The Sunday Business Post The Sunday Business Post 12 The crash: the legacy September 23, 2018 September 23, 2018 The crash: the legacy 13

FACING DISASTER: not until after our economy foundered, and nearly sank, did we discover that there was no captain guiding the ship long-running failure to provide ade- Te economic crash a decade quate social and affordable housing is being reinforced by a deep distrust in state’s competence and bona fides on the ago was painful enough in its issue. In the US and Britain, a similar phe- nomenon saw angry expression at the own right. But its after-effects ballot box, bringing Donald Trump to power and Brexit to Britain. and the way it was dealt Yet the two seminal votes in Ireland in recent years were not elections, and were not angry. Te huge endorsements with created a loss of faith in for marriage equality and for abortion rights were votes that bucked the trend Ireland’s ruling elites in recent international elections: they were optimistic and generous, and based on trust. Tere is other data to support this have been caused by an excess of trust: story of an Ireland that is hopeful and through ten years of almost-uninterrupt- open, rather than distrustful. In 2008, ed economic growth accompanied by Ireland was ranked by the UN as the soaring growth in property prices, peo- fifth-best place in the world for “hu- ple had come to trust that prices would man development”. Today, it is ranked continue to go up. Tere was no basis for fourth-best. Ireland has the sixth-high- that trust and so, when the shock came, est level of life satisfaction in the EU it evaporated. Te trust of the markets in (according to Eurostat), is the 14th hap- Colin Murphy the banks went first, followed by the trust piest country in the world (according in the state that had backed the banks. to the World Happiness Report), and he word “credit” comes And with that went the trust of the is the second-most accepting country from the Latin “crede- people: in the banks; in the institutions for migrants in the EU, after Sweden re” – to believe. To loan of state that were supposed to oversee the (according to the Gallup World Poll). someone money, you banks; in the government and the polit- So the story is not as neat as one might need to believe they’re ical system that designed and oversaw like. A country that has huge cause going to pay you back. those institutions; and, most dangerously, for social and political fragmentation, Te economy runs on in the fairness of our state and system. and shows some evidence of having trust. Ten years on, Ireland is still haunted by suffered this, is also a country that September ten years ago, the mar- that collapse in trust. Elsewhere, a similar often appears unusually confident and Tkets lost trust in Wall Street’s investment loss of trust (though with distinct origins) open. banks, fearing hidden exposures to losses is crippling politics and threatening the Tat confidence is social, not polit- on the sub-prime property market. cohesion and stability of the social-dem- ical: it is striking how rarely the two Loss of trust is contagious: not simply ocratic state and the liberal international From left: Brian Cowen, referendum successes have been at- because the financial problem may be order. Trust is always a defining feature Brian Lenihan, Michael tributed to political action, and how widespread, but because, in an environ- of our economics; distrust has become Fingleton, Seán FitzPatrick, commonly they are attributed almost ment where other people are becoming a defining feature of our age. Sean Quinn David Drumm exclusively to civic activism, the result less trusting, and calling their loans in, it and John Hurley of protest, not politics. (Tey were the is rational to do the same – and do so first. result of both.) Te political system All that year, Anglo Irish Bank had been Te trust gap deserved more credit than it got; else- struggling to keep the trust of the mar- Te nadir came in October 2010, when where, it often gets more abuse than kets, resorting to schemes subsequently the markets finally and definitively lost it merits. judged illegal (the “Maple 10” loans and trust in the Irish state, and the people In part, that’s the nature of public de- the Irish Life & Permanent fraudulent lost trust in their government. bate. But it is also likely to be a legacy of deposits) to prop up the share price and Tat month and the following month, A MATTER OF TRUST a crisis recovery that, even as it sought bolster its accounts. In late September, as Ireland entered its bailout programme, also displayed the lowest levels of trust On the global index, Ireland is fourth Public servants and union officials had responded to Brian Lenihan’s Octo- erty line, experiencing anchored income the Sunday Business Post/Red C poll had In this, the loss of Brian Lenihan jr (nowadays active on Twitter). In the abolition of the Seanad, when the elec- to protect aggregate living standards, following the collapse of Lehman Broth- the public relations firm Edelman con- in its banks, which had a trust rating of from bottom in this year’s barometer. It believed themselves to be outside of the ber 2008 call for senior officials to take poverty. (Except where stated otherwise, Fianna Fáil eight points above Fine Gael. was acute. As his former colleagues ei- blog’s final post, in 2013, he or she paid torate rejected what were portrayed as imposed the burden unfairly on some, ers, that trust finally disintegrated. ducted the research for its annual “trust an extraordinary 6 per cent.) has been close to the bottom every year mania and extravagance of the private pay cuts by volunteering a cut of 10 per the data here is from the book Debating A month later, their positions had been ther went to ground or sought to remake tribute to the reputed honesty and dil- power grabs by the government. Ten, exposed the existing unfairness in Irish Fearing that the contagion from an barometer”, which