Still no Answers on NAMA

Today in the Seanad Fine Gael called  for a debate on NAMA.   

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Importance of the Seanad

The Seanad has come in for a lot of criticism lately, some of it fair and some of it unfair.

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Ireland is the Odd Man Out in Europe

I welcome the decision of our sister body in the Czech Republic, the Czech Senate or haute chambre, to approve the Lisbon treaty.  It leaves Ireland as the odd man out in Europe regarding Lisbon.

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Taoiseach Cowen One Year On

In being the odd man out in Europe on Lisbon, we are also the odd man out in Europe on the economy and it is interesting how time flies.  It is one year since Deputy Brian Cowen became Taoiseach and this is one of the legacies of his stewardship over that year.  

Unemployment has doubled, we have the largest drop in GNP in Europe and we have doubled our national debt.  One of the commitments of the Government and the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, who was the then Minister for Finance, before the last election was to make Ireland debt-free. There is a serious question of political incompetence and we are paying the price for it.

The Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, does not have a mandate from the country one year after his elevation to that position.   He does not seem to have a mandate from his coalition partners, given the statements of Ministers Eamon Ryan and John Gormley, and Senator Dan Boyle.  It increasingly seems also as if he does not have a mandate from his own party.   

At this juncture, given the perilous state of our economy and that lack of mandate, is it not time for the Taoiseach and Government to consider having a general election after the European and local elections and making a clean sweep of the political process?   

Welcoming George Lee to Fine Gael

I wish to welcome George Lee’s decision to stand for Fine Gael in Dublin South. This is a triumph for politics.  It is recognition that one can be a commentator but to participate in politics is quite different. 

It is also a recognition that real change only comes about through changing the political system and, in this instance, in changing the Government. 

In this connection, I refer to today’s column by Mr. Vincent Browne in The Irish Times where he denigrates the entry of George Lee into politics. Vincent Browne had his chance to stand for Fine Gael in Dún Laoghaire but he seems to have a chip on his shoulder about it because, ultimately, he withdrew from going down that road.  It is wrong to trivialise politics in this way. 

George Lee is generally recognised as our best economic commentator, a man of tremendous qualifications and experience. It is very good for Irish politics that someone of such calibre is entering the political fray.