As of December 31^st 2005, there were 557, persons having the Vatican citizenship, of which 58 Cardinals, 293 of the Clergy having status as members of the Pontifical Representations, 62 other members of the Clergy, 101 members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard and 43 other lay persons.

The persons authorized to reside in the Vatican City maintaining their original citizenship were 246, of the aforementioned numbers.

The persons residing in buildings outside of the Vatican City in buildings exempt from expropriation and taxation were 3,100 on the above mentioned date.

From The Vatican website (yup the least attractive website I’ve seen in a while)

The US Government estimate the population in 2011 to be 829.

The Italian Embassy in Rome, a few feet away, will be well able to conduct the diplomatic affairs of the Irish government with the Vatican state.  Times of austerity or not.

Fine Gael backbenchers (and a few ministers) think otherwise.

So far seven Irish MEP’s have signed the 10 point pledge on LGBT rights issues.

So Liam Aylward, Mairead McGuinness, Gay Mitchell (remember him?), Pat (The Cope) Gallagher, Brian Crowley, whenever you are ready?

Fianna Fáil’s ard fheis in the RDS on March 2/3 will be a dry house. Word is reaching the grass roots (and me) that the party have decided not to have a bar available and no alcohol will be allowed in the venue for the duration.

The measure is reported to save thousands of Euro in service and insurance costs and is aimed at ‘removing drunken stereotype of such events’.

So the chances of this (and shouts of ‘Up ya boyah’ at Micheal Martin) have been reduced significantly.

Unless of course the party faithful top up at Paddy Cullens before the leaders speech?

Wanted: emergency budget

Sir, – It is now clear that austerity policies are not working. The domestic economy will remain recession this year. The Government has accepted that employment, consumer spending and investment will fall again. We are experiencing a worrying rise in income inequality, with nearly one-in-four in the country suffering from deprivation. Women and children are particularly adversely affected. We are entering into a lengthy period of low-growth, high debt and high unemployment, while creating a society with deep social injustices, not least for young people who have no sustainable jobs and no future in Ireland.

We need a Plan B. We urge the Government to adopt emergency policy measures that can create jobs, generate sustainable growth, raise incomes and reduce poverty. This is the only sustainable route to economic recovery and fiscal stability.

Such a Plan B must include a substantial investment programme directed at infrastructure, education and labour skills. From Next Generation Broadband to pre-primary education, to a modern water and waste system, we must create new wealth-generating assets that will grow jobs, income and the economy in a sustainable and environmentally just way. This can be funded from part of the €15 billion or more the Government currently holds in cash and assets.

We need to redistribute income from high incomes and large wealth-holdings to low- and average income-earners, whether they are in work or reliant upon social protection, or both. This will lift demand in the economy, boost enterprises and create new jobs.

This should be done through new taxation measures on capital, property and high incomes.

We need to end overall spending cuts in public services, social protection and community projects; these are depressing employment in the private sector due to declining demand for goods and services, while undermining public sector reform and efficient management. It is socially demoralising and politically damaging.

We need to face up to the burden private banking debt is placing on the economy. In particular, repaying the debts of Anglo-Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide is economically irrational and socially obscene. The total cost of bailing out these dead banks could exceed €70 billion over the next 20 years. The Government must take immediate action to renegotiate this debt with a view to redirecting these payments into investment, public services and living standards.

Repeating past failures is no longer an option. We, the under-signed, call on the Government to launch an emergency budget that will instigate a Plan B for jobs, growth and a socially just and sustainable Ireland. – Yours, etc,