would be published Trust in government here has re- since 2011. sector-led boom, even as they fought cent. When I was researching the bank Austerity in Ireland.) reversed. Fianna Fáil has not since come themselves as social justice activists, igence of Nama’s staff, but pointed out in the 2016 election, an unprecedented society, and often cloaked its action in Anglo collapse would take the other the following January. Edelman surveys covered somewhat since. In this year’s In addition, a “trust gap” has opened to keep their terms and conditions up guarantee, senior officials praised his From 2008 to 2013, Irish incomes fell out ahead. In October 2010, as the bailout Lenihan’s death in June 2011 deprived that this lack of transparency meant that 18 per cent of voters rejected the parties lies and secrecy. Irish banks (AIB and Bank of Ireland trust in 23 rich countries annually, under barometer (based on fieldwork last No- up. What Edelman calls the “informed to speed with those in the private sector. commitment and work rate. He himself by 13 per cent on average, in real terms loomed, Labour overtook Fianna Fáil in the Irish political system of perhaps the it was impossible to know if Nama had for independents, and distrust among Irish society and politics have not in particular) down with it, and lacking four headings – government, business, vember), it reached 35 per cent, a similar public” (college-educated and high- Tose in the NGO sector saw themselves described the work of those officials that – but for the poorest decile, they fell by the polls, and remained ahead until after one person who had the ability to keep done a good job. the small parties and independents of fractured in the way they have in Brit- the information, expertise or experience NGOs and the media – which it then level to that in Britain and the US. er-earning) is more trusting than the as honest brokers, despite having partic- managed the crisis response as “heroic”. over 20 per cent. Te fall in income after the 2011 general election. the system honest, because he was the In the absence of hard evidence, many the left undermined any attempt to ain or the US. Tere is no ascendent to challenge the presumption that the aggregates in a global index. In the meantime, however, trust in mass population by ten percentage ipated in a partnership mechanism that But Hurley was the man at the apex of housing costs is even starker: the poorest It was clear from late 2008, thus, that one person willing and able to take credit assumed the worst. Nama’s secrecy fu- form a coherent left-wing bloc in the populism, nativism, authoritarianism other banks were good, Brian Cowen and Te collapse of trust in the government the Irish media has tanked. In last year’s points. (Tis trust gap is worst in the US blunted public criticism of government the banking system as it hurtled towards decile experienced a fall of 27 per cent, the next government would be led by for policies that were – at the macroeco- elled a belief that bankrupt developers Dáil (or even in government). or anti-immigrant sentiment. Brian Lenihan placed the reputation of in late 2010 drove Ireland to the bottom of barometer, only Turkey had a lower rate and Britain, where it is almost 20 points.) and guided public spending to cata- implosion. His volunteered 10 per cent compared to an average of 15 per cent. either Fine Gael or (less likely) Labour; nomic level, at least – working. were getting off scot-free, and that Ire- Tis distrust came to a head in the But we are not magically immune to the sovereign behind the banks. Trust us, the 23-country scale on Edelman’s 2011 of trust in the media. Tat has improved So not merely do we have a crisis of strophically unsustainable heights. salary cut was itself the equivalent of (Tese figures are from the ESRI working the only question was, what would that land was being sold for a song to for- water protests, when resistance to a those trends, and the lower the trust in they said to the markets, our banks are barometer, both for trust in government in the year since, but Ireland still has the trust in our institutions, it is being ex- And then there were the real outsiders the average industrial wage. To those paper Te Great Recession, Austerity and government do differently? eigners, all either through neoliberal de- new austerity charge and a widespread our political system and institutions, good (or we’ll make them so). (which was just 20 per cent) and global seventh least-trusted media of the 23 acerbated by a divergence between the – the plain people of Ireland. Te political whose prospects of earning even that Inequality.) Te answer came in both the tone Getting away with it sign or intrinsic national incompetence. cultural belief in “free water” were re- the easier those forces will find it to Te banking crisis could be said to trust. (A special survey found that Ireland countries surveyed. trust levels of those on the inside and genius of Fianna Fáil was that, for a time, had suddenly disappeared, this was a Tis inequality was nudged on by suc- and the substance of Fine Gael and La- As austerity ground down the people, Distrust remained endemic – and often inforced by the thesis that the introduc- gain a foothold. Te recovery is ongo- those on the outside. it made them insiders: the Celtic Tiger, strange kind of heroism. cessive budgets. Te budgets from 2009 bour’s rhetoric. Michael Noonan was a particularly the economically vulnerable, justified. tion of water charges was a right-wing ing: the long game is the restoration of and the construction boom in particular, Four months after Lenihan’s call, just 25 to 2016 imposed losses in income of, on persistent and trenchant critic of Brian and the political system betrayed them conspiracy to impose a regressive tax, trust. COMMERCIAL PROFILE: CODEC drove jobs and income into families and senior officials had responded (according average, under 10 per cent. Te hardest hit Lenihan jr’s