To Serve and Protect: The Case of the Dáil 'Gatecrasher'

"Iceland is a country with a banking system attached. In contrast, Ireland is a banking system with a country attached to it"

So says David McWilliams in a piece he penned a while back, contrasting the response of the Icelandic government with that of their Irish counterparts; in terms of their response to the impact of the meltdown of the global financial system on both countries.

When presented with the bill the Icelandic government put the issue to the people in a referendum. This week the Irish government revealed the likely 'final' cost of bailing out Anglo-Irish Bank. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan was reported as saying:

"Yes, of course, these figures are horrendous, but they can be managed over a 10-year period." - Irish Independent, 1/10/10. 

There was no talk of a referendum and the prospect of one seems remote; unless an election is called and that election becomes an effective referendum on the present government's performance and the future approach to take.

Another event took place this week which more dramatically illustrates the contention that 'Ireland is a banking system with a country attached.' During a protest outside the gates of Dáil Éireann an incident occurred with resulted in the arrest of a truck driver (later described as a property developer with unspecified grievances against Anglo-Irish Bank). The truck was emblazoned with various slogans describing Anglo-Irish Bank as a 'toxic bank'.

It is not clear the precise nature of the offence, if any. Initial reports suggested that he attempted to crash the gates of Dáil Éireann. There were even reports (which some have ascribed to Fine Gael TD, Phil Hogan) "that one garda had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the oncoming truck" - implying of course that lives had been endangered by such an act.

In subsequent reports however this has been downplayed to the suggestion that he merely:

"drove the cement lorry ... up against the Leinster House gates ... just hours before TDs were due to begin the new Dail term. The vehicle was travelling slowly and a small amount of paint damage was caused to the gates." - Irish Independent, 30/9/10

The protestor was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. There has been much comment and comparison in the media between this treatment of a protestor, who has been charged with criminal damage, and the fact that those who have bankrupted the country are walking free.

In court on Friday the man's solicitor, Cahir O'Higgins told the judge that his client very much protested his innocence citing his constitutional right under "Article 40.6.1 to express freely his convictions and opinions." (Irish Times, 1/10/10)

The Irish Independent provided the fullest coverage of the court proceedings:

Sgt John Egan, presenting, said the gardai agreed to bail for Mr McNamara on two conditions -- that he stay away from Anglo Irish Bank headquarters on St Stephen's Green and that he not come to the unfavourable attention of the gardai. 

However, the judge demurred from the first condition, saying that anyone going to any bank must go "lawfully and not commit any offence". 

The judge agreed with Mr O'Higgins to further clarify in the bail conditions that Mr McNamara should not come to the "unlawful" attention of the gardai. - Irish Independent, 1/10/10

There a couple of questions arising out of this affair that have much deeper ramifications than parking violations and public order.

Why did the prosecuting Garda only request that the defendant (Mr McNamara) stay away from the HQ of Anglo Irish Bank? The incident occured outside the headquarters of Irish democracy - Dáil Éireann. If the behaviour on that occasion was threatening or violent then it is tantamount to an assault upon democracy and the foundations of the Irish state. Prosecution should proceed from this standpoint.

What does it reveal when terms like 'unfavourable attention of the gardaí' are clarified in favour of 'unlawful attention'? The stated mission of An Garda Síochána is 'Working with Communities to Protect and Serve'.

Some of An Garda Síochána’s core functions include the detection and prevention of crime; ensuring our nation’s security; reducing the incidence of fatal and serious injuries on our roads and improving road safety; and working with communities to prevent anti-social behaviour, promote an inter-agency approach to problem solving and improve the overall quality of life. - from the website of An Garda Síochána.

On the surface, all of these are very laudable objectives; so in a normally functioning society unfavourable attention and unlawful attention of such a force would be tantamount to the same thing. In the instance of Mr McNamara and Anglo-Irish Bank however, a judge has ruled that this is not the case. Think about it!

Another apparent irony is that, in this instance An Garda Síochána seem to have placed the safety and security of Anglo-Irish Bank above the safety of their own membership. There was no report of Mr McNamara being charged with endangering the life of a Garda which, according to some reports did occur. Assaults, or even the threat of assault upon members of An Garda Síochána are generally taken very seriously by law enforcement authorities in Ireland; often pursued with much more vigour than attacks against ordinary civilians.

Although Anglo-Irish Bank is now nationalised it widely perceived as a weight around the collective neck which threatens to sink us all. How can it suggested that the security of such an institution is more important than the security of Dáil Éireann which still serves some function in Irish life?

But then that would not be surprising if you take the view that Ireland is a banking system with a country attached.

