed the Rainbow Coalition with Fine Gael and the Democratic Left. This was the first time in Irish history that one coalition replaced another without a general election.

Following three years of the rainbow government, the Irish people voted in another general election, the results of which, Spring says, were the lowest point of his political career. While in 1992, the public had increased Labour’s seats to 33, the highest they had ever achieved, the results of 1997 were not quite as flattering and saw the Labour Party return to opposition, winning only 17 of the outgoing 33 seats. Spring says the results were “pretty shocking, because I felt that

the Rainbow Coalition government had done a great job, the Celtic Tiger was beginning to express itself and the country was very optimistic”. He says that in 1992 there were a lot of people who voted for Labour to “get rid of Fianna Fáil”.

Following this he says that “when that didn’t happen, I think they decided to desert the Labour Party in droves”.

Under his leadership, the party had previously campaigned particularly in the area of social policy; something which he says may be responsible for the view that he had a modernising influence on Ireland.

“In relation to divorce, I think that would have been a big factor, we tried to bring it in during the ’80s and failed. I felt that was very much a human rights issue.” He also cites other social issues such as the family planning legislation which the party introduced, alongside the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

“There were a lot of social issues which the Labour Party were probably always a bit more open in dealing with than the other parties who were, by nature, more conservative.”

One of Spring’s most commended efforts is in the role he played in the Northern Ireland peace process. “I like to think that in our dealings with Northern Ireland we were very open and didn’t have a hidden agenda. I like to feel I understood the problems of the unionist side as well as, of course, the nationalist problems.”

He recalls that one of the most frustrating occasions during the peace talks, on a personal level, was hearing news of the 1996 Canary

“I had 22 years in politics and I felt there was little left to achieve or to do”

51

Wharf bombing in East London after 17 months of IRA ceasefire.

Spring was on a return flight from Washington after a meeting with Bill Clinton regarding the progress in Northern Ireland when he heard the news. “We were just shattered by the news that yet again the IRA had set off a bomb, but you just have to recover and regain your composure and fight on in a peaceful way.” After situations such as this one, Spring says that: “it was always extremely difficult to go back to the table, to convince others that we were on a peace mission at a time when people were still committed to using violence.”

Ireland in 2008, however, has new issues. Spring talks about our growing multi-ethnic society and the need for proper integration. He also admits that young people today

are faced with new concerns that were not prevalent when he was growing up. He speaks of challenges, rather than problems, his rhetoric still perfectly etched with that of his political persona.

To the suggestion that the magical Mary Robinson presidency was borne under his authority and therefore is maybe a job that he himself might consider in the future, he replies: “I think it would be far too ceremonial a job for my interest”. So it would appear that Dick Spring is well and truly finished in politics. He closes on a genial note as he wishes Brian Cowen well in his new role as Taoiseach. Just as he is about to stand up, he says “we’d obviously wish to change him at the next election”. There are some things you just can’t leave unsaid. osheils@hotmail.com

The upper house

Spring in Short

Born: August 29, 1950 Tralee, Co. Kerry First Elected as a Labour Party TD in 1981.

Served as Labour Party leader from 1982 – 1997.

Posts held: Minster for the Environment, Minister for Energy, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tánaiste.

Educated in Trinity College Dublin and King’s Inns.

Married to Kristi, three children.

Played Gaelic football and hurling for Kerry in the 1970s.

Has won Rugby Union caps for Munster and Ireland.

Ciarán Masterson explains the lesser known house of the Oireachtas

T

52

he Seanad wouldn’t be are chosen by the Taoiseach, it’s also regarded as the more exciting smaller than the Dáil. 43 senators of the two houses of the are elected by vocational panels, Oireachtas. In fact, a sizeable while three are elected by the proportion of the population are University of Dublin (Trinity probably unaware of its existence let College) and another three are alone what goes on its chamber. elected by the National Admittedly, it is University of Ireland “Calls for substantially weaker than Colleges (University its parliamentary sibling, reform to both College Cork, its main business being to University College the work and Dublin, National reassess the work of the Dáil with little power to University of Ireland, election change it but rather to and National process of the Galway ensure that legislation is University of Ireland, Seanad have Maynooth). Other properly scrutinised.

Independent senator been gathering major academic Ivana Bacik comments institutions such as pace over the D.C.U. and D.I.T. have that it has “also served as a significant forum for the last few years” no representation. expression of political Calls for reform to ideas and initiatives”. In both the work and effect however, the Seanad can only election process of the Seanad have delay a bill for ninety days. been gathering pace over the last few With 60 members, of whom eleven years and many of the incumbent

senators believe that change is imminent with many favouring a system more representative of the people.

The upper house has always been seen by many as a breeding ground for aspiring TDs or a dumping ground for those who have lost their seat in the Dáil but are still considered worthy of public office.

Despite these claims the Seanad is also home to some of Irish politics’ most colourful characters. The presence of senators like the outspoken David Norris and in the past the likes of Mary Robinson has ensured that the chamber can at times be the location of radical proposals and heated debates that are unheard of in the Dáil and still bring them to the fore of the political arena. cjmasters86@yahoo.co.uk

Halfway there The race for the Democratic nomination has overtaken the race to the White House this election season.

Claire Gillivan wonders where and when it will all end.

E

lection season in America is always good for column inches, but this time around there has been huge focus on just half the story. Americans and the wider world have been awaiting the result of one contest alone: the race to be the Democratic nominee.

Indeed, even if John McCain goes on to win the White House this November, one senses that the

bigger story of the year will be about the Democrat who did not.

With two formidable, groundbreaking candidates espousing more policy in common than in contrast, the Democrats’ race has been close and at times more a harsh personality contest than anything else. It’s a contest that it seems clear at the time of writing Barack Obama has won with personal appeal and oratory elegance, despite nagging questions about his credibility.

This apparent victory did not stop Hillary Clinton from fighting on, and indeed winning primaries. In fact she increasingly presented herself as a fighter, almost celebrating the idea that she may not be the more likeable of the two choices, but suggesting that she was the wiser.

Change will not come if we wait for After some months of questionable advice, with some other person or some other the departure of former key members of her time. We are the ones we've been inner campaign circle, waiting for. We are the change that Clinton hit a stride much like that seen leading up we seek to and after the New Hampshire, Ohio and

“

”

Texas contests. She hit her stride too late, however: the results of the May 6th primaries in Indiana and North Carolina affirmed Obama’s narrow edge, and essentially his victory.

Still, her strengths in the final small states meant the Democratic primary season would most likely push on until June 3rd, the day of the last contests.

The Democratic leadership began to apply steadily increasing pressure on superdelegates to make public their intentions. In the week following the Indiana and North Carolina contests Obama pulled even against Clinton among superdelegates, and began slowly to pull away from her in that count.