financial policy, advocating with false promises, the financial system to privatise Ireland’s water. No insiders, only communities that had never before had to Sarah McInerney in the Sunday Times; was the top income group, who suffered repeatedly that losses be imposed on compounded the damage done by the Te voters bite back Tis pattern is being replicated with Colin Murphy’s two-part dramatisation of outsiders such security. the 15 departmental secretaries general an income loss of just over 14 per cent. Anglo’s bondholders. banking crash by rebuffing pressures for Tis distrust spilled over in two referen- housing, where anger at the enduring the crisis period, Te Bailout, airs on Virgin And so, when the crash came, these had each previously agreed to a cut). But the next hardest hit was the bottom Eamon Gilmore led the charge for a transparency and accountability. dums, on Oireachtas inquiries and the impact of the crash and at the state’s Media One tomorrow and Monday week Tis division, between insiders and out- people were embraced as insiders, and Te judiciary, too, was laggardly about income group, which took a hit of almost fairer Ireland. As the election loomed, Investigations into what happened at Codec: Staying footloose and siders, was one of the salient themes of enfolded into the blame. volunteering for pay cuts, provoking Alan 13 per cent. (Source: the ESRI publication, Gilmore declared that, in government, it Anglo Irish Bank proceeded at an ex- the crisis. But the extraordinary thing Commentators lamented that the Shatter to run a successful referendum to Distributional Impact of Tax, Welfare and would be “Frankfurt’s way or Labour’s cruciatingly slow pace, and failings at about the Irish crisis – or perhaps it is a country had lost the run of itself. Middle- allow cuts to be imposed upon them. In Public Service Pay Policies: Budget 2016 way”. the Office of the Director of Corporate feature of Irish identity – is that almost class people scoffed at the vulgarity of the meantime, 85 per cent of the judges and Budgets 2009-2016.) Leo Varadkar said the banks would get Enforcement contributed to the collapse fancy-free with BYOD everybody perceived themselves to be the oversized televisions, foreign holidays had taken cuts, but they nonetheless Te impact on these families is cap- “not another cent” unless they imposed of the trial of Seán FitzPatrick. on the outside. and – God forbid – holiday apartments opposed the referendum. tured in a metric known as “economic losses on their senior bondholders. Ruairí he popularity of Brian Cowen, as Bertie Ahern before Quinn signed a pledge not to introduce bring your own de- him, cast himself as an unadorned every- third-level fees (every bit as cynical a vices (BYOD) within man, an outsider to the world he inhab- An unfair fallout promise as Fianna Fáil’s 1987 election companies is growing, ited, more comfortable in the pub than in Te faultline here was the issue of “fair- refrain of “Health cuts hurt the old, the T offices of state. He once said he’d learned ness”. None of these people had caused sick and the handicapped”, which was and for good reason. Since personal devices like smart- more behind the bar counter than in the crash. Each of them had legal and, promptly followed, post-election, by Ray phones are now ubiquitous, college. (Both men invoked Fianna Fáil’s arguably, moral entitlements to the pay MacSharry’s swingeing austerity). many people feel comfort- paradoxical identity as both outsiders and benefits that had been promised to In their subsequent programme for able using them and are like- and the natural party of government.) them, and for which they had worked. government, the two parties declared a ly to stick to the services that Seán FitzPatrick and David Drumm Having these removed, they believed, “democratic revolution” had taken place. Lenihan’s they’re familiar with. saw themselves as outsiders in the re- You couldn’t would be “unfair”. Te crash had Te election marked, indeed, a revolution Yet that creates potential fined world of Irish banking. In Follow But the crash had exposed a great seam in personnel. Political analyst Gerard death deprived risks for companies, espe- the Money, David McWilliams recounted go around of inequality running through Irish soci- exposed a Howlin has calculated that it saw the cially around the subject of a conversation he had with FitzPatrick in giving nurses ety, which the boom had papered over. great seam of third-largest turnover of parliamentary the political sensitive data and security. November 2008: “Tose establishment Te salaries and benefits of the public seats in any western democracy since system of the If you can strike a balance fuckers and Bank of Ireland have been and teachers sector elite were now revealed to be inequality in World War II. But that revolution must between accessibility and running our country before we came grossly out of line with the expectations have also been one of the most conser- one person security, you can have the along, and those fuckers are not going houses, one of the vast majority of the country. Te Irish society, vative, and most disingenuous. Because it best of both worlds. to bring me down,” FitzPatrick told him. multiplier between the income of those became immediately clear that the new with the ability “Usually, the main con- “We are the outsiders, and this is our senior banker on the average wage, or on welfare, and which the government’s primary policy would be cerns are making sure that moment.” those at the top suddenly seemed im- to continue on the path set by its pre- to keep the all users use the sanctioned Te state’s top finance officials project- told me after moral. boom had decessor. ed an image of themselves as hard-work- In 2008, seven out of ten Irish people It was telling that Brian Lenihan jr had system honest apps so they have secure ac- Leonardo Felippine, Cloud and Platform Consultant, Codec the crash papered over cess