Copyright © Oscar Ó Dúgáin, 2010

NAMA and the Demise of the Political Class

Newspaper reports suggest that embattled Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan came out fighting in the past week, strongly defending his proposed National Assets Management Agency (NAMA) legislation and criticising opposition party, Fine Gael's alternative proposals.

In comments attributed to him he suggested that Fine Gael's policy on NAMA could have "catastrophic consequences for both the banks and the State ." - Irish Times, Thursday, August 27, 2009. (My italics). Exactly what those catastrophic consequences might be hasn't been spelt out. Nevertheless, the comments themselves are at least revealing about the current political climate.

Most people in Ireland would probably react to a statement like that along the lines of: 'So the consequences will be catastrophic for the banks and the state, but the rest of us should be alright, right?' The rest of us being those whose jobs, careers, prospects or livelihoods aren't directly connected with the industries of banking or government!

Of course there are those who will argue that we're all dependent in some way on banking or on government, whether as tax payers, mortgage holders, debtors etc but it is an argument that is specious at best. All of us depend on the agricultural sector for the food we put in our mouths (and everyone eats don't they?) but when is the last time you heard of farmers seriously holding the whole country to ransom? I mean to the point of threatening to sink us all?

The mystery that needs untangling is why nobody seems able, or willing to put aside sectional differences, to come forward with a plan that ensures the national survival of the Irish people as a whole, not just those whose jobs are based on banking or government. In other words all of us, including them, but also - the rest of us. I say this because, on the face of it at least, the way the issues stands now, it really does seem to come down to a matter of national survival.

I'm not suggesting that those in political and governing circles don't 'care' the nation's interests. Certainly they would have a sense of the national interest as everyone does. The problem is that, for most people (all of us if we are to be honest), defining the national interest invariably begins by looking at it in relation to one's own immediate interests followed by the interests of your closest circles.

The banks believe that if they go down, we'll all go down with them and they seem to have been successful in converting the Government to this view. But there are others who disagree. David McWilliams, one of the first advocates and possible author of the bank guarantee scheme, has since come out against NAMA:

"The banks are now the biggest liability we have and keeping them alive at all costs - which was, on balance, the right thing to do a few months ago - is beginning to look like the least beneficial route. ...The banks are still giving the State the two fingers. Having both the NAMA and the guarantee gives absolutely no incentive for the banks to get their house in order." - Banks giving us two fingers don’t deserve State bailout

Someone else who threw his hat into the ring recently is former Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald. In fact he came out against his own party's proposals in an article entitled Government must not fall until crucial measures implemented - Irish Times Saturday, August 29, 2009.

"Responsible opposition is vital if the State is to be kept out of the IMF’s hands" he chides before warning:

"No worse fate could befall an opposition than to precipitate themselves into government by defeating measures, the rejection of which could throw our State into the hands of the IMF."

In any case:

"One can readily imagine the relief many in government might feel at finding themselves freed of their responsibilities in circumstances that could then provide them with an unexpectedly good chance of returning to power if their successors failed to resolve the situation."

For Garret FitzGerald the issues seem to boil down to a vague sense of national pride muddled with the survival of the political establishment to which he belongs, and which almost seem to represent a class of its own these days.

If the IMF do become involved, they will seek to implement very drastic measures, affecting every aspect of economic activity and social life in the country. Furthermore, they are far enough removed not to care too much about you and me. You only have to look to other countries to see what they are capable of. Many will face ruin, some in terms of their actual livelihoods, others in terms of their political careers. The latter however are the ones with the connections so they'll probably come out it all a lot better than most.

Garret FitzGerald sounds like the voice of a section of the Irish political class, whose main concern is: 'Either we implement the measures demanded or some outsiders will come in and do it for us, casting us aside in the process'. That would be humiliating, but humiliating for whom and is this type of humiliation really the worst of what is in store?

The argument seems to be that our own, homegrown political class would be more caring and protective than the IMF, that they would represent the best shelter in the present storm but where is the evidence for this? What can they do to save us, assuming that they are motivated by something purer than simply trying to save themselves?

At moments of crisis thoughts turn to survival but is it the survival of the entire nation or merely the political survival of a small few? If it is the case that the political class are desperately trying to cobble together a strategy to save themselves, one feels nevertheless that it's already too little, too late. The stakes have become much bigger.

The economic base, upon which the political foundation rests, has become seriously eroded in a very short space of time. Should the political class find a way to harmonise their tune to the IMF's hymn sheet, this in all probability will not reverse, but actually accelerate the trend towards national decline and ultimate extinction. It's like a servant trying to serve two masters. It's bound to end in tragedy.

This could be what is meant by "catastrophic consequences for both the banks and the State" in the comments attributed to Brian Lenihan.

But the question still remains - and what about the rest of us?

Copyright © Oscar Ó Dúgáin, 2009