Nonetheless, in mid-May there were still nearly 300 Democratic superdelegates who had not yet publicly endorsed a candidate.

Hillary was getting virtually no endorsements, but Obama’s were coming only in small handfuls. With Clinton winning further primaries, gaining further delegates and coming close to Obama’s popular vote count, the decisive end was delayed.

Still, there was a marked shift in the mood of the democratic primary contest. Obama’s strong win in North Carolina was, it would seem in retrospect, the final test, the last chance. Since that win, and despite

53

Photo by Angela Radulescu

almost incessantly as LINKS a ‘maverick’, less for any substantial policy http://www.mccainblogette.com – position than because the blog of John McCain’s daughter members of his own Meghan party have cast him as ‘too liberal’ for his http://www.barackobama.com – slight sympathies in Obama’s official website such areas as immigration and the http://www.hillaryclinton.com – environment.

Clinton’s official website However the issues that will matter most http://www.johnmccain.com – Mcthis election cycle will Cain’s official website be the American economy and the war http://drudgereport.com – one of in Iraq. While the best sources of breaking news on What we need is somebody who McCain relies heavily the US election on his military service can deliver change. We don’t need to for perceived http://politics.nytimes.com/electionbe raising the false hopes of our legitimacy in tackling guide/2008/index.html - the New country about what can be delivered. a military issue such York Times election guide 2008 as Iraq, it remains The best way to know what change I unclear how well he recession. The Obama campaign will will produce is to look at the changes will gain voters’ succeed if it can transcend the confidence on the discourse of doubt, tie McCain to the that I have already made economy. current administration and subtly While Obama’s enforce the flipside of fear politics: his being trounced in West Virginia, campaign, and even that of Clinton the idea that it is, now or never, time the tendency to call Obama to a different but substantial extent, to change, even save, the country. “unviable” has waned, and appear to have heralded a different preparations for an Obama-McCain era in American presidential politics, clairegillivan@gmail.com match-up in the fall have begun in it remains uncertain if the earnest on both sides. passionate agency that has been McCain’s campaign and the demonstrated by much of Republican Party the Democratic itself have been primary focusing criticism on electorate Obama. While it is marks a change difficult to imagine substantial how the general enough to see a election contest will revolutionary play out with the candidate Democratic ticket elected still technically up in president in the air, sneak 2008. previews have While the emerged. The explicit key Republican National Committee idea in this election, like recently launched a website devoted many an election, has been to questioning Obama’s leadership, change, the implicit key policy and suitability to be president. currency of it will be fear.

Entitled ‘Can We Ask?’ the site is an The McCain campaign will “Hope in America is not based in obvious, even clever, dig at Obama’s succeed if it can discreetly delusion but in the faith that familiar refrain ‘Yes We Can’. but effectively put forward everything is possible in America.

McCain has, and will continue to, the idea that Senator The time for pandering and false distance himself from the policies Obama is not up to the task promises is over; it’s time for and people linked to the Bush of the American presidency Administration. He is referred to in a time of war and action”

“

”

54

Hillary

slap opinion

With the race for the Democratic nomination having been run in heels, Ciara Norton puts forward the three reasons why Hillary Rodham Clinton would have got her vote

1

She refuses to bow down and wear a skirt. Those ‘pantsuits’ are here to stay. And why should she? Recently the ‘empowerment’ of women in public life is only ‘empowerment’ if they also find time for manicures and shopping trips along the road to success.

When was the last time a successful woman with unkempt hair and a cluttered desk featured in a magazine? Clinton wears pantsuits because she’s a woman on a mission and women on mission don’t have time to shave their legs and think about hosiery. A recent suggestion that, should she lose the race to the White House, she’d come back in four years time wearing skirts should not chill only the hearts of feminism but the heart of politics. Has it come to this?

2

She cried. The battle for equality of the sexes often forgets that we are not the same. Men are men and women, well... sometimes being a woman comes with an inner rollercoaster of hormones, emotions, and overactive tear ducts. They’re not there to blame but they are there, accept them. Perhaps it was a cheap ploy; perhaps she used her femininity to her advantage.

Perhaps while we remind the men in our lives to get in touch with their inner emotions and lose the mantra that “boys don’t cry” we should remind ourselves that it’s okay to do so too.

3

She’s a woman. A statement that society would have me apologise for. Yes, if a vote were in my possession Clinton could have counted on it: primarily because she’s female. Female role models are few and far between these days, they exist but they don’t garner the press coverage hot messes like Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears do.

Were Clinton in power the world would be treated to the reality of a woman being in charge, in charge of the most powerful nation in our piece of the solar system. Perhaps then feminism wouldn’t be a dirty word and skirts wouldn’t be a required part of a powerful woman’s uniform. ciaralnorton@gmail.com

55

A new Laois of life Maureen Lowndes speaks to Ireland’s first black Lord Mayor

56

“I set up a group that cleans the town every Friday. I wanted the immigrant population to give something back to their new community. I also set up a support group for the unemployed in the county, to cater for people from all nationalities.”

Adebari gained residency in 2001 and started to apply for paid jobs.

“I was coming across phrases like ‘we are sorry, you are over qualified, but we will keep your application on file”. In May 2002 he was called for interview for a sales position with a local firm: “They said to me that they would prefer a local, I had no idea what that meant. I thought they meant a local who knew the area.”

Adebari was shocked when an Irish friend told him that local meant Irish.

He started to go around to schools and give talks on cultural difference, believing that racism must be addressed when children are young.

From this he set up a training consultancy. He works with schools, the local community, and businesses country wide.

“I travel the whole country training people. I also work as a guest lecturer with the Dublin City

“I was elected as Mayor of Portlaoise and that is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on a person”

University School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies.

“I came from a non-political background but when I was delivering training to local groups, people said I should go in to politics.

They said I would make a great public representative.” Adebari thought that if he entered politics he would be seen as a local man and felt it was something worth doing for future generations.

“I am independent. I am not affiliated to any political party. The people elect the town council and

Photo by Maureen Lowndes

R

otimi Adebari presents a slot on his weekly Midlands 103 radio show called ‘A Hero from Zero’. The format, which focuses on stories of people who have overcome controversy, probably wasn’t long in the melting pot of ideas: it reflects Adebari’s own life experience.

Adebari was born in Oke-Odan, Nigeria in 1964, the second of three brothers, and most of his family remain there. He came to Ireland in 2000 and made an asylum claim with his wife and two children - and just seven years on, on 28th June 2007, he was elected Mayor of Portlaoise.

“I had my own share of racism but only a small minority engage in that, generally the people are wonderful,” he says. He couldn’t work when he first came to Ireland because of his asylum seeker status, but took on volunteer roles.