to company data,” said ing, honest folk, outsiders to the Byz- believed that wealth was unfairly dis- been the sole Fianna Fáil TD returned in Leonardo Felippine, Codec’s Te difference between Codec when they have that antine world of high finance. (Just 7 per tributed. By 2010, that had risen to nearly Dublin – on a respectable vote share of Senior Cloud and Platform the two is that MDM uses first meeting while others cent of the Department of Finance staff nine in ten. A study in 2014 found that 15 per cent. Despite being the principal Consultant. software that companies want to see how it can help had a master’s degree in economics, the more than eight in ten felt that income, architect of the austerity plan that had “You have to make sure can use to lock down, con- them deal with problems banking inquiry found. “Te econom- too, was unfairly distributed. (Tese stud- so damaged the country, Lenihan was that data is only accessible trol, encrypt and enforce like its workers accessing ics function was very, very small in the being bought by the working classes. ies were commissioned by the left-wing stress”, a measure of the capacity to cope widely admired for his willingness and Four bankers would ultimately be on the devices that users are policies on mobile devices. corporate data on their de- overall department,” the Department of You couldn’t go around giving nurses think tank Tasc.) with debt and financial demands. Levels ability to advocate for that plan, as well jailed for fraud at Anglo and Irish Life & allowed to access, while at MAM does the same thing, vices. Finance’s former chief economist, John and teachers houses, one senior banker Yet there was a problem with this sen- of economic stress in Ireland more than as for his courage in persisting with a Permanent. Ironically, their fraud was the same time making sure but only applies it to specific You have to make In either scenario, the McCarthy, told the inquiry.) ruefully told me after the crash, by way of timent: according to the economic data, doubled between 2008 and 2012. Te gruelling job in the face of what turned perpetrated in trying to save the bank. that if a device is lost or sto- applications related to the sure that data is problem of securing data Te country’s top builders liked to explanation for the banks’ mistakes (and Ireland did not seem to be getting less fair, greatest increases in economic stress out to be a terminal illness. Nobody would be prosecuted for the len or if the user leaves the corporation. and forming data policies portray themselves as self-made men in apparent ignorance of the fact that the or more unequal. Te standard measure were experienced by the “income poor” On April 6, 2011, in one of his final con- reckless lending that nearly destroyed the company, the data will no Codec has been busy in- only accessible on is a constant factor and as of modest stock, outsiders in the refined greatest damage was done to the banks of inequality, the Gini coefficient, has (the bottom 20 per cent) and the lower tributions to the Dáil, Lenihan assessed entire Irish banking sector, and ruined longer be accessible on that corporating Microsoft cloud technology changes, the ap- world of old money. Sean Quinn played not by retail lending, but by commercial). been largely unchanged across the past middle class (the middle 20 per cent). the new government’s supposedly-new countless lives, because reckless lending device. solutions into companies to the devices that proach adapts with it. poker nightly with old friends in Bal- “We all partied,” said Brian Lenihan jr. ten years: Ireland entered the crisis with Disguised by stable relative poverty banking strategy. Te new government isn’t a crime. “One of the main con- address multiple security “We do our best with the lyconnell for 50 cent stakes, in a house But “partying”, for many, amount- inequality levels close to the European rates and Gini coefficients (the most had created a “narrative” that suggested AIB, which initially cost the state €20 cerns is making sure that concerns, including BYOD. users are allowed solutions that are available to “where you have to go out into the front ed to simply having a steady job with average, and exited the crisis in a sim- common way of measuring inequality), it had “a radical new policy, different to billion (much of which will be recovered, we have it set up in a way One recent example was to access make sure they’re secure,” street to go to the toilet”, he told reporters. a half-decent income, the prospect of ilar position. Rates of relative poverty Irish families that were already poor or the mistakes of its predecessors,” he said. in time) commissioned a series of reports that will secure access to with a major health clin- he said. “Te responsibil- Yet for his daughter’s wedding in 2007, a mortgage, the possibility, even, of remained pretty steady. marginalised, or were hit by unemploy- “In fact, it is the same policy and is the on what went wrong, but didn’t publish corporate data while still ic, where it implemented from there on, we put it into ity also relies on the users a wedding cake was flown in from New sending children to college or helping Te constant indignant protests that ment, suffered greater hardship. One correct one.” them. Bank of Ireland appointed one allowing users to use their Microsoft’s Intune for 200 production for everyone.” to make sure their devices York at a reported cost of €1 0 0 , 0 0 0 . them get their own home. “Partying”, for Ireland was deeply unfair tended to ig- measure of this was in the psychological Lenihan was vindicated: the policy, of the members of its boom-era senior devices for their personal people. One of the reasons why aren’t unlocked or that they Tere was a triumphalist outsider many, meant, for the first time, having nore the fact that the Irish welfare system and emotional welfare of children. enhanced by refinements and reforms team, Richie Boucher, as its new chief