AILBHE SMYTH, Feminist Open Forum; ALISON SPILLANE, Irish Feminist Network; ANASTASIA CRICKLEY, Department of Applied Social Studies, NUI Maynooth; Dr ANDY STORY, School of Politics International Relations, UCD; Dr AUSTIN CARROLL, General Practitioner; ANNA QUIGLEY, Director, Dublin Aids Alliance; Sr BERNADETTE Mac MAHON, DC, Vincentian Partnership for Justice; BREDA GRAY, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick; BRIAN DONOVAN, Business owner and Director, Eneclann Ltd; BRID O’BRIEN, Head of Policy, Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed; BRID MAGUIRE, Psychotherapist; Fr BOBBY GILMORE, Columban Missionary Society; Dr COLM O’DOHERTY, Dept of Humanities and Social Science,Tralee IT; CHARLES STANLEY SMITH, Former Chair An Taisce; Dr CHRIS MCINERNEY, Dept of Politics and Public Administration, UL; CHARLES GILLANDERS, IT Director; Dr CONOR MCCABE, Historian and Author; DEREK SPEIRS, photographer; DONAGH BRENNAN, Editor, Irish Left Review; FIONA FITZSIMONS, Historian and Director of Eneclann Ltd; FRANCES BYRNE, CEO, OPEN; Dr GAVAN TITLEY, Dept of Media Studies, NUI Maynooth; Dr HARRY BROWNE, School of Media, DIT; HELEN LOWRY, Chairperson, Community Workers Cooperative; Dr HELENA SHEEHAN, Prof Emerita, DCU; JAMES KELLY, Film Producer, Feenish Productions; Dr JOHN BARRY, Centre for Sustainability and Environmental Governance, Queen’s University; JOHN BISSETT, Community Worker, Canal Communities, Dublin; JOHN BAKER, UCD School of Social Justice; JOHN SUTTON, Public Communications Centre; JOE LARRAGHY, Dept of Applied Social Studies, NUI Maynooth; JOHN LONERGAN, former governer, Mountjoy Prison; Dr KATHLEEN LYNCH, Centre for Equality Studies, UCD School of Social Justice; LIAM HERRICK, Director, Irish Penal Reform Trust; LINDA KELLY, Cork Feminista; MALACHY BROWNE, Editor, politico.ie; Dr MARIE MORAN, Equality Studies, UCD School of Social Justice; Dr MARY MURPHY, Dept of Politics, NUI Maynooth; Dr MARY McAULIFFE, Women’s Studies, UCD School of Social Justice; MICHAEL BARRON, Director, BeLonG To Youth Services for LGBT young people; MAUREEN WARD, Chairperson, Irish Traveller Movement; MAJELLA MULKEEN, Dept of Humanities, IT Sligo; Dr NAT O’CONNOR, Director, TASC; NIALL CROWLEY, Equality Consultant; NIAMH McCREA, Dept of Humanities, IT Carlow; NIALL WALSH, Leitrim Sculpture Centre; Dr PEADAR KIRBY, Dept of Politics and Public Administration, UL; PHILIP WATT, former director National Consultative Committee Racism and Interculturalism; RACHEL MULLEN, Co-ordinator, Equality Rights Alliance; ROBIN HANON, Director, European Anti-Poverty Network; RONNIE FAY, Director, Pavee Point; Dr RORY HEARNE, Community Worker, Regeneration Co-ordinator, Dolphin House, Dublin; SIOBHÁN O’DONOGHUE, Director, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland; Dr SHEILA KILLIAN, Kemmy Business School, UL; Dr Stephen James Minton, School of Education, Trinity College Dublin; SUZY BYRNE, Blogger and Disability Activist; Dr TERRENCE McDONAGH, Dept of Economics, NUI Galway; THERESE CAHERTY, Irish Feminist Forum; Dr TOM O’CONNOR, Dept of Social Studies, Cork IT URSULA BARRY, School of Social Justice, UCD. C/o Parnell Square, Dublin 1.

The campaign is calling for the suspension of Anglo/INBS repayments as a first step towards renegotiation and writedown of the debt. The bulk of the re-payments are government issued “promissory notes” – a promise to pay money in future. Debt write downs happen all the time. A pause while we get a write down and stop rolling over and paying debts that are not ‘ours’ would be in line with the policy of both parties in government before the last election. Not that they seem to remember that. It is high time that they were reminded.

In his statement the Taoiseach announced that Ireland would be seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council.

Both within our own country, and in the wider world, Ireland is at the fore of those promoting peace, justice, security and development. This is a commitment and an engagement that we take with the utmost seriousness that this why, this year, for the first time, Ireland is seeking election to the United Nations Human Rights Council. If elected, Ireland would support clear and strong action by the Council in addressing human rights violations and in promoting universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Human Rights Council

is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe.  The Council was created by the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.

I assume before Ireland applies for election that

• the Mental Capacity Bill will be debated and enacted?
• The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities will be ratified by the government.
• Residential facilities for people with disabilities will be monitored and inspected.
• All prisoners will have in cell sanitation.
• Prisoners with mental health problems will be provided with appropriate treatment and facilities.
• The Government will truly strengthen and maintain the independence of the Equality and Human Rights infrastructure in the state.
• The Magdelene women will be cared for and apologised to.
• Travellers will be recognised as an ethnic minority.