The value of difference

fellow counsellors elect the mayor. I was elected as Mayor of Portlaoise and that is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on a person. The Lord Mayor is the number one citizen of the town and five years ago I was told by a firm that they would prefer a local and now I am elected as the number one citizen.”

Yet Adebari’s year in office has not been without controversy. In late 2007, the Irish Daily Mail published a story in which various named sources claimed that Adebari’s initial asylum seeker claim was bogus. The article stated that Adebari had been living in England, working on the London Underground, before his move to Ireland. It revealed that like those of most asylum-seekers his initial asylum application had been turned down and that he had gained legal residency because he had an Irish-born child. Despite his initial asylum claim he has returned to Nigeria on a number of occasions since settling in Ireland – on one occasion to receive an award from his hometown in respect of his Irish political career.

Adebari doesn’t discuss the claim.

Local paper the Laois Voice asked at the time the story broke if Adebari had ever worked in London. “No, never” was his final word on the matter.

Adebari hopes to stay in politics, at least at local level, aiming to see a country where children grow up without dwelling on their differences. “I am proud to be a Laois man,” he concludes, a great example of what our immigrant population can and do achieve.

slap opinion

slap columnist Maureen Lowndes on maintaining an Ireland of a hundred thousand welcomes in the face of immigration

O

small farms of Ireland to keep their siblings alive. Today’s immigrants have to leave loved ones behind and they have to suffer the upheaval of moving to a strange country and a strange culture. This takes bravery and commitment. Now we are a prosperous nation and many people from other lands come to us in search of a better life for their families.

We have a large and very welcome The Irish are multicultural often depicted as a “They have given population in warm friendly Ireland now. people and Ireland us their talents and They have come is sold to tourists from all parts of their expertise, as the land of the the world, from introduced us to hundred thousand Africa, China, welcomes, but Pakistan, new foods, music, Japan, unfortunately India, Poland and racism often raises literature and art” many other its ugly head in countries.

Ireland, and this is to our shame as a It is important to teach our people and as a nation. There may be youngsters the value of other many reasons for racism, it may be nations, cultures and religions and plain badness or it may be defence we must teach by showing a good mechanisms in which people who example ourselves. There is enough are frustrated with their own lives in Ireland for every person living pick on and bully vulnerable people, here but greed, prejudice and an but there is no excuse for racism; it uncaring attitude can make life is an evil in any society. difficult for many. Every decent During the Irish famine and the person must do everything in their lean years after independence Irish power to help stamp out racism. men and women had to leave home and head for England, America and mlowndes@ireland.com other countries in search of a better life. Many sent home money to the ur multicultural population has given us more than we have given them. Learning about other cultures is an enriching experience. They have given us their talents and their expertise, introduced us to new foods, music, literature and art. Having lived in Dublin for five years and met many people from other nations, I know that my life has been made better.

57

slap opinion

T

58

The party’s over

he majority of politicians in in this country. Due to the formation for their four seats.

Ireland have one thing in of coalition governments and the The Green party in opposition common. Yes they may spend small electorate, parties become so were the eco warriors of the left hours upon hours fighting in the fearful of losing a vote that they shy representing a voice for the Dáil chamber, on the air waves, and away from any defining ideologies. underdog with a set of principles. through the pages of the newspapers The Fianna Fáil brand of politics, When push came to shove they about trivial matters – but the aiming to appeal cross the board to packed their ideas in a suitcase and common ground they all share is one all ages went on honeymoon with Fianna thing: unideology.

Fáil.

In the general election of Historically you see the same 2007 the three main pattern. Democratic Left, parties: Fianna Fáil, The Workers Party, Joe Fine Gael and Higgins, all fallen by Labour battled it the way side and out and into obscurity. appealed to Any party that the general has stood for a public to cast set of principals a vote in the in this country ballot box. has been The rewarded with a campaign was lack of love from run with the electorate. expensive and Populist, tiresome inoffensive politics advertisements. seems to be the brand The more you of ideas that every party watched the sicker you now plays to win votes. became. Talk of job creation Part of the problem to begin and economic growth was the with is that Ireland has never had common theme. partisan politics. There Numbers, statistics, blah has never been a left and In Irish politics sticking to a particular right. The political blah blah and so it went.

The cynics watched on ideal has become a game of smoke and establishment in this from the sideline and state was borne out of a daggers writes JP O’Malley predicted the usual difference of opinion on outcome: a Fianna Fáil the Anglo Irish Treaty, win and all because there is no and demographics, seems to be the 1921. Although they may fight at alternative party. Therein rests the rule book that every party has opposite ends of the chamber, problem with Irish democracy. adopted.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in fact There is no difference between the Any party that have even tried to cut from the same cloth – and their three main parties. Centre party, give off the faintest whiff of ideology dye is remarkably similarly cast too. safe politics is the name of the game have failed miserably. The All the while, Labour patters about Progressive Democrats, like them or like the ugly duckling hoping loath them, had a definite set of someone will eventually take notice. ideas in the last election: free It might be a useful exercise to close “The Green party packed market, neoliberal economics and your eyes and pick a random their ideas in a suitcase and low taxes. In the last election they number at the ballot box next time won two seats. Sinn Féin, a party around because they’re all leopards, went on honeymoon with that clearly wants to achieve a united so there’s little hope of different Fianna Fail” spots. You’re voting for the same Ireland and has a clearly formed left- wing economic policy, struggled principles with all three.

Another day, another deposition O

We’ve all been subjected, willingly and otherwise, to the ever-present news reports. Sinéad Keogh goes down to Dublin Castle to see what all the fuss is about

slap opinion

Dublin Castle is an impressive pile of bricks, but the tribunal rooms lie a swift walk across the cobbles from all that – in less than attractive surrounds. One would think that after ten years in residence it would have lost the makeshift courtroom look. It hasn’t. Observers are welcome to sit in the ‘public gallery’ – a formal sounding name for what amounts to a few rows of seating at front, counsel for both sides sit in the back of a room that looks rows, each with a Dell in front of nothing like a courtroom and them. The judges walk in and the everything like a galvanised shed. assembled journalists and barristers The €70 million Mahon has cost so rise, together with a paltry four far certainly wasn’t spent on observers. comfortable chairs.