ex- data and not prevent them “Usually, we show the cli- Intune is used by Codec is share devices with someone touch to the act of Derek Quinlan and middle-class expectations. And when did huge work in redressing inequality. In a study on child poverty reported in secured by the new government, and ecutive. By the time the banking inquiry from working. It needs to be ent what Microsoft’s securi- its ability to help users be else. Terefore, everyone friends upon buying the Savoy hotels those expectations proved unsustainable, Before taxation and social transfers, Ire- Debating Austerity in Ireland, 7 per cent massively boosted by the quick returns reported, seven years after the guarantee, balanced between security ty solutions are capable of as productive as they can, needs to be aware. group in London, when they ran the tric- middle-class people laughed. land has the highest income inequality of children in families that were not eco- to growth in Britain and the US, saw its report was largely irrelevant. and usability.” and then we start to work to- while ensuring that they are “Our journey is always olour up the flagpole at that bastion of the In the meantime, the insiders fought in the EU; redistribution reduces that to nomically vulnerable were found to have Ireland emerge successfully from the Tat Irish banking culture remained For Codec, a full-stack gether to define a policy that well-protected. evolving so every now and British establishment, Claridge’s Hotel. amongst themselves as to who were the an average level of inequality. socio-emotional problems. For families bailout, avoiding the second bailout most unreformed was revealed by the track- solutions company which will work for their business," As it’s part of Microsoft’s then, there are new features Te country’s largest-selling and most real insiders, and resisted taking blame But these broad statistics obscured the that became economically vulnerable commentators had anticipated, and re- er mortgage scandal, which saw tens spends a great deal of time said Felippine. “We consider Enterprise Mobility Suite, it that might be useful for influential newspaper, the Sunday Inde- or pay cuts till those others did too. Te detail of how the crisis and response were during the recession, this rose to 12 per turning rapidly to growth and near-full of thousands of customers done over with its clients on this sub- how users use their devices means that the company is some companies so we let pendent, thrived on an image of itself as rot seeped out from the top, as a gener- affecting poorer families. Relative pov- cent. For families that were economically employment. by banks that placed them on higher ject, there are some im- and what kind of devices are well versed in how it fits in them know that something an outsider to the cosy consensus of the ation of executives and officials retired erty is considered to be 60 per cent of vulnerable before the recession, and re- Yet the government’s attempts to take interest rates than they should have portant tools that help in in place. with the entire ecosystem they mentioned and wanted Dublin media. Ireland’s top commenta- or resigned with golden handshakes and the median income; if overall income mained so, this rose to 15 per cent. Such credit for this were undermined by the been on. this area of mobile device “From there, we set up the like Azure and Office 365. is available now”. tors portrayed themselves as outsiders boomtime pension packages. levels fall, then so does the threshold. trauma can have lifelong implications. dishonesty with which it had attained In the meantime, Nama paid €31.8 management. policies and then we create Te overall scope of pro- to the elite. Te Irish Times prided itself Te most egregious of those were in the People may be earning much less, but government in the first place, and by its billion for property loans worth a nom- Te main one is Micro- tests and a pilot group. We tection it offers fits in with To fnd out more about on having given voice to some of the private sector (such as the €30 million not be considered any poorer. own paradoxical situation of disavowing inal €74.4 billion, to become one of the soft’s solutions for device bring a number of different the ever-changing digital how you can fnd the right most percipient of those commentators, pension pot and €11,500 watch given to Tis is captured by what’s called the Te politics of responsibility for the policies that it had world’s biggest property agencies. De- and mobile application devices and different ver- landscape that businesses balance in your BYOD even as it made an enormous play on Michael Fingleton as thanks for destroy- “anchored” income poverty rate. In 2007, austerity ardently (and effectively) pursued. Tis spite its size and seminal import to the management - either by sions to make sure we can face, bringing both scale and strategy, register for our the housing market. David McWilliams ing a building society and torching €5.4 16.5 per cent of households were in rel- led, ultimately, to the disastrous decision Irish recovery, Nama consistently refused adopting an MDM (Mobile apply policies to all of them. flexibility together. webinar 'BYOD Security: championed his outsider status, even as billion of public money). ative income poverty. Five years later, In part, these economic effects were a to accelerate the wind-down of Nama, to reveal the details of its dealings, citing Device Management) or “Once the pilot is in place, Felippine mentioned that What are the risks and how the finance minister, Brian Lenihan jr, John Hurley, governor of the Central that rate was relatively steady. But taking direct consequence of the crash; in part, driven by a desire of the government to “commercial sensitivity”. MAM (Mobile Application we make any adjustments some companies already can they be mitigated?' at apparently had him on speed dial (while Bank at the time of the guarantee, retired the poverty