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Politicians ‘stir up’ public anger with their policies, says TD

Posted on by darion

Irish politicians have helped to “stir up” public anger and “harden” public discourse through their policies, an independent MP has claimed.

In his speech during Question Time on Tuesday this week, Waterford MP Matt Shanahan called on Prime Minister Simon Harris to “address the parts of the country left out” in the upcoming Budget.

“…Since 2016 the traditional governing parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, have effectively stuck together to defend what the centre sees as the fringes,” he said.

“In France it’s the far right, and here it’s been Sinn Féin and the hard left. In this political Faustian pact between old enemies, parts of the country and society in France and Ireland are being left behind in their anger.”

Shanahan added that Irish politicians were “mindlessly” wondering why the public was so angry with them, rather than admitting their own role in the situation.

“I hear politicians in this House condemning hate speech and vulgarity in political life, wondering helplessly where all this anger comes from, without ever once considering their own role in fuelling it, leaving parts of the country and society to fend for themselves, without the hope and economic progress they so desperately crave,” he said.

“Fine Gael Ministers have told our farmers to grow their herds, to move on and scale up. They have also been told that new regulations are going to be introduced, so instead of preparing, we now have an entire sector of the economy exposed to one bad year. Many farming families are questioning their economic future.”

Shanahan said that apart from Dublin and Cork, “all strategic projects are stuck in departmental reviews”, adding that a number of previously announced projects, such as cardiac care services, the runway extension at Waterford Airport and others, had not materialised despite being promised for years.

“In my view, these are fundamental violations of the government’s political contract with society,” he said.

“The Irish want and deserve excellent public services, such as schools, hospitals, childcare, airports, public transport, roads and housing. We see many countries with these things and wonder why we don’t have them. They are the things that make ordinary life so much better and more bearable.”

He said the Government’s efforts in these areas had fallen “woefully short”, adding: “Faced with another giveaway budget, will the Taoiseach make an effort to deliver on his promises and ensure that more than 70 per cent of the budget is spent outside Dublin and Cork? Will the Government address the places and people it has ignored for a generation?”

The Taoiseach responded strongly to Shanahan’s allegations, saying they were “really wrong”.

“I have to take a deep breath because the beginning of Deputy Shanahan’s statement was really out of place,” he said.

“It was fundamentally wrong because I don’t think there can ever be a justification for the hatred that some members of this House have experienced, or the intimidation and attacks that they have experienced online, offline, in their homes and towards their families. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.

He added: “I defend the right of every Member of this House to never have to deal with this. While a Member has the right to say whatever they want in this House, I never want to hear in this House any attempt to justify hatred, bile and toxicity. The Member should call it out and I hope that when they next stand up they will condemn it.”

“I know he’s a decent person and I don’t think he meant it, but it fuels the anger online. That’s what fuels it. The deputy said we come here and ‘mindlessly’ point this out. I hope the deputy never has to deal with what happened to some of us. I hope he never has to.”

The Taoiseach added that Shanahan was “misinterpreting” the Government’s commitments in relation to Waterford, adding: “Yes, sometimes projects take time and the MP and I debate where they are at, but I can tell him we will deliver on cardiac care, we will deliver on the university and we will continue to deliver on Waterford City and County.”

A defiant Shanahan dismissed the Taoiseach’s objections.

“I put the comments I hear all the time to the Taoiseach and instead of addressing them the Taoiseach deflected by saying I was trying to talk about hate speech and that’s not what I’m talking about,” he said.

“Please take back what you said,” Harris interjected.

“I am reporting to the Taoiseach what people in my constituency and the regions are describing,” Shanahan replied.

“So you won’t take it back,” Harris replied.

It is worth noting that in April, in his final speech as Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar claimed that politicians were partly “responsible” for the rise in “anger” and “toxicity” in modern public debate, adding: “We need to get better at expressing our disagreements.”