A New Structure for Ógra November 8, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Fianna Fáil, Irish Politics.Tags: Ógra Fianna Fáil, Fianna Fail, National Youth Conference
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It’s now less than one week away until the Ógra Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference begins at the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran. This will be my 5th NYC, my first being in Cavan in 2004.
Over that time, I’ve played a relatively active role in Ógra, founding Meath West Ógra and acting as its first Cathaoirleach and also serving a term on the National Youth Committee. I spent time in the Con Colbert Cumann in UL where I served as Treasurer and Leas Cathaoirleach. It hasnt always been plain sailing. In the time, I’ve lost two elections to serve as Leinster Ógra Ard Comhairle Representative. Im laying out my Ógra CV because I want you to know that the following isnt me looking in from outside and giving out. I care about how our party utilises its young members and how young members can shape our party into the future.
The Present Situation
At every Youth Conference, we elect a Youth Committee to run the affairs of Ógra; to plan its activities and to represent the views of young people to the senior party. At the moment, we elect 17 people ranging from the Leas Cathaoirleach to Youth Committee reps for the provinces. The Cathoirleach of Ógra is a member of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party and is usually under 35 years of age. They meet or should meet every 6 weeks or so and organise events, plan campaigns and develop policies. With the greatest respect to the present Youth Committee and I hold my hands up here for my time on the Youth Committee, we are lucky if we have one half decent campaign each year and I am still waiting to hear of an Ógra policy that doesnt simply restate Government policy. I dont believe that this is due to a lack of desire from the part of the committee members. There is a stagnation in Ógra due to the way it is constituted. I feel that it is reactive rather than proactive. We make an announcement after some thing happens. We dont make our position known before a Minister announced a policy. Can it be said that we are representing the views of Ógra members?
Our campaigns revolved around the same issues year on year. While all worthy causes, we must move outside our comfort zones and attack issues that are fresh and topical. Even though we have over 6000 members of Ógra, it is the same faces at the same events year on year. We need active , enthusiastic people in each constituency ready to campaign on an issue. We shouldnt have to bus the Youth Committee to each event. It should be run by one Youth Committee member liaising with the local Ógra unit.
A friend of mine who served on the Ard Comhairle for Ógra recently told me that the secret to being reelected was having weak units in your area. Once you are in, all you need to do is keep the others weak and you have that position for as long as possible. This is endemic in Ógra today. At next weeks Ógra NYC, there will be only 4 elections with two of them being the 3rd level positions which are always contested.
Ógra Fianna Fáil has no media presence because of the reasons outlined before. Contrast that with Young Fine Gael who today attacked one of their TD’s over his stance on the Drink Driving legislation. When has Ógra ever refuted some of the arguments made by our TD’s when it was clearly wrong. Why did Ógra not respond to Mattie McGrath’s comments regarding the benefits of consuming drink and driving? The answer is because Ógra is afraid. It’s afraid of not being 100% loyal. I think loyalty to party members and to the party are noble traits; but loyalty to what is right is what we all as citizens should aspire to. The people will respect that more than licking the asses of Oireachtas members.
So how do we fix Ógra?
Ógra needs to go back to basics. It needs to look at its Aims and Objectives and decide how it can achieve them. They must be achievable and worthy of effort.
The Youth Committee needs to be streamlined to ten members as follows:
Uachtaráin Ógra / Ceannaire Ógra: Elected head of Ógra Fianna Fáil. Should be automatically appointed as a Vice President of the Senior Party and to the top Ard Comhairle committees.
Communications and New Media Director: Deals with Ógra’s online and new media profile. Is the first point of contact for journalists. Will chair the Communications committee that would train local FF media points of contacts etc.
Policy Director: As it says on the tin, co-ordinates Ógra policy development. Will chair the Ógra policy think tank composing of interested members from across the country.
Campaigns Director: Again, self-explanatory. Directs the Ógra campaigns once a policy or an initiative has been agreed upon. Works closely with the Policy Director and the Communications Director to achieve the required goals.
The Ard Comhairle Representatives for the following areas also sit on the National Youth Committee: Leinster, Dublin, Munster, Connaught, Ulster and 3rd Level.