line in 2007 as standard, and they were a consequence of the response take credit for dismantling the policy One of the agency’s best informed and Management) approach. that might be necessary and know what they want from www.codec.ie McWilliams advised him to introduce a with a payment of €525,000 and an an- adjusting for inflation, five years later one to that crash by successive governments. infrastructure it had inherited, instead most astringent critics was an anony- bank guarantee). nual pension of around €175,000. Hurley in four households was below this pov- Eight days before the bank guarantee, of taking credit for steering it to success. mous blogger known as NamaWineLake The Sunday Business Post October 28, 2018 Comment 21 Elaine Byrne Pat Rabbitte A weak response to a Why this presidential journalist’s brutal murder election was Ireland needs to do more after a pointless Jamal Khashoggi’s savage exercise torture and execution ’m glad Michael D Higgins changed his mind about seeking a second amal Khashoggi, a prominent journalist since the Washington Post columnist was killed do term as President of Ireland. Al- and critic of the Saudi government, was not contain a single reference to the high-profile though this was not his best cam- murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate Saudi insider turned critic of autocratic Crown paign, he nonetheless emerged head in Istanbul 26 days ago. Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Instead, Coveney and shoulders above the rest of the Te following is a necessary reminder appears to have largely washed his hands of the field. We have a strong record, since of what happened over the last month Khashoggi’s blood-curdling slaughter. the office was established, of candi- because the Irish government’s response Te minister has “raised” the matter with the dates of stature taking up residence in Áras to date resembles that of thin watery soup Saudi ambassador Nail bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir. Ian Uachtaráin. devoid of substance. Coveney expressed “the widespread shock caused A more lacklustre, uninspiring campaign J Te Kingdom’s initial explanation for his by the case”, but stuck rigidly to the line that “we than this one it is hard to remember. Hig- death - that he was killed in a “fistfight” - was still do not have all the facts of the case,” urging gins apart, none of the candidates presented so absurd that even Donald Trump called it out a “thorough, credible and transparent investi- as vaguely presidential. Worse still, they as “the worst in the history of cover-ups”. Tis gation”. Te minister has not deviated from this couldn’t get their heads around the role of public criticism by the American president is all line when questioned in the Dáil. the President. Articles 12 and 13 of Bun- the sharper given his public fawning over au- Contrast the condemnation expressed by reacht na hÉireann are not especially com- thoritarian regimes and devout admiration of the Merkel and May to the minister’s “concern”. plex, but the boundaries eluded the eager Saudi royal family and its extraordinary affluence. Te only reference to Khashoggi on the Twitter aspirants. Teresa May went as far as outright denun- feed of the minister or his department referred Te five also-rans are no doubt patriotic, ciation of Khashoggi’s death. Te British prime to the “concern” regarding the “disappearance” well-intentioned citizens. But why they minister told MPs last week: “I am sure the whole of Khashoggi. want to start in the Phoenix Park is puzzling. House will join me in condemning the killing of Te word “concern” does not quite appropriate- Jamal Khashoggi: is the Irish government’s reluctance to condemn his murder linked to trade? It is curious that the burning passion for Jamal Khashoggi in the strongest possible terms.” ly express the horror of the leaked audio recording public service has never driven any of them Her remarks echoed those of former foreign from inside the consulate which revealed that down before he was injected with a substance to because of our trade links to Saudi Arabia. Te to seek election to Dáil Éireann. secretary Boris Johnson who made comparisons Khashoggi’s fingers were cut off while he was held silence him. He was then lifted onto a meeting 2017 annual report of the Arab-Irish Chamber We have had a lot of po-faced tut-tutting between Khashoggi’s death and the Novichok table where he was beheaded, butchered and of Commerce records that Irish merchandise about democracy and the imperative for an nerve agent attack on Russian ex-spy Sergei Skri- dismembered with a bone saw. exports to the Kingdom in 2016 stood at €820 election and how commendable and brave pal and his daughter in Salisbury last March. In On Tursday, Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor million, making Saudi Arabia Ireland’s largest ex- it was to mount a challenge to the incum- his Daily Telegraph column, Johnson described was quoted in state media acknowledging that the port market in the Arab world. Indeed, this export bent. Indeed, in the final television debate them as “state-sponsored plots” designed to “send journalist’s murder was “premeditated”. Agnes relationship is by far the largest market for Ireland the candidates commended themselves a terrifying public warning” to opponents. Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur in this region of the world. Te combined Irish for their bravery in coming forward. Well, It is fair to say the Irish government’s statements on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary exe- exports to the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait and Lebanon all right, but wouldn’t foolhardy be a better usually compare favourably to the utterances by cutions told reporters at UN headquarters last do not rival those to Saudi Arabia. Tat trade will description? Donald Trump, Boris Johnson or Brexit-bewil- week that the Saudi journalist was the victim of significantly increase following a recently-signed Tis folly – before we come to hubris – dered Teresa May, particularly when it comes to Te word ‘concern’ an “extra-judicial execution” carried out by the agreement which will enable Saudi Arabia to derives from a misunderstanding of the international affairs. But has Tánaiste and Minister does not quite Saudi state. He also said the perpetrators “are high enjoy enhanced access to Irish beef. role of the presidency. By all means let us for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said enough enough to represent the state”. In his last ever column for the Washington exhort citizens of whatever provenance to about Khashoggi’s death? appropriately Why does the response by Ireland matter in Post, published after his brutal death, Khashog- contest Dáil or local elections to implement Ireland’s response is lacklustre compared with the grand scheme of things? It sends a message gi wrote: “Arab governments have been given their ideas and effect change. But the role our European neighbours. German chancellor express the horror that the brutal execution of journalists does not free rein to continue silencing the media at an of the President is distinctly and constitu- Angela Merkel has not only strongly condemned of the leaked audio deserve condemnation, even those with a 1.7 mil- increasing rate.” tionally different. Te President is Ireland’s the killing, but announced it would stop exporting lion-strong Twitter following and a byline in one Ireland is a small country on the international lead ambassador. He or she is Ireland’s first arms to Saudi Arabia. recording from inside of the most influential newspapers in the world. stage. Tat does not give absolution to Simon diplomat. Te President has a confined but In contrast, the 19 statements and speeches list- It suggests that the Irish government has ne- Coveney for his failure to categorically condemn definite constitutional role. ed on the Department of Foreign Affairs website the consulate glected to condemn Khashoggi’s murder perhaps the murder of a journalist. I know of no senior position that does not require an apprenticeship of relevance. How can someone with no relevant experience be reasonably expected to discharge the functions of the Presidency? Te muddled answers during the campaign to straightfor- ward questions about the few powers of the President highlighted as much. As head of state the President is expect- ed to engage with ambassadors and other Colin Murphy heads of state regularly. Te skills needed are those of the senior politician or legislator or of such other persons as are manifestly qualified. However, the public would need Peter Casey may have done to be convinced of the track record and suitability of the pop-up candidate before departing from the conventional route. Te proposition that candidates with no record of public service of any kind are Irish politics a service equipped to discharge the presidential role is questionable. What motivates someone with no record in public life to suddenly want to contest the top office in the land? By exposing ugly fissures in Irish At least one candidate in this contest has left the impression that he believed, having watched a wealthy businessman in the US society around Travellers and those on a recklessly disruptive platform improb- ably capture the White House, it could be on welfare, prejudice may become replicated in Ireland. Tis presidential campaign was not edify- ing and did not raise the spirits of the nation. more visible and easier to fight It is difficult to sustain the argument that the contest served any purpose. Perhaps it t was the worst election campaign in liv- fragmentation of politics, low trust in institutions. would have been worthwhile if there was ing memory, uninspired and dispiriting. It has not replicated the second half: no force has full-blooded participation by the political Te debates were tedious, the candidates yet emerged that poses a significant challenge to parties. Some people, especially young peo- tetchy, the issues mostly petty. the liberal, social-democratic consensus. But we ple, believe that 14 years is too long for any But if you thought that was bad, imag- are hardly immune. occupant of the office and that two terms of ine what it would have been like without If politics is viewed merely as entertainment, five years would be more appropriate. For- Peter Casey. it will be captured by people who are primarily mer President, the late Patrick Hillery, once Casey was a loose cannon: he provoked entertainers. Trump’s first success was to turn Peter Casey: the challenge is to prove him wrong remarked that the presidency was the only a useful questioning of Michael D Higgins’s use of US politics into a reality TV show, and then he position where, if the occupant is judged to Ipresidential resources, but his allegations were won the show. But if politics is not at all enter- ignorant stereotyping, it risks giving that bigotry Tis is something that western politics now have done a good job, he is in danger of be- scattergun and often unsourced. He appeared taining, it will be captured by technocrats, and oxygen. craves. Boris Johnson has it. Despite the media ing sentenced to a second term. refreshingly authentic, in that his speech was lose democratic legitimacy. Te challenge liberal Tis, I think, is the lesser evil. A political battle narrative that he is obsessed with spin, Leo Varad- It has to be said that Michael D Higgins free and relatively unfiltered, but this freed him democrats face - in the media as in politics - is was fought to win recognition for Traveller ethnic- kar has something of it too - which explains his sees it differently. One of the reasons he to make comments on Travellers that were ig- to steer a course between these two dangers, ity. But the wider battle to win poplar recognition unusually high personal appeal. is acknowledged to be a good President is norant