The witness’s evidence is littered Signs around the room order ‘No with the phrases ‘I can’t recall’, ‘I Photography’ and ‘No don’t know’ and ‘It was a “A decade is a long time ago’. Each laughing, heckling...’, the list goes on. One time they refer to a new long time, immediately wonders piece of paperwork, the if the signs were relevant document memory is always there or if they flashes onto a big screen unreliable, and at the front of the room. are a response to an outbreak of laughing the tribunal can The back and forth of and heckling questions about a single sometime in Mahon’s see that matters page can last up to half past. On days like hour. The same are amiss...” an today when the question pops up more witness is no great shakes in the than once in different guises. notoriety department the public Mahon’s list of witnesses is long. gallery is dismally empty, but it isn’t There are many more to go, and difficult to imagine a boisterous every need to question them in the crowd on days when Bertie is in the manner that this witness is box. To the left, reporters are questioned. A decade is a long time, tapping away at their keyboards. In memory is unreliable, and the

Photo by Seamus O’Neill

utside, the sign on the wall reads ‘The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments’. Somewhere along the way somebody realised they were in for the long haul and ordered a plaque. It would be more reasonable to expect a printed A4 page on a white board or something like you would find in a hotel for a wedding, ‘Mahon Party, room X’. It’s not like that; this has been a full time job to some people for a decade.

tribunal can see that matters are amiss, even while the exact details elude them.

Justice should be seen to be done, says one of the cornerstones of our legal system. The observers in the public gallery number two elderly gentlemen and one lady. More than likely they’re pensioners. People who aren’t getting paid to sit here all day can’t afford to do it for free – and yet there’s no other way of knowing what it’s like. The daily papers report Mahon’s proceedings and findings, but have to stop short of the reporter’s gut feeling about a witness, the atmosphere in the gallery, the sense of timelessness in the tribunal courtroom. €70 million is probably not a high price to pay for justice, but without a public witness to its work, the Mahon tribunal is doomed to condemnation by those who’ve never seen it for themselves. sineadkeogh87@gmail.com

59

Photos courtesy of Clifford Coonan

Lauren Crothers speaks to journalist Clifford Coonan about the trials of reporting in the censored state

60

F

or almost five years, Clifford Coonan has made news deliveries to thousands of people on an almost daily basis – but he’s not the one driving the van and is normally in bed when the thick wads of paper slap against the pavements outside our newsagents.

Reporting on China for the Irish Times as well as the Irish Independent and writing for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, Coonan has harnessed the one area of the world that is piquing people’s interest and brings us a regular taste of the lastest Asian Tiger.

So as the Irish conduit for Chinese news, is there such thing as a typical working day?

“I haven’t really had a typical day for the past few weeks with the Tibetan issue boiling over and have been flying around a lot, although we foreign reporters are banned from all Tibetan areas in China – we were always banned from the Tibetan Autonomous Region itself, and the journalist stamp in the passport is what gives us away,” he says.

“I spent a lot of my time travelling through this vast country and the

China in his hand

story coming from the provinces is very interesting. The mornings are spent going through the papers and seeing what the story from China is going to be on any given day.”

It’s easy to forget the undeniable magnetism that has drawn people to China for centuries amid the recent crackdown in Tibet, and the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 is still a wound many feel will never heal.

Coonan just hopes that people will realise that there is far more to China than meets the eye.

“The best part of it all has been the front-row grandstand seat on what is one of the biggest stories in the world,” he says.

Yet, Coonan’s position in China actually came about on account of his wife’s career move.

“I had been working for Reuters in Berlin before my wife took on the position of China Features Writer at the South China Morning Post. We decided to move the family to China, a move we’d long dreamed of,” he says.

It wasn’t easy at first, particularly with the language barrier. Still, Coonan embraced his new situation.

“I had some lessons in Berlin but it

was really here that I focused on learning the language. It’s much better to learn in the environment itself.”

With the language aspect taken care of, it came time to get stories.

“Initially I was mostly looking after our young son and doing bits and pieces, while learning Chinese, but the demand was such that I quickly became very busy writing and I needed to formalise my situation. I got my accreditation with the Irish Times from the foreign ministry here and began to work on a more regular basis.”

What makes Coonan’s perspective so vitally important is that it offers that all-important insight into how the Chinese powerbrokers and decision makers are trying to strike a balance between an economy that is advancing at breakneck speed– while trying to reign in over one billion people and keep them adhering to the policies set down by the Politburo.

So why should we care? In terms of business, China’s economy is advancing like a juggernaut and, given the trade agreements between Ireland and China, the impact here is already being felt, he says.

“Ireland is benefiting from the rise of China’s economic power, with the focus of economic relations on economic growth and outsourcing production. But cheap production in China must be having an impact in Ireland with companies shifting production here.”

Business may be business, but many people feel that even a business relationship with China is perhaps too generous – just look at the trouble the Olympic torch caused. Given that the world is gearing up for the Olympics, it’s no secret that dissenting attitudes toward China’s occupation of Tibet, its human rights record and arms involvement with the Darfur region of Sudan are being crushed. One would imagine that reporting on such matters could bring about some kind of moral conflict.

“There is no moral conflict at all, but that’s not to say it’s easy covering these stories,” says Coonan.

“One dissident I interviewed at the Three Gorges Dam was attacked by police shortly afterwards and thrown off a wall, leaving him paralysed. A completely horrific situation, but for him, getting his message out was more important than his own safety.

Reporting on events is extremely important, how would the world have found out about what happened in Tibet recently had it not been for media reporting on it?”

The Olympics isn’t all about reporting on trouble brewing either.

“I will go to the athletics 100 metre final. The main story will be covered by sports journalists coming out from the paper but I imagine I’ll be covering events outside the stadium.”

Despite calls for people to turn their backs on the Olympics, Coonan feels this would only force China to make a volte-face, to everyone’s detriment.

“I’m against a boycott of the Olympics because I think global

“There is no tradition of a free press here, so getting information is often difficult, particularly as a foreigner”

attention and sustained pressure on China will work better than pulling out the cameras, which will just see China close in on itself. For the ordinary Chinese citizen the Olympics are a considerable source of pride and they are very much looking forward to it.”

Reportage in Ireland could be seen as rather parochial in comparison to the work reporters are carrying out behind the Great Firewall of China – Coonan has to battle the sheer vastness of the land in which he is reporting and, more importantly, the iron fist of censorship. So is journalistic integrity or, for that matter, safety, ever compromised because of the strictness of such laws?

“My integrity has never been compromised, despite pressure to do otherwise,” he says.

“I’ve been arrested on several occasions and forced to sign selfcriticisms and confessions, which I’ve done because I don’t recognise their validity as they are extracted under pressure, usually vague threats about ‘my safety’ or those of my Chinese colleagues.

“Censorship of what I write is relatively rare because it is published abroad and in English.”

So what has been the most trying aspect of being a foreign correspondent in China?

“There is no tradition of a free press here, so getting information is often difficult, particularly as a foreigner,” he says.

“The government has made significant improvements in access to information, but it is still a fledgling business. Getting arrested in remote rural areas for talking to people is also a hassle, though easier for foreign correspondents than it is for our staff, who face far greater sanctions than we do.