Ógra needs to be a bottom up organisation with the Youth Committee acting as the facilitator of Ógra endeavours on a local basis. To facilitate that, a new level of Ógra structures needs to be developed. I think Regional Councils can be the driving force behind reinvigorating Ógra units. They would mirror how a CDC would be organised. It would meet in a plenary session 3 times a year and would allow policy to be developed, campaigns to be planned. It would provide support to the Ógra CDC’s giving them practical advice. The Ard Comhairle member for an area would not be allowed to hold any position on the Regional Council but would serve as an Ex Officio member and bring their deliberations to the Youth Committee. Likewise a 3rd Level Council would serve as a focal point for 3rd level cumainn. The Regional Councils would also be a welcome boost to the Ógra calender with events spread out more evenly and more locally.
How would we elect these positions?
All Elections would be by the one member one vote system. The various Youth Committee Directors would be directly elected for the positions they seek. They would be accountable to their electorate the following year. No member of Ógra should lose out on their right to vote in an election because of the inability of their CDC officer board to register the unit. Deals could not done as easily. Candidates would have to convince individual members of their value and not merely rely on the head honcho in an area to bring the votes.
Financing
Ógra needs to be self financing. It mustn’t be afraid to organise events as fundraisers. People should be allowed to donate to Ógra as a unit in itself and know that the money will be used for Ógra. Individual units must be responsible for financing their events. We cannot simply go to the senior party with an open palm. They will respect us more by standing on our own two feet.
I would never dare to assume that the above is infallible. It probably isn’t and I am certain that others have equally good plans but we need to start some where. Ógra needs to stand up and be counted, both within and outside the party. We are more than canvass fodder. We are the future of the party.
See you all in Bundoran! Ar Aghaigh le Fianna Fáil – Ar Aghaigh leis an obair!!
Kenny to do what Bertie couldnt? November 7, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Irish Politics.Tags: Elections, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Ireland, Irish Economy, Labour Party, RTE
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Enda Kenny has today claimed that he can lead Fine Gael to an overall majority in the next Dáil. Speaking on Marian Finucane this morning, Deputy Kenny said “he does not think it is beyond the bounds of possibility that his party could win an overall majority in the next general election.” As well as blustering on about how his party is the only party with a plan, he said he wouldnt cut child benefit. Now forgive me if I’m narky this morning because of a Sore Throat and having my morning slumber interrupted by the wish-washy tones of a has-been Fine Gaeler waffling and meandering in search of column inches, but the Government and Fianna Fáil have a plan. The Smart Economy Framework, the Programme for Government and other documents set out the Government’s stall in relation to the next number of years. This man is a muppet!!!
However, I do accept that Fine Gael will pick up extra seats at the expense of Fianna Fáil in the next election. Labour and Fine Gael should form the next Government, and if they dont, they should be all shot at dawn by their party members. I dont however accept that things will be as bad for Fianna Fáil as is predicted or nearly as bad as some political commentators hope.
Here’s how I think it will pan out – General Election April 2012
Fianna Fáil: 33% (55)
Fine Gael: 32% (65)
Labour: 19% (25)
Greens: 3% (1)
Sinn Féin: 5% (6)
Ind’s / Others: 8% (14)
Fine Gael and Lab will form a Government. Fianna Fáil will go into opposition badly bruised but not destroyed. FF will regroup for a year or two, allow water to flow under the bridge between their term in office and the new government. Radical reorganisation of the party and a mammoth overhaul of the Fianna Fáil policy platform.
Three to four years later, cracks will appear in the coalition or maybe sooner if any reform needs to be implemented. Government falls or Enda goes to the people (he’ll be shocking old this stage), and bang….Fianna Fáil is back!!
Dempsey presses ahead with new Drink Driving Limits October 30, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Fianna Fáil, Irish Politics.Tags: Blood Alcohol, Drink Driving, Fianna Fail, Noel Dempsey
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Minister for Transport and FF TD for Meath West Noel Dempsey has today published the Road Traffic Bill which will include new Blood Alcohol Concentration ( BAC)limits for provisional and experienced drivers. Included in the Bill is a reduction in the BAC limits for learner, novice and professional drivers from 80 mg/100ml to 20 mg/100ml and from 80 mg/100ml to 50 mg/100ml for all other drivers.
