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Dáil Reform

We should be looking at ways, once in Government, to reform the current nature of the whip system and to encourage increased bipartisanship in the preparation of legislation. There has been recent debate within Fine Gael with regards to the introduction of national seats. I see the introduction of such seats, whether in the form of a List System or otherwise, as essential. The fact remains that, currently, it is largely
regarded as a prerequisite within the party system to be a Councillor first before seeking election to the Dáil (as an aside, and quite apart from the fact that I am seeking election to the Dáil and I am not a Councillor, I do not necessarily agree with this view), and therefore those who are in certain time-consuming professions are being essentially excluded from the democratic process. It is clear, however, that the salary of a TD is sufficient enough for this role to be pursued full-time. At the same time, the introduction of national seats should not be devised in such a manner as to basically exclude all those from running except famous and/or wealthy individuals. One approach would be to introduce randomized PR-STV constituencies, where voters and candidates are assigned a national constituency by lottery instead of by geography. This would meet the need to have national seats without making it infeasible for ordinary citizens to run as candidates. Introducing 15 such randomized seats would require only one amendment to the Constitution (to Article 16.2.3). Incidentally, it is possible to introduce randomized seats without a referendum provided that they would make up half the seats in the Dáil.

Local Politics Reform

I support the principle of electing a mayor for Dublin, and was the speaker for the Dublin South Young Fine Gael motion, which was passed at the Ard Fhéis in 2006, outlining that Fine Gael should support this stance. However, there are still significant questions to be answered on the implementation of the new office. The most prominent rationale, in my view, for creating this new role is that a major democratic vacuum currently exists whereby there is an absence of an elected mandate for the implementation of certain policies presided over by city and county managers. In justifying the creation of the role, a persuasive case must be made by the Government that the election of a Mayor will allow this vacuum to be effectively negotiated. Reform of the way Local Government operates, and, in particular, the Planning Laws, is strongly required.

On the Right for Citizens to Travel Overseas

The recent CPSU industrial action at the Passport Office led to a serious situation whereby citizens affected suffered from the fact that their constitutional right to leave the country (to destinations other than the UK) was being directly impinged upon. Similarly, a previous industrial action by Air Traffic Controllers caused widespread disruption and economic damage. Clearly, there is an argument to introduce legislation to protect citizens from being placed in a limbo status where it is impossible for them to travel overseas due to the edict of a trade union. Encouraging workers involved directly in facilitating overseas travel (i.e. those working at airports and for airlines as well as Passport Office staff) to start industial action that interferes with this basic individual freedom should be regarded as being against the law.

An updated, post-NAMA Affordable Housing Scheme

The Government has now committed the State to NAMA. The “long-term economic values” of distressed loans are generally set to prices which were evident during the height of a property boom, when 110% mortgages, an inherent lack of adequate banking regulation and low unemployment prevailed alongside a profligate culture of high Government spending. For asset prices to return to such previously high levels, similar conditions need to once again be present in the Irish economy, and this is not going to happen anytime soon. All generations will bear the brunt of the consequences of NAMA debt for a considerable amount of time to come. Instead of letting scores of housing units lie unused for years, an updated Affordable Housing Scheme should be adapted to sell a segment of units at discounted prices to First Time Buyers.

Tax Relief Scheme for Families affected by Negative Equity and
Unemployment

Many married couples bought a house at the height of the boom at a very high price. The introduction of a new tax relief scheme should be considered for cases where at least one of the couple has since become unemployed and it is calculated that the family is in negative equity.

Tackling the scourge of too much red tape

Red tape, when applied to an unnecessary degree, is inconvenient, time-consuming and expensive. As a case in point, it was negotiated in early 2009 that if only “Type A” (under HSE terminology) Consultants were on call at a given time in public hospitals, privately insured patients could only be admitted to public beds. As a result, private patients would not get the benefit of their insurance policy, while taking up extra public capacity. It was estimated that this arrangement would cost the HSE approximately €50 million per annum in lost private insurance payments.

Encouraging the Smart Economy

As we have the most highly employable graduates in the World, the State should be making a greater attempt to attract risk capital to invest in research and development innovative initiatives. The Government should not be forcing our best and most expensively educated graduates to leave the country in order to reach their potential.

On Tackling Homelessness

Post Office Boxes should be given to those who are homeless. A manifestation indicating recognition of the importance of a registered address in modern society is the reported practice of long-term residencies in capsule hotels in Japan in order that an address associated with such a tiny living compartment can be held. A postal address can be used to serve as a way of encouraging the re-establishment of ties which may have been severed. Its role in the dignity of a person needs to be clearly recognised in dealing with the issue of homelessness.

On Dental and Optical Benefits

The justification of the last FF-led Government decision to rescind a number of dental and optical PRSI benefits was to save a projected €54 million per annum. However, a cost-benefit analysis of the dental treatment benefit scheme compiled estimated that the total societal cost of this scheme of approximately €68 million is offset by a net benefit of close to €127 million. As an example of resulting effects, the reality is that surgeries and clinics affected by the measure in the Republic of Ireland will find it more challenging from a retention of jobs perspective. It must be pointed out also that future and recent relevant graduates will find it more difficult to source employment as a direct consequence of the cuts. The cuts announced are ill-judged and should be reversed immediately.

On Protestant Education

When he was Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe showed that he failed to truly grasp the nature of Protestant education in Ireland by stating: “I can see no justification for treating the Protestant fee-charging schools in a special way” regarding the provision of ancillary payments. Mr O’Keeffe should take heed of the statement by the then Fianna Fáil Minister for Education, Donogh O’Malley, in the Dáil on November 30th 1966: “The reasons are as follows: (a) the cost of education in Protestant schools is higher because of the nature of the organisation which must obtain in the case of these schools; (b) because of the dearth of suitable day schools, a very high proportion of Protestant pupils–two out of every five–can only receive post-primary education by attending boarding schools. The Protestant schools are, therefore, a special problem and, I feel, require special assistance.”

Health Insurance

Given that I had a letter published in the Irish Independent encouraging the initiation of Universal Health Insurance before it was Fine Gael policy, I was delighted to see the emergence of the FairCare policy.

Encouraging a more effective European Union

The Lisbon Treaty, although eventually passed here, has shown how badly misunderstood and underappreciated the European project is in this country. We need to communicate that the EU should become a more active presence in everyday life. We obviously already enjoy many benefits of membership, such as the continued support of the ECB. However, the initiation of projects such as an EU Coastguard, to fight smuggling, and enhanced co-operation
in areas such as organ transplant services would result in the benefits of the EU to be more closely appreciated by citizens.