“People are often afraid to talk to you or give their real names, though I’ve developed a fondness for the wit of farmers in rural China – it’s second to none – except when they chase you away with pitch forks.” l_crothers@hotmail.com

61

OK Commuter?

I

f government predictions are to be believed, the face of Irish transport will be changed beyond recognition by 2015, much like a transition from 1970s Michael Jackson to 1980s Michael Jackson.The powers that be are estimating that Transport 21 will cost over €34 billion over nine years, from 2006 to 2015, with plans to improve roads and airports as well as introducing new initiatives in public transport such as a new Metro from St Stephen’s Green to Dublin Airport and a special flying pig service due to open on February 30th next year. With Transport 21 already two years in operation, and secure in the knowledge that all government initiatives tend to be completed under budget and under time, four morning commuters decided to waste no time in logging their journey for the history books. Travelling by bus, bike, car and LUAS from Stillorgan to St Stephen’s Green in rush hour traffic, the travellers time tested the route for posterity. Only time will tell if the commuters of 2015 will curl their lips in scorn at this rudimentary route to town, but today’s rush hour regulars should recognise this journey only too well...

The Car: Sinéad Keogh

62

I await the flash of headlights from a good Samaritan who will let me ease out into the bumper-to-bumper traffic. It comes from the elderly driver of a Nissan Sunny – elderly drivers tend to be the most courteous.

Easing into a pattern of stop and start as the line of traffic moves forward at a snail’s pace, I immediately know that I’m not going to win this race as 98FM brings me the news that there’s a car accident in the left hand lane under the bridge at UCD – in other words, right up ahead.

I drive up over the Belfield flyover and come out the other side of the collision, grateful to the good people at AA Roadwatch, but bottleneck Donnybrook proves another slow, 2nd gear crawl. Comfort comes in the form of air conditioning set to just the right temperature and free reign to sing along with the radio just as

loudly as I please.

Morning drivers possess two incredibly undesirable qualities – they couple a crusty-eyed sleepiness with a determination to get from A to B as quickly and aggressively as possible. I find myself braking mere seconds before oblivion as SUVs driven by tiny, tiny women (I’m sorry, but they’re always the culprit) make a play for my lane.

Aggressive driving is a sadly prevalent phenomenon now – because nobody believes that another driver would actually let them slink in anymore.

If I had anywhere to be, the pace of the drive would be murderous and all the time I’m thinking ahead to the need to find parking in the jammed city centre with its annoying 3 hour max stays.

Couple that with the fact that town has become a complicated maze of one-way streets designed to break your spirit. I respect the efforts to which planners will go to make the city centre unviable for cars. It’s a pity the car is being forced out before

other options become any more comfortable.

Time: 42 minutes (a paltry one mile every ten minutes) Cost: Huge. Tax, insurance, NCT and petrol break down to about €8 per day. Add parking and you’re scuppered.

Mood: Pretty good – comfy, relaxed and dry with reams of personal space Conclusion: Enjoy it while you can. The car is being forced out.

The Bike: Niall McGuinness

As a staunch believer in all things bicycle, I would be delighted if cars were banned from our capital. Over the moon. The arguments are overwhelming. Cycling is good for your health, it does not pollute our environment and well, now we have the proof – it’s faster! Three hurrahs!

But perhaps the celebrations are a little premature. Cars have not been banned. Far from it. They’re bloody everywhere.

There is no question, cycling around Dublin is not for the faint hearted.

Aggression is a must. It is however wonderfully rewarding. It’s a great way to arrive feeling refreshed, awake and fit. You’ll even get a few precious extra minutes in bed.

Cycling into town this morning I remained stoically undeterred by the

The LUAS : Ciara Norton:

Before I even step onto the Luas I’m annoyed. The ticket machines, all two of them, are used to a more leisurely pace of life and resent my somewhat hurried insistence on depositing coins a little too quickly for their delicate natures.

Ticket machines aside, the Luas feels slightly more civilised than any other form of transport in Dublin; you know when the tram is going to come and those doors wait for no man. The relative brevity of the

The Bus: Deirdre Davys

The Stillorgan Dual Carriageway is regarded as having the best bus service in Dublin and it does, but that

doesn’t mean that it is always the quickest way of getting into town. At rush hour the buses come in gaggles like baby ducks waddling after the mother. If you happen to be at the bus stop as the gaggle arrives – great. If they waddle off one minute after you arrive the next lot could take another ten minutes.

Upon starters orders I waited impatiently knowing that Niall on his bike was flying ahead. My competitive spirit was up and I wanted to pass him out but there wasn’t a chance.

At the first five or six stops we had to pick up droves of UCD

students.

Then it was on towards Donnybrook passing the crash which was holding up the cars. Thank God for bus lanes.

We were doing well. Then disaster struck. I had got on a 46E or B or some other abstruse number not the good old 46A. It suddenly took a dive down Waterloo Road and meandered along Baggot Street and Pembroke Street before finally re-emerging on to Leeson Street.

The competition was over. It had taken about 40 minutes. Without the detour it would have been 30, about the same amount of time that a slow cyclist would have taken. Mind you on a windy rainy winter’s day there is something to be said for it.

Time: 40 minutes Cost: €1.70 Mood: frustrated because the bus didn’t come which is not usual at that time, admittedly.

Conclusion: Prefer the bike in good weather, no passengers yelling into their mobiles!

Photos by Stephen Boyle, Sinéad Bevan and Lauren Crothers

woman lying unmoving beside her motorcycle on the N11 outside UCD and pedalled on. A large black ominous cloud hung overhead as I rolled down the bumpy cycle path beside the N11. Bumpedy, bumpedy, bumpedy. I shouldn’t complain, at least there was something there for us cyclists.

From Donnybrook onwards it was a free-for-all. I spent the rest of the journey fighting with buses and taxis for my little piece of the roadside.

Making myself as visible as possible in each rear-view mirror, on the off chance they’d give them a glance. Just 17 minutes after leaving my house I was locking my bike on Stephen’s Green. It didn’t take long to find parking.

Time: 17 minutes Cost: Free!

Mood: The elation of victory Conclusion: Not for the faint of heart

journey coupled with a lack of surprise generally makes for a pleasant enough trip into or out of town. Unless you decide to take the Luas in rush-hour traffic that is.

It’s five past nine and still smarting from having to pay far too much money for the service provided I board the tram. As Stillorgan is one of the earlier stops on the journey I am afforded the comfort of a seat and a discarded copy of the Metro. So far, so good. The situation heats up as we approach hot commuting spots like Dundrum and becomes nightmarish (for the seat-less) as our final destination looms in the distance.

Space is a luxury most of those standing gave up long ago, personal space a far away dream. Those unfortunates waiting at hot spots like Beechwood and Ranelagh have little chance of even boarding the tram without forcefully removing another passenger. I glide into Stephens Green within 25 minutes, no traffic, no delays and only slightly exasperated as I fight my way past the people trying to board the tram I would like to alight.