There seems to have been some negotiations between Minister Dempsey and the dissident FF backbenchers who were opposed to these measures last week. Those whose blood-alcohol level falls between the old and new limits will be given three penalty points rather than an automatic disqualification. The Taoiseach Brian Cowen and FG spokesperson on Road Safety Shane McEntee have both given the new measures their support.
I’m glad to see that Minister Dempsey stuck to his guns on this issue. All the hulla buloo over this in the past weeks from vested interests simply, in my opinion, can not hide the basic reason for doing this – to save lives. Some FF people I spoke to said that if more of our Ministers were as forthright and unwavering on other issues, the party wouldnt be in as much trouble as it is.
Kudos to Noel Dempsey. A Minister showing courage while under fire from back benchers who really should be thinking about the bigger picture is some thing we dont see too often. Hopefully, we will see it a lot more into the future.
Fianna Fáil – An All Ireland Party? October 28, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Fianna Fáil, Irish Politics, Northern Irish Politics, SDLP.Tags: Ógra Fianna Fáil, Brian Cowen, Fianna Fail, Margaret Ritchie, Patsy McGlone, SDLP, Sinn Féin
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Picture the scene, April 2016…..Arbour Hill, Dublin 7
Uachtarán Fhianna Fáil and An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD is joined by Patsy McGlone MLA, Fianna Fáil Leader at Stormont. Here, they lay a wreath on behalf of all Irish people who fought and died for Irish Independence. While the names of those taking part may chanhe, the chance to see a FF Taoiseach and the leader of FF in Stormont standing side by side at Arbour Hill is a real possibility.
We are now a little over seven years away from the 100th Anniversary of what is generally accepted as the starting point for the modern Irish State – An Eirí Amach 1916. For those on the Republican side of Irish politics and by Republican, I mean all people who actively support a free, democratic and secular Irish State across the entire Island, this is a pivotal moment and a commemoration that still brings tears to many a persons eyes.
I’m going to look at the Fianna Fáil Stormont Leader and see how I believe it can come about. Before I do this, I think its important to look at what has happened in the past number of years and see what the exact position is in November 2009.
Ógra Fianna Fáil is now unequivocally an All Ireland youth group. Since 2006/2007, Ógra has been actively been recruiting members in the six counties, new cumainn have been set up in Queens University Belfast (Cumann William Drennan) and in University of Ulster (Cumann Watty Graham) The Senior Fianna Fáil leadership has now accepted this and have even gone further. Fianna Fáil fora have been set up or are about to be set up in South Armagh, South Down, Fermanagh and Antrim with the approval and blessing of the Leadership. Cynics will argue that these fora are nothing more than talking shops to keep Northern members happy. Perhaps that was the intention but remember this, once a stone starts rolling down a hill, it gathers momentum and the longer you leave it roll, the harder it will be to stop.
Having spoken to many Northern FF members over the past number of weeks, I can see the absolute determination and conviction they have with regard to this project. They will not settle for anything less than the right to vote FF in the north, to elect FF councillors and MLA’s and the chance to see FF in government in the North. Over the next 9 months, many important decisions will be made. While I have previously ruled out a merger with the SDLP, I still believe that what happens in that party has an effect on FF in the North. The current leadership battle between Alasdair McDonnell and Margaret Ritchie is not simply between pro FF and pro Labour forces. One cannot say that a victory for either will hold back or speed up Fianna Fáils move into 6 county politics. The real determining factor will be the Westminster Elections due for May 2010. I expect both Mark Durkan in Foyle and Alasdair McDonnell and Eddie McGrady in South Down. Apart from this, I cannot see any hope of an SDLP win bar West Tyrone. What Im trying to say is that the SDLP have retreated to their core areas. The joke has always been that the SDLP stood for the ‘South Down and Londonderry Party’ and unfortunately this seems to be becoming a reality. Young people north of the border are looking for a party that represents their ambitions and desires. They want a party that is supportive of Business endeavours but smart enough to realise that all people need a helping hand from time to time. Ógra currently has in excess of 250 people in Northern Ireland. While many are in university, some have already left and are now working. They yearn for party that can unite their Republican ideals and their desires for employment and prosperity. Fianna Fáil has enough talent North of the border to bring a fresh face to northern politics.
Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader October 27, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Fianna Fáil, Irish Politics.Tags: Deputy Leader, Elections, Fianna Fail, Government
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I was having a conversation earlier with a fellow Fianna Fáiler on Facebook Chat and we were talking about how the Fianna Fáil party and the Government have become so intertwined. I accept that the Taoiseach and the Ministers need to be 100% focused on the country and its economic recovery. What struck us was that there was no one looking actively at the party and its needs. Yes we have a General Secretary and a large HQ apparatus but no one in the Parliamentary Party who’s first role is to make decisions quickly regarding the organisation and to ultimately prepare the party for an election.
One has to look at the British Labour party where their Deputy Leader isnt a senior Minister or even the Deputy Prime Minister. There was a competitive election in 2007 where Harriet Harmon came out triumphant.
Fianna Fáil needs to be treated as a distinct entity. Yes we are part of the Government but we have an obligation to the party also. My proposal is that their should be a Deputy Leader elected by the Parliamentary Party (ideally by the Membership but thats a long way off in my opinions) whose role would be to oversee changes in the organisation and to make sure we are ready to fight the coming election. This person needs to have the time to talk to the many hundreds of people in the party who have new ideas about how the party can change for the better and to ultimately win back supporters.
McDonnell to declare for SDLP Leadership today October 27, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Irish Politics, Northern Irish Politics, SDLP.Tags: Alasdair McDonnell, Fianna Fail, Margaret Ritchie, SDLP
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South Belfast MP and MLA, Dr. Alasdair McDonnell is to officially announce his intention to seek the leadership of the SDLP at a press conference. The current Deputy Leader of the party will be the second candidate to declare following the decision by SDLP Minister and South Down MLA Margaret Ritchie to seek the leadership.
Dr. McDonnell, in the Irish Times today, says that he will “present himself as ‘the right leader at the right time’. He intends to concentrate on two main issue; namely the organisational reform and party finances. He believes that the SDLP can no longer ‘accept a secondary position behind Sinn Féin and the DUP’
McDonnell is a former member of Fianna Fáil from his time studying medicine in UCD and is seen as being to the forefront of the Fianna Fáil wing of the SDLP. It will be interesting to see if Alban Maginnis endorses McDonnell as expected. Maginnis is seen as being one of the leading lights of the Labour wing of the party. Having said that, Minister Ritchie is not that hostile to Fianna Fáil and did me a favour and came to debate with me and Minister Noel Dempsey in Meath in 2006.
I’d be interested to hear the views of my many SDLP friends on the above…
Sunday Business Post / Red C Poll – 25 Oct 2009 October 25, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Irish Politics.Tags: Fianna Fail, Red C Polls, Fine Gael, Labour Party, Budget 2010
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It’s as you were!! There has been no dramatic shifts in popular support for any of the parties. Fine Gael are still 10 points ahead of FF who are in turn roughly 6 points ahead of Labour. The Greens have slipped back one with Sinn Fein Picking up 1.
FG: 35%
FF: 25% (+1)
Lab: 19% (+1)
Greens: 3% (-1)
SF: 9% (+1)
Indo / Others: 9% (-2)
The only thing that we can draw from these figures is that the population werent affected by the O’Donoghue Affair, the new Programme for Government or Fine Gael’s call for Seanad Éireann to be abolished.
The Budget period i.e. December and into January will be massively important. One cannot imagine Fianna Fáil getting any sort of a bounce from it, though having said that it could win back some private sector support if it takes a knife to the public sector. Tough decisions ahead for Cowen and Lenihan
UUP and Tory Electoral Alliance – Lessons for Fianna Fáil?? October 24, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Irish Politics, Northern Irish Politics.Tags: 6 Counties, Conservative Party, Fianna Fail, SDLP, Tory, UUP
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The Tory Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague MP has today said that the Conservative Party are pledging their support to the Ulster Unionist Party of Sir Reg Empey into the future. Speaking at the Annual UUP Conference, Mr. Hague said “This is an important new force here in politics in Northern Ireland because it’s Conservatives and Ulster Unionists coming together and that’s giving people in Northern Ireland the opportunity in changing the government at a United Kingdom level”.