Insert other areas where Ireland’s human rights record is poor and we fail to meet international conventions

Put simply we should attend to everything else which should be required of us  before applying to join such an elite.  The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights assessed our record with regard to treaties and conventions last year and it and the Universal Periodic Review (draft report) show the concerns of the United Nations in many areas of human rights and legal protections.

Indeed the human rights record of many of the other members of the Human Rights Council is also far from perfect.  But is it too much to hope that we could lead by example and prioritise attending to our human rights obligations?  This could then be seen as ‘clear and strong’ action by the Government in ‘addressing human rights violations and in promoting universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.’

See what I did there?  Austerity can not be an excuse for such diplomatic hypocrisy either.

Happy New Year.

Irish political life has been dominated by the power of big names.  The influence of family and contacts cannot be underestimated.   It is quite clear that when running for the senate or in a snap by-election, if you have a name people recognise and are positively disposed to then you have an enormous advantage.  Irish politics is highly personalised and despite perceptions of party loyalty the Irish voter tends to cling to a person or a name above any party badge.

It is also quite clear that those who come from political families serve a long apprenticeship.  There is no record of a dynastic member doing a ‘George Lee’ and becoming shocked at what a TD does or frustrated with the system and packing it all in.  They know exactly what they are getting into and this is a huge advantage to any party.

The problem is that it is difficult to say how many good candidates or Leaders have never had the chance to be elected due to the fact that they share a constituency with a famous name.  It is telling that almost half of all the women TDs that have ever been elected to Dáil Eireann hold a dynastic connection.  Indeed it is only in the last 20 years or so that real progress has been made as for many years being a female TD was almost the exclusive preserve of women who were replacing a father, husband, brother or some other relation.

The recent proposals on gender quotas will pose some interesting questions for the future of dynasties.  On one hand there are dynasties that will find it difficult and may just find themselves edged out as parties rush to get more women on their ticket.  However, where a dynasty has a strong female voice their position may become unassailable.  The introduction of quotas may well see far more daughters of politicians rather than sons running in the future.  A means to balancing a ticket, a recognisable name, and through family connections possessing the respect of grassroots workers and colleagues is the perfect recipe for success and will prove irresistible to the backroom teams headhunting candidates.

When talking of policies such as gender quotas many of the opponents point to an inherent anti-democratic bias within such a system.  They suggest its all about ability and nothing else should be considered.  There are a number of problems with this analysis however.  Firstly, my earlier figures on the amount of women TDs who had dynastic connections relate purely to those with a relative in the Dáil and take no account of the many more who are relatives of local councillors.  The amount of women who have come to politics of their own accord and built their name solely upon this is far less that their male counterparts.

This brings us to the real point, the real reason that quotas are being considered.  Our system of selection is based only on one ability, the ability to network.  Whether you are male or female you must follow the same ritual, the problem is that this ritual was established by and suits a far more traditional male lifestyle. You do not breeze in and out of meetings, you hang around, and you court the right people, the kingmakers.  You stay for a few pints.  You do this as often as possible night after night. You get involved with the GAA club, you get involved with the drama group, and you get involved in every group and society going.  You attend every fundraiser, you get to every gathering, and you get your mug in the paper. You get out there, night after night, you make sure to be friendly, stay on, have a few pints, and get to know the people.  Whether we like it or not, you can have ability coming out of your ears but people still want the friendly, amiable, decent skin who shows up to their gig regardless.
This problem affects all those who want to run for election.  But, disproportionately it affects women.  Let’s talk straight.  In Ireland today far more women than men still take on the main burden of responsibility for kids and family.  Going to meetings night after night is fine for a man who has a supportive wife at home, however the number of women who can rely on male support when they return from their long day in their tough job, is far less. Sorry, brothers I know I’m selling us short, but it’s a fact.  The culture of the political ‘network’ is hard to break.  If most of the local kingmakers are men, how does a woman impress in the conversation, over a few pints, is she comfortable doing it? What if she’s just not into the football?

The system was designed by men in an age when men did not worry about putting the kids to bed.  It would be considered a crime if someone suggested a political meeting or selection convention took place just after the school run, why? Because too many people are at work at that time.  It’s far better to hold the meeting at 8pm or 9pm when only the housewives or primary carers are stuck putting the kids to bed.