Time: 37 minutes (10 minute walk, 2 minute wait, 25 minutes on the Luas) Cost: €2.20 Mood: meh.

Conclusion: if you need it, it’s there. Avoid rush hour….

63

Underage and Overlooked Young people in politics

T

Christina Finn takes a look at our current Dáil and wonders if it’s out of touch with the youth of today

here was a time when the halls of power in this country were alive with the vitality and bright ideals of young men and women. Now the Ireland of revolution seems but a distant memory. When we read about it in history books we can only imagine what different dreams our first free leaders had for this country. Today, one wonders if there’s any youth or vitality left in Irish politics at all?

The Dáil today seems to be filled to the brim with middle-aged men. Our new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, was the youngest member of the 24th

THE AGE OF THE PARTIES The party with the oldest average age of serving TDs is Labour, at 56.

The party with the youngest average age of serving TDs is the Green Party, at 47.

The other parties weigh in at: Fianna Fáil –51.4 Fine Gael – 51.3 Sinn Fein – 51. 5 Progressive Democrats–48.5 The oldest TD in the Dáil is Jackie Healy Rae – 77 The youngest TD in the Dáil is Lucinda Creighton –28

64

Dáil back when he was first elected at age 24. Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, holds the record as the youngest Senator in

Seanad Éireann – she was 24 on weekends so that students can travel appointment. They were once bright home to their voting constituencies, young things – but 30 years have but as yet nothing has been done to passed since Harney’s first day in the change this.

Seanad and the 24th Dáil has been There are many organisations replaced a few times over – we’re encouraging young people to take an now at our 30th. interest in politics, such as Dáil na Just who are today’s young nÓg which is a form of youth politicians and is there a place for parliament born out of the them in our aging cabinet? recommendations of the National Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne was Children’s Strategy document elected to Dáil Éireann in 2007 and published in 2000. Each of the at the age of 30 he major political parties is one of the has a youth wing, such “I don’t really as Young Fine Gael and youngest TDs in the Dáil today. He Labour Youth. Despite think age argues that there is these initiatives it seems room for younger that whatever the ages matters; I think politicians in of our TDs, they’re not it’s really about hearing young voices. government.

“We definitely Aidan McGrath is what the person involved have a fresher take in Dáil na nÓg has to offer to as well as being Chair of on policy; there is no doubt about Swords Youth Council. society” that. Generally it’s In spite of the fact that funny how similar he’s still in secondary we all can be, however.” school, McGrath is already very Byrne feels that ultimately it is up politically aware and determined to to Ireland’s youth to take an interest be heard. in their government and get He says that the young people of involved, “There is a wealth of Ireland are the future but information, particularly for young unfortunately he feels not all voters who use the internet and are politicians are willing to listen. text savvy, so the information is in He is critical of former Minister for their hands.”

Children Brendan Smith for his lack So are the youth of today simply of listening at Dáil na nÓg. not interested or do they feel their “Dáil na nÓg was a complete voices fall on deaf ears with the disaster. The Minister for Children majority of TDs being in their 50s has a key role but he is not playing it and upwards? It is true that there correctly. He came and gave his have been numerous calls on speech and left before we gave ours.

Government to hold elections at It was utterly offensive,” he says.

The Young Guns Photo by Gary Fox

TDs under 35...

“If he can’t give us one day of the year what else can he give us? He lost the respect of hundreds of young people because of that. How can we connect with him if he is only there for an hour for photos? It’s not good enough.”

McGrath also argues that that young people do care about the important decisions that are made

by Government and disputes the idea that young people today simply don’t care. He argues that young people are interested in politics and would vote if they could.

“I believe that the voting age should be lowered to 16 in local elections at least,” he says.

So do young people want to play a larger role in the formation of modern Irish society and more importantly does the Government want them to?

With so many issues which are pertinent to the young being debated in the Dáil chamber, such as drug and alcohol legislation, it would seem like a good idea to talk to the people who will be most effected.

Better again, we need youthful politicians whose recollection of being overlooked and underage is not such a distant memory.

When asked whether age matters in politics Aidan McGrath replied, “I don’t really think age matters; I think it’s really about what the person has to offer to society.” christinafinn8@hotmail.com

Name: Michael McGrath Age: 31 Party: Fianna Fáil Constituency: Cork South Central Election History: McGrath first ran for election for Passage West Town Council in 1999 where he was elected on the first count. His first general Election was in 2007, where he was also elected on the first count.

Name: Darragh O’Brien Age: 33 Party: Fianna Fáil Constituency: Dublin North Election History: O’Brien was a local representative for Malahide from 2004 to 2007 at which time he was elected to the 30th Dáil as TD for Dublin North, on the ninth count.

Name: Dara Calleary Age: 35 Party: Fianna Fáil Constituency: Mayo Election History: First elected to the Dáil for Mayo in 2007, on the eighth count.

Name: Thomas Byrne Age: 30 Party: Fianna Fáil Constituency: Meath East Election History: First elected to the Dáil for Meath East in 2007, on the eighth count.

Name: Joe Carey Age: 32 Party: Fine Gael Constituency: Clare Election History: First elected

for the Ennis constituency in the Local elections 1999. Elected to the 30th Dáil for Clare in 2007, on the ninth count.

Name: Terence Flanagan Age: 33 Party: Fine Gael Constituency: Dublin North East Election History: Co-opted to Dublin City Council for Artane in 2003, replacing Richard Bruton. Elected to the 30th Dáil for Dublin North East in 2007.

Name: Lucinda Creighton Age: 28 Party: Fine Gael Constituency: Dublin South East Election History: Elected to Dublin City Council representing Pembroke in 2004.

Elected to the 30th Dáil in 2007 on the fifth count.

Name: Dr Leo Varadkar Age: 29 Party: Fine Gael Constituency: Dublin West Election History: Unsuccessfully contested the local elections in 1999 for Mulhuddart. Co-opted to Fingal County Council in 2003. Elected to the 30th Dáil in 2007 for Dublin West.

Name: Olwyn Enright Age: 33 Party: Fine Gael Constituency: Laois Offaly Election History: First elected for Birr in the local elections of 1999. Elected to the 29th Dáil in 2002 and the 30th Dáil in 2007.

65

Market Mayhem

T

Kola Ogunbiyi looks at how the shocks to the US banking system have been felt around the world and in Ireland

66

he most serious crisis in global financial markets since World War II erupted last year and its consequences continue to reverberate – not least for a new Taoiseach and finance minister.

Given Ireland’s close ties to the US, the end may not be in sight as financial pressures have grown, says market analyst Joseph Scallan.