To moderate Unionists, it must give them great solace to know that the next government in the UK will be on their side. My only question is whether there will be any UUP MP’s to vote for a Tory government. Their only MP at the minute is Lady Sylvia Hermon and while a moderate Unionist, she is no Conservative and feels closer to the UK Labour Party.
This again brings up the question, for me anyway, of Fianna Fáil entering into 6 county politics. I now believe that it will be sooner rather than later. If Fianna Fail loses the next General Election (though one can never fail to underestimate the stupidity of Fine Gael when it comes to General Elections), I would expect moves to be made to reorganise the party and 6 county politics to feature highly in that reorganisation.
I stated previously that I favoured a merger between Fianna Fáil and the SDLP. I now no longer favour that route. I still believe that the majority of the SDLP grass-roots and voters would favour this but unfortunately there is a significant proportion of the SDLP leadership i.e their Assembly Team, who like to wrap the ‘Red Flag’ around them more than the ‘Green Flag’. This would make a merger nigh on impossible. Fianna Fáil must win the hearts and minds of the entire 6 counties. By merging with the SDLP, we would start to woo potential Sinn Féin supporters who would be attracted to Fianna Fáil. It is also important to remember that we must also look at winning over moderate Unionists and those with no real opinion on the Union.
The challenge for Fianna Fáil members both North and South of the border is to be ready for that day and go all out to make it a reality.
“All Animals are Equal but some Animals are more Equal than Others” October 22, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Irish Politics, LGTB Issues.Tags: Fianna Fail, Human Rights, LGTB, Republicanism
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Just a short post this evening on this topic. I was reading the Fianna Fáil website (as one does at 2:20am) and I came across the Fianna Fáil constitition. Article 1.3 states that Fianna Fáil will
“guarantee religious and civil liberty, and equal rights, equal treatment and equal opportunities for all the people of Ireland.”
However, are some people, as Orwell put it so eloquently, more equal that others? I’m a citizen of Ireland, born and raised here, went to school here, paid taxes here yet I am not being treated the same as other citizens. I am not allowed to marry. I am a gay man. I want to marry a man. I cannot do this. Minister Ahern thinks that a flimsy Civil Partnership will keep me happy. It wont keep me happy because I have should have the right to marry the person I love, in front of the people who matter to me and have it recognised and supported by the Irish State.
I love my party. I’m proud of its achievements over the past 83 years. However, I dont like blasé statements. I dont like hypocrisy. Fianna Fáil ,as Taoiseach Brian Cowen reminded us last weekend at Bodenstown that we are a proud Republican Party and at the heart of our Republicanism is Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. So lets all work together in Fianna Fáil to make that a reality for all our citizens.
Devolution of Justice and Policing Policy in the North October 21, 2009
Posted by Donnacha Maguire in Irish Politics, Northern Irish Politics.Tags: Alliance Party, DUP, Fianna Fail, Gordon Brown, Justice, PSNI, SDLP, Sinn Féin
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British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has today published budget proposals for the devolution of Justice and Policing in the North. Earlier in the week, he met with the NI First and Deputy First Ministers to hammer out the final aspects of the budget.
Believed to be in the region of £800-£1000 million, this is a significant allocation of resources. The funding will be met from HM Treasury reserves following concerns raised by the NI Executive that their own finances would be swallowed up trying to pay for it.
DUP and SF are fighting over the time frame for the devolution of powers and the SDLP are annoyed (rightly) that the D’Hondt is being over looked in order to give the Alliance Party of NI a seat at the exective. They are seen as honest brokers.
DUP and Sinn Féin have to hurry up and agree to a time frame as soon as possible. Locally elected and mandated politics works far better than Direct Rule from London. The people of NI, if they are to ever trust each other, must see that their political representatives can work together and not always be looking over their shoulders. For our part, Dermot Ahern, Michael Martin and Brian Cowen need to make it clear that Devolution must happen now, and not later. Along with this, North South co-operation needs to be strengthened, especially in these recesssionary times.
