Consensus needed in the Dáil

It was pathetic to see the Government go cap in hand to maverick TDs like Jackie Healy-Rae and Noel Grealish in order to get support for Wednesday’s Budget. We have an economic emergency on our hands and we are crying out for strong leadership. The Budget was designed to get us out of the mess we are in.

Whether they agree or disagree with the Budget, all sides in the Dáil are in agreement that drastic measures had to be taken. Labour and Fine Gael are at one with Fianna Fáil in agreeing to cut €4 billion in public spending. Yet they could not agree to sit down together and work out a plan to do just that.
Am I alone in thinking that this is one of the greatest scandals in Irish political life today?
Surely it is unbelievable that a budget designed to get us on the road to economic recovery has to depend on the widening of a bog road in Scartaglin or Gortglass.
It is nothing short of a disgrace that the most crucial budget in most of our lives has to depend on the whims of a couple of quirky TDs. And the amazing thing is that nobody has taken up this issue. It is considered to be a normal, natural part of the political process in this State by all the top political correspondents here.
At the risk of being repetitive, I have to ask, once again, why it is not possible to have consensus in the Dáil among the main parties about what needs to be done at this time of economic crisis?
But I will answer that question myself. It is not possible because the parties in the Dáil are more concerned about the fortunes of their own political parties than they are about the country.
And that is what almost everything that happens in the Dáil is all about. The country and the economy can drown for all they care, if their own party does not get something out of it.
And I am also amazed that the people of this country do not seem to realise that. Because if they did, they would have the telephone lines jammed and the emails clogged at the various radio stations and newspaper offices throughout the country.
I am not even calling for a national government at this stage. All the country needs at this time of crisis is unity of purpose, rather than divisive tactics and political gamesmanship in order to sort out our problems.
The political play-acting might be alright when everything is going well. But when all hands are needed on deck to prevent the ship of state from sinking, that is not a time for the crew to mutiny. They can get back to that when the ship is out of stormy waters and sailing smoothly ahead.
I do not believe that a general election now would sort out our problems. It would be quite unique to have politicians calling at our door on Christmas Eve looking for our votes.
But apart from that, the public do not believe that a coalition of Fine Gael and Labour would be much better than the present coalition of Fianna Fáil, the Greens and Mary Harney.
Perhaps they would have more confidence in a Government composed of the best in all the parties. But they are not going to get that because of the reason explained above.
In the meantime, the only argument in favour of an early general election is that it would very likely lead to a Government with a large majority, rather than one like the present, which has to depend on the Healy-Raes and the Grealishes of the present Dáil.
At least a Fine Gael/Labour coalition would likely be able to push through the harsh measures that are needed.
Well, that is what you would think. There is every indication that Fine Gael and Labour would have a clear-cut overall majority between them.
But that might not be enough to form a stable government. There are huge differences between the two parties, especially in the area of public pay. Those differences can be covered over to a certain extent in the run-up to a general election.
But in the aftermath of an election, when the deficit in the public finances has to be faced up to, can the two parties agree on a tough budget?
I have grave doubts about that. It was on that very issue that the last coalition under Dr Garret Fitzgerald bit the dust. Labour were not prepared to support the harsh measures that Fine Gael wanted to impose in order to solve the last great economic crisis in the mid-’80s.
Finally, I want to welcome the huge reductions announced in the salaries paid to the Taoiseach, ministers and other top public figures. A reduction of nearly €60,000 in the annual salary paid to the Taoiseach is quite considerable.
But, of course, many will argue that it is still not enough. But then, you cannot please everyone. A lot of people in this country would love to see Brian Cowen covered in sack-cloth and ashes.
And I have a feeling that there is little he is going to be able to do about that.