If women want a career in politics then they can come to it after they have raised the family.  However, the problem with this approach is that in the New Ireland more and more men are also taking up such duties and placing a higher priority on time with their family than their predecessors did.  The system is now also losing a small but increasing number of male participants.

If you come from a political dynasty you are already connected.  You already have a name to trade on; it is far easier to build the network.  Therefore it is quite clear that first we need to understand the depth of the problem and how the ‘game playing’ at local level is a turn off.  It cannot be changed by those who either use the system to cement their own position or by those who never faced the real difficulties of breaking into the network.  Change must be led by the people the system currently militates against.  Gender quotas do not have to be forever, however, they may be the only way to get such people in place that the change can be effected in the short term.

Either way, one thing is clear, political dynasties are resilient and built on enormous accumulated knowledge, they will find a way to change and adapt and grow within whatever rules are proposed.

Competition! If you would like to win a copy of  Dynasties: Irish Political Families by Johnny Fallon (New Island RRP €16.99)  please leave a comment below to be included in the draw.  Closing date 27 December. 

One of my fondest memories of 2011 is when I was in the same studio as Garret Fitzgerald when he arrived to analyse the general election during RTE Radio 1′s election coverage. (Rememberance post published in May 2011) 

It’s still hard to believe that we will never hear him talk about counts, tallies and swings in elections to come.

Liberties Press have republished his auto-biography, Just Garret which now includes the eulogy given by Fr. Enda McDonagh and an epilogue from Garret’s daughter Mary Fitzgerald.

If you would like to be included in the draw to win a copy of the book please leave a comment below.  Competition ends 21 December.

(€14.99 on libertiespress.com)

Released shortly before the presidential election, Renewing the Republic,  is a collection of speeches and articles from Michael D. Higgins from the past decade which cover themes of citizenship and the republic; culture, identity and reputation; human rights; language; globalisation, emigration and exile; and the public space.

The book includes Michael D’s last speech to the Dáil and his vision of the Irish Presidency.  I read a chapter last week during the two budgets and wondered what Michael D. might have been thinking then.

On Citizenship he writes a paragraph that resonates as many do throughout the book.

We are drifting to a final rupture between the economy, politics and society.  If this happens, the ensuing conflict will not be mediated through trade unions, political parties or social movements. It will be a naked confrontation between, on the one side, the wealthy getting wealthier, and the poor getting poorer; between the excluded and the powerful; between the technologically sophisticated and the technologically manipulated.  It will be a conflict as raw as any in the history of private accumulation between, on the one hand, consumers and, on the other, the excluded poor, who no longer have any norms of citizenship that they share or which would mediate their conflict.

If you would like to win a copy of the book please leave a comment below.  Closing Date 17 December. 

It is a lovely collection with something in it for the political, artistic, creative and is clear and honest and will as ever with Michael D make you think.  Perhaps buy a copy for the Labour TD in your life, they might learn something.  (PS Hope MDH is making a speedy recovery.)

You may be familiar with Noel Whelan as a former FF staff member, candidate and advisor who has spent much of  the past decade commenting in the media on the rise and demise of the party. Whelan also writes a weekly column in the Irish Times and has a degree and Masters in History and Politics and practices at the bar. He would therefore appear to be well suited to the difficult task of writing a biography of the party.

There are no seminal works on the history of Fianna Fáil but many on particular party figures or epochs.  The party is  85 years old  this year and it is surprising that other writers have not tackled the task before this.  What Whelan has done with the acknowledged partial assistance of another researcher is compile a mass and extensive  literature review whilst chronicling the party’s history up to 2008.  It reads well, though I missed commentary on Fianna Fáil’s contribution to the development (and near destruction) of the nation  and the lack of a social history.  However I would believe that Whelan intended that a biographer’s task is a different one from a historian and it is clear that he has spent a lot of time on this project.

It is topped and tailed it with his own commentary on the immediate past and  future for Fianna Fáil.  The predominance of elected members with their own circles of support and division from a grass roots movement identified as a fatal flaw.

I would think that this book will be a must for any Fianna Fáil member and will be of interest to students of history and politics including those who are quite happy to see the back of the party too and would like to be reminded (or not) of the extent of power and influence of the party on Irish life.

If you would like to win a copy of this book please leave a comment on the post.  Closing date December 16th. (I have other competitions coming up in the next few weeks for other books in this bumper season of political texts!)