“Homebuyers might find it challenging to get mortgages and house prices will fall further as the global credit crisis continues,” he says.

As Steve Schifferes, BBC Economics reporter, put it: “Notwithstanding unprecedented intervention by major central banks, financial markets remain under considerable strain.”

Unfortunately for us, Ireland has been singled out as one of the most vulnerable economies by top international observers.

Irish economic information has been showing some obvious warning signs.

Though the healthy position of the

public finances provides some relief, there are well known areas which are causes for concern such as the depreciation of the US dollar against the euro. The Irish economy appears extremely dependent on the housing industry and inflation risks remain an important concern for policymakers, particularly in view of rising oil, commodity and food prices.

So just where did this crisis come from? The international backdrop to the situation includes trade barriers falling in many developing countries and the cost of capital also having fallen drastically. While the turmoil originated in a relatively small segment of the US financial market, the notorious sub-prime residential mortgages, it has spread quickly across the Atlantic and other financial markets in unanticipated ways, inflicting damage on markets and institutions that are at the core of the global financial system.

The crisis has resulted in reduced liquidity in the inter-bank money

Photo by Gary Fox

market, which is the heart of the more expected to come. US bank Bear financial system. Liquidity is how Stearns, pushed almost to collapse, cash-rich you are; so reduced liquidity was sold to JP Morgan for just $2 a means the banks don't have much share. Citigroup, the world's biggest cash in reserve to lend to each other. bank and the largest foreign bank Government regulators have had employer in Ireland, announced some success in alleviating colossal losses of pressures such as the $5.1bn (€3.2bn) in “Potential forceful interest rate cuts the first three by the Federal Reserve months of the year, losses in and the Bank of England. and, inevitably, job the global Last May there were cuts.

Such signs of market confidence banking system announcements returning as bank stocks could be almost have incited rallied on Wall Street but speculation that the situation remains $1.25 trillion” other financial uncertain. institutions around Potential losses in the global the world could be in a mess. banking system could be almost $1.25 Banks in Ireland are enduring tough trillion, according to the International trading conditions. Earnings are Monetary Fund Global Stability under pressure as banks’ own funding Report. costs remain high. This is because of Due to trading in securities that were decline in the creditworthiness of themselves based on home loans to property and construction (P&C) customers ill-equipped to pay them borrowers. The credit crisis and back, the banks have had to write off higher bank costs are continuing to hundreds of billions of dollars, with force Irish banks to increase their

mortgage rates and introduce changes. Banks are resorting increasingly to wholesale markets for funding as share prices fall.

As for the future, a severe downturn in the US would have spillover effects on our economy. It would likely lead to a decline in commodity prices, reducing capital flows to many emerging markets and creating risks for the growth prospects of developing countries.

John O’Driscoll, a financial expert at the IFSC, says: “A number of countries that have relied on shortterm cross-border borrowing to finance large current account deficits are at greater risk.”

The Irish fiscal position is still relatively healthy due to provisions in recent budgets. The euro may remain high against the dollar for some time and this may in turn make adjustments in Ireland harder than other parts of Europe. Until interbank confidence returns, the crisis will continue. muyibiyi@yahoo.com

67

To Shell or to Connacht Ross Loftus speaks to Bob Kavanagh, one of the founder members of the Rossport Solidarity Camp, about life in the eco-trenches

I

n June 2005, five men from Rossport, County Mayo were imprisoned for contempt of court. For disobeying court orders allowing Shell E&P Ireland (SEPIL) to enter their lands, they were to remain imprisoned indefinitely until they purged their contempt.

The ongoing dispute between SEPIL and locals opposed to the company’s onshore gas terminal development had escalated.

A large number of people from the locality were opposed to the construction of a high pressure gas pipeline which would pass their homes. Its proposed pressure was four times greater than that of the biggest existing Bord Gais pipelines. These residents sought an alternative route and wished the gas to be refined at sea, reducing its onshore gas pressure.

During the previous June bank holiday weekend, a group of people from outside the immediate area organised an event at Rossport Pier. They hoped to raise public awareness of the local residents’ campaign. Local people had been campaigning against the development in their locality for over two years. The campaign was now upping the ante.

A site was provided by a local and

a temporary camp was set up at the pier. Visitors enjoyed food and musical entertainment, while local residents spoke about their fears for the area’s future. The event closed on Sunday, with an open discussion where many of the visitors pledged their support.

“A few weeks later, five local men that were to become known as the ‘Rossport Five’ were imprisoned, but the news coverage of their imprisonment only seemed interested in their jailing,” says Bob Kavanagh, a 25 year old musician from Co. Sligo, who was involved in the bank holiday event in 2005.

Bob feels that the news coverage ignored the nuts and bolts of the campaign. “Even the favourable media coverage of the case served to lionise the five guys who went to prison; it made them look as though they were these lone heroes. In fact, there is a whole community of people who are angry about the project.”

The lack of an adequate traffic management plan further angered local people. Subsequently a dispute arose in mid-June 2005 over this issue. A local parked his car on the side of the road, blocking the movement of a truck being used by SEPIL.

A stand-off ensued and the truck driver abandoned his vehicle. A combination of locals and some of the attendees of the weekend event maintained the blockade. This continued for a number of weeks and it was during this period that the ‘Rossport Five’ were sent to prison.

“The people of the area were worried at the time and they asked us if we would be interested in organising a similar event to the previous one or something to ensure that a number of people would be here all the time,” says Bob. “We had no practical experience of protest camps as they are known, but we were familiar with that tactic so we made a joint decision between ourselves and the locals to do just that.”

A camp was established at Rossport in cooperation with local people. “We didn’t want to come in and appear to be taking over or dictating how their campaign should be run. We were aware that there was a good campaign being run there by the community. That’s why we called it the Rossport Solidarity Camp,” Bob explains.

To ensure the smooth running of the camp, the group decided that a set of guidelines would have to be

69

Photos by Ross Loftus

drawn up. It was to be a working camp, for those who wished to contribute to the campaign. “We didn’t want people to come and lie about all day,” said Bob. “We also decided that a total ban on alcohol and illegal drugs was to be observed at the camp.”

The camp aimed to be open to everybody who wished to help the campaign: families, children and the elderly. “We didn’t want it to become an elitist eco-warrior, tree hugging type thing. I think most people you’d talk to that are involved with the campaign are pretty happy with the work that the camp did.”

There was a core group of eight or nine people living in the camp throughout its existence. This was supplemented by additional people who attended when work

70

constraints allowed. It wasn’t unusual to have people arriving with a passing interest in the campaign, intending to stay for a day, but ending up staying for a month.

From June 2005 to November 2005 the camp was located on Philip McGrath’s land in Rossport village. Shell had finished work in this area in November and the site was quite boggy. For these reasons, the group decided to vacate this site and spent the winter raising awareness and organising fundraising events for the campaign.

