Month: November 2017

I missed this in all the excitement but many thanks to Declan Bree for pointing out that the Labour Party is down one Senator in the Seanad.

Tipperary ILP senator Denis Landy retires from Seanad on health grounds.

Well now I didn’t see this coming:

Sinn Féin Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh has quit the party over what he described as inaction in dealing with disciplinary issues in his Galway West constituency.

He said there have been serious breaches of the Sinn Féin code of conduct that have gone unpunished.

SF in response “claimed that Mr Ó Clochartaigh was looking for a clear run at the convention”.

Any sense of his intentions? A new home or Independent status?

Meanwhile what of our new Tánaiste, and continuing – deep breath – Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for Brexit… rising swiftly close to the top after a less than stellar leadership campaign earlier in the year!

Gewerkschaftler suggested this recently:

I suggest this blog should have a regular (weekly) slot where people can post happenings at the personal or political level that gives them hope that we’re perhaps not going to hell in a handbasket as quickly as we thought. Or as the phlegmatic Germans put it “hope dies last”.

Any contributions this week?

Is this a vision of the future? It’s certainly a vision of the present in non-unionised companies…

Ryanair cabin crew have been told they could face “disciplinary proceedings” and have their working hours forcibly changed unless they sell more perfume and scratchcards.

The Irish airline has previously denied pressuring staff to hit specific sales targets, after it emerged they were encouraged to sell products in return for bonuses.

But letters sent to crew members by recruitment firms that supply staff to Ryanair – seen by the Guardian – warn of dire consequences for those whose average sales per flight fall “below budget”.

The letters highlight 10 products, including drinks, confectionery, cosmetics and scratchcards, listing the percentage of flights in which individual cabin crew members had not sold enough.

Next time someone says unions aren’t necessary – and I still here that old trope every once in a while, I’ll remind them of the above.

And fair dues to IMPACT here for pointing out one very salient fact:

The Irish trade union Impact, which was shown a copy of one letter, said: “It makes for grim reading.

“The primary role of cabin crew is flight safety, in-flight sales is a secondary role.

“This correspondence suggests a crude approach to performance management, and reveals the vulnerability of individual staff if they don’t reach the targets they’ve been set.

“The client airline’s position on organised labour is well documented, so I’m struck by the fact, more than anything else, that this person had nobody to turn to when they received that letter.”

At the weekend in the Observer the point was made:

Ryanair’s “ancillary revenues” – income from products such as perfume, alcohol and cosmetics, as well as baggage charges – reached £1.5bn last year.

That makes the no-frills Irish airline a bigger retailer than high street stalwarts such as WH Smith, House of Fraser or Halfords.

And (as with IMPACT) noted:

But Ryanair is an airline, not an airborne shop, and the primary responsibility of cabin crew is to ensure passengers’ safety and comfort. They should not have to feel at risk of being hauled over the coals by over-zealous middle managers if their sales patter isn’t up to scratch.

Ah… Kate Hoey. As ASF notes here her contributions are unhelpful to say the least, and arguably down-right reactionary.

And Kathy Sheridan noted that one of those was unintentionally (one hopes) absurd:

Hoey tweets about her visit to a “smooth” Swiss/German/French border crossing, eyeing it as a model for “land border issues NI/ROI”. Some model. Not only was she posing in front of a very large customs post, she seemed unaware that Switzerland is in Schengen and the European Free Trade Association.

It’s amazing how the above trope has taken hold. Take the IT editorial on foot of the debacle of the last week or two…

Frances Fitzgerald, the safe pair of hands installed at the head of the Department of Justice in 2014 to stabilise an organisation in turmoil, finally bowed to the inevitable yesterday and tendered her resignation. In doing so, she has averted a snap election that should never have been on the cards in the first place.

And:

Fitzgerald’s departure had become a political imperative. It takes a pre-Christmas election off the table, but it leaves serious questions for the Department of Justice and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

But:

A tumultuous week leaves the confidence-and-supply agreement between the Government and Fianna Fáil intact, just about. It may survive another few months, but make no mistake: the election countdown is now on.

Or how about this from Sarah Bardon:

There were only two outcomes from this particular shambles – a general election at a crucial time for Ireland or the resignation of the deputy leader of Government.

But:

Both parties are anxious and ready for battle. The general election may not spoil your festive festivities, but the game is on, and a general election is merely a matter of weeks away.

Or how about Pat Leahy:

Whether the Taoiseach had to lay out the facts of life or not, it is clear that faced with either a resignation or an election, there was only one choice. Faced with the cliff edge of a general election being called this week, they pulled back.

But:

But there’s no doubt that the events of the past week have been profoundly damaging for the relationship between the two largest parties. And because of that, the Fitzgerald controversy will almost certainly shorten the life of the Government.
Both parties have begun preparations for the next election in recent months. Fianna Fail began the process in the spring – after Enda Kenny signalled his departure – and Leo Varadkar began putting preparations in place soon after his election as Taoiseach.

Uh-huh. So an unwanted election is now a near certainty for the (possibly very) near future. I get how the instability aspect works, how the confidence and supply agreement is under pressure. But this week we saw how the lack of enthusiasm for an election pushed those aspects aside. Consequently there’s one glaring contradiction evident here. No one wants the election. But it’s now closer! Even though we just averted an election because no one wanted it!

Okay, there’s the issue of a Winter election and worse a pre-Christmas election. There are logistical reasons for not wanting an election, there are matters of perception. Arriving at voters doorsteps this week is probably akin to dumping a pile of month old refuse in their back yards – unsought for and unwelcome at the best of times, and now, in this cold…

So reality, or pragmatism, or call it what we will, has to play a part.

And yet, in three months time is the electorate going to be more enthusiastic about an election? Is their appetite going to have increased? To me all this smacks of the media (and some political folk) getting overly excited. They’d like nothing better than an election, sure why not? But …

Leahy makes an interesting point:

Leo Varadkar received two messages from TDs and Ministers returning from their constituencies after the weekend: one was that people didn’t want an election and the second was that the organisation was not yet ready for one. But by the time the next crisis comes around, they’ll be ready.

But, that latter is only one part of it. Again, why would ‘people’ want an election ‘next time around’?

And what about Bardon’s point re this being a ‘crucial time’ which softened coughs. Is three months going to be less crucial for the state?

There’s another point. The atmosphere in 2010 and 2015 was quite unlike that now. Then both governments in situ were either evidently in serious crisis or nearing the end of their term. Indeed that in 2010 was falling apart visibly. Whereas this government despite its curious make-up and even more curious foundations (not least the arrangement with FF) doesn’t have that sense of being but a vote away from disaster. In fact, I’d almost go so far as to say, it reminds me of little as much as the mid-term period for the last government, solidly in power and exercising (albeit within obvious constraints).

None of this guarantees no election, but for there to be one something has to give. I cannot at this point see what that is. IEL has similar thoughts here…

Still, the appointment of a new Tánaiste today will no doubt be exciting for the person concerned – for if Leahy et al are correct they may be in that position for what, two, three months?