Today is the 225th day that this government has been in power and although that is a drop in ocean in the normal five-year term, already it’s clear that this is an administration going nowhere fast.
The debacle over the rental strategy shows that the 32nd Dail is not working. A vital piece of legislation affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people is in gridlock.
At the time of going to press Fine Gael and Fianna Fail appeared to have reached a compromise, allowing the plan to be pushed through, but it’s the sort of legislation that is unlikely to do the economy any favours.
Rent caps are a bad idea, but with opposition parties having more of an influence on the legislative agenda than in any other Dail since the foundation of the state, Fine Gael had no choice but to compromise.
Fine Gael’s original proposal was to have the two pressure zones of Dublin and Cork included in the plan, which would be reviewed on a regular basis. Fianna Fail insisted that this be extended to include Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
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The suggestion from one Fine Gael TD — that if Simon Coveney, the housing minister, had put forward a 6 per cent cap on rent increases, Fianna Fail would be insisting on 4 per cent — had some merit.
The final complexion of the rental strategy will be shaped by so many compromises and so much horsetrading that it is quite likely the legislation will do more harm than good.
The notion of a Dail collectively deciding on legislation after a period of debate, consultation and amendments, sounds great in theory, but in practice, it isn’t working. Inevitably for all the parties so much is about positioning. But equally, how much of Fine Gael’s hard line on this issue is a determination to put down a marker, born out of frustration at the perception that Fianna Fail has been calling the shots for too long?
Every country needs a government that can make decisions. The paucity of legislation and decision making since last May shows that we don’t have that. A government that is 20 seats short of a majority is unworkable, particularly when a large chunk of the opposition on the left are virtually guaranteed never to vote with it.
The numbers are the main difficulty, but they’re not the only one. The government is led by a taoiseach whose authority has been hugely undermined by a disastrous general election. It’s clear that many of his own party want him to stand aside. There is no question of him leading Fine Gael into another election, yet he seems determined to dig in. To what purpose? While he has done the state some service during his tenure, the merits of a new face — with fresh energy and ideas — are obvious.
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The flakiness of some independents on the government benches is also an obvious weakness. Some have taken to government well. Others seem to yearn for the days when, as opposition TDs, they could always be on the side of angels —and at times still act as if they are. There is a sense that the government is always teetering on the edge of a new storm in a teacup and that impacts badly on its credibility.
It took four votes and 70 days to put this administration together, but there’s a strong argument that we were left with a government in name only. And given the challenges that the country faces, that isn’t good enough.
If the 32nd Dail isn’t working, then it’s best to start afresh with a general election rather than limp on without direction or authority.
The argument will be made that, given the fragmented nature of party affiliation, there would be no guarantee that an election would deliver a government capable of commanding a Dail majority. But given the experience of the past seven months or so, the outcome of both the election, and indeed government formation, may be very different next time around. It surely cannot be any worse than the current political and policy impasse.