Why I want to run for Labour

Issued : Wednesday 22 December, 2010

There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures. - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

I have always been a political animal. When I was 10 years of age in the CBS I think I was the only boy in the class who knew about the Ho Chi Minh trail. It was thanks to my parents, a soldier on the Curragh and a hard working mother of seven who never missed the main evening news, 7 Days, Hall's Pictorial Weekly and the Late Late when it had a current affairs cutting edge and Gay Byrne was the voice and conscience of middle Ireland.

As my father shaved in the sink in the kitchen the sounds and smells of the morning were silenced on a simple command and the radio beeps counting down to the day's headlines on the hour.

Civics was big in school back then. We learned how to vote, why it was so important to vote, after all that's what they had died for back in 1916, the Christian Brothers and my mother would agree on that much. We even learned the machinations of proportional representation, and like so much of the Irish drummed into us, forget most of it as soon as we left school.
But I continued to love politics. Coming of age in 1979 was great timing and a glorious chance to put voting to the test and governments to the sword. Three elections in 18 months in 1981 and '82 and the infamous Haughey era. I practiced my franchise as a floating voter taking a shine to the swashbuckling subversive Charlie Mc Creevy for standing up to Haughey; a liking for the lanky elegance of the articulate bureaucrat home from Brussels, Alan Dukes and the straight forward decency of Athy's Joe Bermingham. The problem with working class people like us in St Evin's Park was, we talked a lot about Labour and the working man, but Haughey swaggering down Moore Street charming all the ould wans was our hero and he socking it to Thatcher. Anyway the building sites always seemed to boom when Fianna Fail were in and Fine Gael well, they were Blueshirts and for the big farmers.

I still love politics but I don't want to be another career politician. However, I desperately want to do something about the mess we are in. I want to stop complaining and take positive action instead. I believe that the Labour Party led by Eamon Gilmore is the best way to achieve this.

As a public representative for the communities of Laois-Offaly I want to put people first, as I have endeavoured as a journalist here over the past 30 years. Bailing out reckless banks is not the right option, as we could instead prioritise investment in jobs; pursue real reform and fairness. This is not just my view but that of eminent economists Paul Krugman and Nouriel Roubini and our own Jim Power and David Mc Williams, who share the view that this Government's policies privatised the gain and nationalised the pain.
I know firsthand what it's like to lose my job; see my kids emigrate and battle to hold on to our family home.

Our country needs a fresh start and I would like your indulgence to make one pre-election promise. I will never attend the funeral of someone that I don't know. Now, that's the end of the promises. If I am fortunate enough to be elected I will not spend my time worrying about getting re-elected, as that mentality is at the heart of all our political problems today; the traditional Tweedledum and Tweedledee choices put before the voters. If I ever start to sound and behave like a political cliché I think I have enough good friends to pull me up and give me a good kick in the arse. I really do want to provide a viable, credible, coherent, straight up and straight talking alternative for the people of Laois-Offaly.
When I was speaking to my mother about the state of the country last week, like so many other people she said, "Sure, aren't they all the same son, does it really matter which of them are in?" I can relate to that and understand that kind of thinking. But we're not all the same, no more than we're all in this together and the worse is over. The worse will be over when we finally replace this Government with one that cares and puts people first. Replacing this Government though is not enough as we must also change the way we are governed and our systems of governance.

Job creation, supporting indigenous business and re-booting the economy has got to be the number one priority of putting Ireland and its people first. Selling off the family silverware to salvage dodgy banks and reckless bankers is not the only show in town. Joan Burton continues to be head and shoulders above all others as she constantly calls for a stimulus package and Labour are the only party to have voted against the disastrous blanket bank guarantee.

On the main evening news this week, much to my dismay, were reports that the banks are still paying massive salaries and bonuses to their senior executives and continuing to mislead NAMA; that staff at the Immigration Bureau are refusing to operate a new €20 million computer system to combat benefit fraud unless they are promoted and paid more and the NRA are already running out of salt after only one week of a cold snap. Some people never learn, but there sure is plenty of scope for cop on, common sense and change.
I'm positive I can help bring about that change if I'm elected for Labour. You can't just wish for change, you have to do something about it- now the people of Laois-Offaly can.