“Some of us used that time to visit protest camps in England to pick up tips on how to run a camp properly.”

In the spring the camp relocated to Glengad, the proposed landfall site

for the gas pipeline. “We understood that this land was commonage and nobody had any objection to us being there. None of the people we contacted for advice warned us against setting up there,” says Bob. “We spoke to REPS (Rural Environment Protection Scheme) and the County Council and they had no objections as long as we didn’t litter the area.”

The site was a candidate special area of conservation (SAC), and the group took measures to ensure the camp was as green as possible. “We strived for low impact living on-site.

Anything that could be recycled was recycled, refuse was contained and binned. We used a ‘Grey Water’ system so cooking and washing water went through this system and the water that came out the other end was re-used.” Composting was

strengthened their resolve. “People here identified with those speakers and shared their sense of isolation and inability to have their opinions publicised. When you have someone from South Africa saying they feel the exact same way, it’s not a happy story but you realise it happens all over the world,” Bob says.

The camp continued its work up to the summer of 2007. After various court cases, an eviction order was made at the end of 2007 for vacation of the site by January 1st 2008. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) had reported on the operation of the camp and its environmental impact in 2007. The report complimented the ecologically sensitive living that was practised there. However, a subsequent report by the NPWS was less supportive and was used as the

also used extensively for toilet and food waste.

Camp members raised awareness by speaking at environmental and political events and colleges around the country. They also felt it was important to link the experience of the ‘Shell to Sea’ campaign with similar campaigns in Ireland and around the world. “To that end we organised a lot of talks so people could come to Erris and share their experiences of campaigns that they were involved in. We had people from around the world speaking here and that to me was one of the most inspiring parts of it all.”

Speakers at these events expressed the same fears and frustrations as the people in Rossport. This

basis of Mayo County Council’s eviction case.

Despite the camp’s demise, Bob remains in an upbeat mood. “We didn’t want the camp to detract from the issue of the gas terminal.

That’s why we took it down. We’re still in the area and we will still continue to do what we do.” Local people have provided abandoned and run down houses for the former camp dwellers and they are carrying out repairs to make the buildings more inhabitable. They continue to work with the ‘Shell to Sea’ group in the area. They “haven’t gone away you know”.

“We didn’t want it to become an elitist eco-warrior, tree hugging type thing”

rossloftus@gmail.com

Pushing the vote out

W

slap opinion

Rosemary Mac Cabe laments the lack of real democracy in our nation’s halls of power and suggests that there might just be a few too many ayes in team

hat does the word “democracy” mean to you?

Surely it means “for the people” or “of the people” or just, “the people”, or some combination of all three terms; in short, it means something good. They’re looking out for you, those democraticallyelected officials. Oh yes, surely.

How do you know that? Because we live in a democracy – not just a democracy, come to think of it, folks, but a liberal democracy, such a warm, fuzzy phrase.

Words can be misleading, though, as can labels – this is something that life will teach us. The label on your jeans that says “vintage”, when you know for a fact that they were made in Cambodia in 2006; the name “Irish Independent” when you know for a fact that very few media outlets in Ireland are truly independent; the “homemade” pancake mixture, beautifully packaged, from the shelves of Tesco. Things, to use a cliché that perhaps isn’t used enough, are not always what they seem. And so we come to this, your “liberal democracy”, men and women in Government, working for the people, elected by the people, for the people, and so on.

In late 2007, Bertie Ahern, your elected Taoiseach, went to the funeral of Katy French, “Ireland’s answer to Kate Moss” (according to Grazia magazine). He spent your tax money on being driven to the church, he spent his time, for which you pay (through the nose – and, incidentally, who decides Bertie’s pay cheque?) mourning at her graveside. Bertie didn’t know Katy personally, but he went to her funeral because she was “a public figure”. He didn’t, however, go to Robert Holohan’s funeral (also a public figure, if being a public

figure means that your photograph is in the press more than twice).

Once you elect your government, who guides it in the right direction?

What say do you have, after the day of the election? It’s an old cliché that it’s only a democracy on the day you go to the polls – but a cliché is just a repeated sentence, and in this case it is repeated because of the truth contained therein. Ours is a party political system – and lately, despite the word “party” and all that it may mean, there hasn’t been much reason to celebrate.

Our Taoiseach earns more per annum than the President of the United States – which is noted here only for the purposes of shock; let there be no mistake, there is no support here of the current US President, merely a highlighting of the fact that Ireland, with a population of 4 million, has a higher-paid leader than the US, with over 300 million inhabitants. The Taoiseach is the leader of our “liberal democracy” but he is not elected by the people; he is elected (allegedly) for the people, by his party, the ruling party. They all have a say in who gets to be Taoiseach, but there was no contest when Bertie regained his throne in the summer of 2007.

When Brian Cowen was this year put forward as party leader and the Chosen One to succeed Bertie, there was no real ambiguity about whose name would come out of the proverbial hata.

Once Ireland has elected her Government, the democracy ends, and the party system begins. Any issue that arises in the Dáil is decided by the pack; there is no room for dissenters. Fianna Fáil, together, think one thing; Labour, another. There are no individuals in the Dáil. There is no pretence at a parliamentary democracy. It’s not entirely transparent, how it works –

perhaps they all go into a room and there’s a “hands-up” kind of thing, and they come out and say “Fianna Fáil think . . .”. Or maybe it’s the powerful in the party, the Berties and the Brians, who decide what their line is going to be. A third option, somewhat less believable, is that they go with their “party line” (whatever that is) and proceed comme ça.

The only sure truth is that once you vote for your chosen candidate, you surrender him or her, and all of their beliefs, to the machine that is the Irish Government. If you have voted independent, and chances are you haven’t, but if you have, your favourite will enter the Dáil and have to decide immediately whose line to toe, whose call to obey. There is no independence in party politics.

A pressing example of this in action is the Lisbon Treaty. Fianna Fáil would urge you to vote “yes”: according to their website, “the Lisbon Treaty is a Treaty for the Future”, “future” with a capital “f”.

There will be a referendum on the issue, but if there wasn’t, it would be voted through, because Fianna Fáil is the ruling party. Secret ballot or no, they would, each and every member of Fianna Fáil, toe the party line. If Fianna Fáil says yes, by God you say yes, man.

There will be a referendum, but, chances are, Fianna Fáil supporters will, without any extensive consideration, without careful reading of the literature, or reviewing the pros and cons, vote Yes, because their party, their champions, are voting Yes. Really, we’re all toeing the party line. And maybe this lack of democracy is what we wanted all along; and if we want it, does that make it democracy, or just blind faith? rosemary.maccabe@gmail.com

71