Pampered TDs will never go thirsty

COMMENT

In the last week or two I have, because of the abortion debate, been doing something that I rarely do but really should and on a regular basis. I’ve been watching live and recorded footage from the Dáil. It is a curious pastime and one that brings as much frustration and rage as a man can safely cope with piled on top of great insight into how the country is actually run.

The abortion bill ‘debate’ was hailed as a great moral issue and stands were taken by those on both sides of the debate. In the run-up to the vote it was perfectly clear that the party whip system would be the only show in town and members of the Fine Gael party who had been so vociferously opposing the legislation began to meld back into the fold one by one. Their statements in the run-up to the vote ranged from the unbelievable, John O’Mahony, to the brutally honest expression of real politick, Michelle Mulhearn.

In a statement, Deputy O’Mahony claimed, “I am satisfied that the Bill seeks to clarify and regulate existing constitutional rights and not to create any new right. I understand that the Bill will introduce regulation of and safeguards to an area of law where none currently exist.”

It’s an interesting realisation to come around to after such staunch opposition when the legislation was first mooted. It seems to suggest that far from making it easier to get an abortion, the new law introduces new protections, which might prevent it. With such a statement in mind we can only call Michelle Mulhearn’s declaration that she simply didn’t want to lose the whip as refreshing in the extreme. It is a significant personal climb down for her but it will have resonated with the public. Grandstanding about rights and principles are all well and good but if they get you “booted out” of your chosen party then they must be put to one side if not dismissed altogether.

However, there was one man who defied the whip and grabbed the headlines but not for the reasons one might expect in such a hot ‘moral’ debate. That man was Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara. He did not take a stand on principle or belief. The Banner’s elected representative voted against the Government by “mistake”.

As Lucinda Creighton heightened her standing among the pro-life lobby and massively increased her national profile by portraying an image or moral fortitude and willingness to suffer for her beliefs, Deputy McNamara grabbed national headlines by pressing the wrong button. The Irish Times reported that his Labour colleagues appealed to him to change his vote and that he was surrounded by a group of them as he left the chamber but the vote stands on the Dáil record. He did not lose the whip however, as the party stated he made a “genuine mistake”.

The choice between yes and no can be a difficult one to make if you are in doubt about the question being asked but when you are fully aware of what choice you must make it is not that difficult, even if it is 5am. The deputy protested that he shouldn’t have to make decisions at this time in the morning and certainly it seems far from ideal but how every other deputy managed to carry our the action properly, even at that early hour, raises serious questions around competence, which I’m sure the deputy will have to address on many doorsteps come election time.

The early hour that the Dáil was sitting while discussing and voting on this issue raised another set of questions in the days since the vote. The fact that the Dáil bar remained open and that a number TDs were drinking as they carried out their duties has raised the hackles of the public. The footage of Fine Gael TD Tom Barry grabbing his party colleague Áine Collins and pulling her into his lap did the rounds fairly quickly online in the aftermath of the vote. It also made headlines around the world. The Belfast Telegraph ran a headline indicating that the deputy had been drinking on the night of the vote, which drew attention to the fact that while pubs and nightclubs across the country had shut their doors for fear of prosecution by the State, legislators had access to a supply of booze until 5am. As with so many of the privileges enjoyed by elected representatives, this seems to be something of a throwback that has never been addressed in the context of contemporary cultural norms. These days, booze and the workplace are considered to be incompatible concepts. While many TDs claim to have had only one or two pints, I’m not sure any other worker in the country could deploy such an excuse and hope to keep their job, whatever that job might be. The Journal.ie quoted a number of TDs, who claimed that the night of the abortion debate was quiet and reserved compared to the state of drunken “mayhem” which dominated on the night the IBRC was liquidated.

Whatever the levels of intoxication on the night of the abortion debate, we have been granted a look inside the Dáil by its late sitting that night. We have glimpsed the culture that seems to dominate in the place where Ireland’s laws are made. It reinforces once again the belief that TDs are a breed apart from the people they represent and are entitled to rights and privileges that the ordinary people of the nation are denied. I’m not sure the nation would benefit from the rights of TDs being extended to all so maybe the

TDs could come in line with the rest of the country for a change and see how it feels to live with the consequences of their decisions.

The abortion debate is a Pandora’s Box moment in Irish politics and I for one will take a far closer interest in observing the behaviour of the deputies in the chamber from now on. I think it will be worthwhile for others to do the same; to flick on the live stream see the row upon row of empty seats while bills are discussed safe in the knowledge that the Dáil bar is open and that our elected representatives are not going to be thirsty while they carry out their duties to the nation and its people.