Each week in the run up to the General Election, JOE is asking a representitive from each of the main political parties to answer a burning question relevant to Irish men in 2011.
We’re not putting any spin on their answers: we ask the question, they give us their answers, and we print what they tell us.
Representing Labour on our virtual panel of Dáil Deputies is the TD for Cork South Central Ciarán Lynch.
Question: “Given that the political system as it stands appears to have failed us, do we now need a radical change in the way politics in Ireland is done? And if you return to the 31st Dáil can you give us five things that you’ll urgently be pushing for?“
Answered by Labour’s Ciarán Lynch TD
Public confidence in politics and in our system of government and public administration is at an all time low, largely as a result of the abuses that we have experienced during the past 13 years of Fianna Fail led government.
It is no wonder that people are crying out for fundamental reform in our political system.
Whatever government emerges after the next election will face a huge challenge to pull the country out of the economic morass created by Fianna Fail, restore economic growth and get our people back to work.
But a priority must also be to reform our institutions and restore public confidence in our democratic system. To change the broken system we need a new government, but we also need a party in government that can be trusted to deliver on the political reforms that we need.
Labour has an outstanding record in government in the area of political reform. It was Labour that first imposed spending limits for elections; that introduced the Freedom of Information Act and the Ethics in Public Office Act.
In Govt, Labour will continue this record of reform and I believe we should be starting with:
* End cronyism
* A new Constitution for Ireland in the 21st century
* Reduce the number of quangos
* TDs to spend longer hours in the Dail
* protect whistleblower’s who expose corruption or misconduct.
End cronyism
Labour will start by reserving the right to seek the resignation of all those appointed to state boards from 22 November 2010, the date the Green Party announced their intention to pull out of Government. Under Labour, all positions on state boards will be open to all qualified candidates, and appointments will be subject to scrutiny by Dáil Committees.
A fresh start with a new Constitution
It is time for a fundamental review of our Constitution, by the people to whom it belongs.
Labour will initiate a Constitutional Convention, a coming together of all strands of Irish society to rewrite our Constitution. The Constitutional Convention would include experts and specialists, but would also include individual citizens, chosen to serve in much the same way that we choose juries.
This Constitutional Convention would have an open mandate, meaning that no part of the 1937 Constitution would be exempt from consideration, and that the Convention would be free to draw on ideas and proposals that stretch far beyond that document. Thirty of its members would be drawn from the Oireachtas, 30 members would be people with relevant legal expertise and members of civil society organisations, and 30 would be ordinary citizens, chosen by lot. Its mandate would be to review the Constitution and prepare a draft Constitution within a year.
Culling the quangos
Non-Commercial Semi-State Bodies or quangos have mushroomed in recent years. Labour is concerned about the value-for-money being achieved by these bodies and by the lack of accountability associated with them. The Comprehensive Spending Review and Waste Audit will include a full evaluation of all quangos, with each body being required to justify its continued existence outside of its parent department. Remaining quangos will be required to be properly accountable to the Oireachtas. Labour is proposing a series of amalgamations of quangos relating to utilities regulation, equality, industrial development and broadcasting that will both save money and achieve greater policy coherence.
TDs to spend longer hours in the Dail
TDs are elected to legislate and to hold the govt to account, and I believe they should be doing that more of the time. Labour is proposing changes that will bring about a 50 per cent increase in Dáil sitting days. Dáil Éireann will in future meet four days a week. There will be a summer recess of just six weeks and significantly reduced breaks at Christmas and Easter. We will abandon the practice of providing a ‘mid-term break’.
The Dáil will be made more effective and more democratic through reforms that give opposition TDs and backbench government TDs more power to propose and scrutinise laws.
Elected representatives will have stronger powers to hold government, and publicly-funded state bodies to account.
Protect whistleblower’s who expose corruption or misconduct
Transparency is one of the most powerful weapons against corruption. It is far better to prevent corruption at source, rather than having to painfully clean up its consequences. Labour will introduce Whistleblower’s Protection legislation to safeguard an employee who reports misconduct from losing their job, or being otherwise penalised, to encourage greater transparency, both in the public service and in private institutions such as banks.
Knocking on doors, and walking down streets, it is clear to me that people are hungry for change. Labour alone has the record and experience to ensure that they can deliver the change people want in politics, government and public administration.
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