and ugly. animating political debate without irretrievably and respect for Traveller culture and rights is on- Tere will be a Casey effect now. Some politi- that he so manifestly enjoys it. And for very For the media, Casey brought the whiff of dan- cheapening it. going. Tat battle won’t be won by liberals telling cians will conclude that playing the Trump card many years, as I know, he has wanted to be- ger that comes when somebody unpredictable, In Una Mullally’s oral history of the marriage people what they can’t say: it will only be won by works, and will set out to target vulnerable groups. come President. In 2004, he was determined untrained and relatively uncensored enters public equality movement, In the Name of Love, she hearing what opponents say and countering it. (I don’t think Casey did this, at least initially: to contest the then incumbent President life. His irascibility provided a vital counterpoint to quotes the journalist Diarmuid Doyle: “the media’s Casey was accused of playing the “Trump card”: he stumbled into his comments on Travellers McAleese. Contesting a popular incumbent the tone of pained self-importance that pervaded role, as it always is, is to find a row, encourage of deliberately exploiting prejudice (against Trav- 30 minutes into a 40-minute podcast; he was is not a promising enterprise. As Labour the rest of the campaign. Like him or loathe him, the row, report on the row, and then move on to ellers and welfare recipients) to create a wedge improvising, not strategic.) leader at the time I persuaded him to bide he made for compelling watching. In short, he the next row.” Te role of politics is to provide between a liberal elite and middle Ireland. But Others will conclude that they should simply his time, but he subsequently changed his was entertaining. the rows. it was a different facet of Trumpism that Casey feel freer to say what they think, and damn the mind. Tis prompted a week of media may- Tis goes to the heart of a complex challenge Ideally, those rows will be of substance. Tey primarily brought to this campaign: Trump’s begrudgers. hem where Labour TDs were challenged that faces advanced liberal democracies. Politics, will illuminate the core issues facing society. ability to speak without fear of censure and his Tis could lead to prejudice in Irish society to say whether they supported Michael D at root, is about two issues: security and the distri- Many of the rows in this campaign seemed trivial apparent willingness to say freely what he thinks. becoming more visible. Tat may be ugly, but Higgins or the party leader. Te national ex- bution of resources. When peace means the first and confected (none more so than the one over it may also make it easier to fight. It is easy, of ecutive decided narrowly against contesting is largely settled, and wealth makes the second participation in the debates), but the two key course, for me to say this; but it’s what Sinn Féin’s McAleese and, as a result, Higgins survived less contentious, people lose interest. rows that Casey sparked, on Traveller identity Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, himself from a Traveller to successfully contest in 2011. Te dispute Party membership and affiliation drop. Voter and on welfare, are deep fissures in Irish society. background, also said of Casey. “He may have done did not damage Michael D or our personal turnout drops. Politics becomes more technocrat- I disagree with him on both issues. I’d prefer us a service,” Mac Lochlainn told the Irish Times. relations, although it did damage my leader- ic. Tat makes it both more boring and more aloof. that they were settled. But they’re not. Given that, And it could lead to political debate becoming ship at the time. Tis drives a vicious circle. Turnout drops further. better that they be aired than ignored. Better to both more honest and more reflective of what or- Of course, it suited Fine Gael and Fianna When this happens, the system gets saggy: pol- know where Irish opinion lies on them than be dinary people think - which could lead to greater Fáil this time to conserve their treasury and icy may get more sophisticated, but the consensus surprised by it in an election where more is at levels of engagement. not contest a popular incumbent. However, underlying it (a consensus of both ideology and stake. Better to win the argument than simply Tere will be a Casey It could also, of course, catalyse a conservative if by common consent, the incumbent had of the rules of the game) gets complacent. Tat succeed in suppressing it (as was the implicit backlash against liberal elites, minority rights and done a good job what is the logic of contest- makes it vulnerable. intent of those who called for Casey to withdraw effect now. Some ‘political correctness gone mad’. But that’s the ing a pointless election? Elsewhere, this vulnerability has been exposed: from the campaign). politicians will danger of democracy: sometimes you lose the It will also be interesting to see if local liberalism is buckling, illiberal and sometimes an- Tere is a problem with this perspective, arguments. Te stakes are high. Peter Casey is a authority members decide to establish any ti-democratic forces are in the ascendant. Ireland though: it gives a licence to people like Casey conclude that playing valuable reminder. Te challenge is not to shut guidelines for the performance of their own has replicated the first half of this equation: falling to offend others. Instead of defending the right him up or shout him down; the challenge is to powers for future presidential elections. party affiliation and voter turnout, increasing of Travellers to not have to listen to bigotry or the Trump card works prove him wrong. The Sunday Business Post July 22, 2018 17 Comment Tom McGurk Jack Horgan-Jones Susan Mitchell Pat Rabbitte Trump has assaulted a Government has to act now Politicians must own their Unlike British bulldogs, great American myth p18 on Facebook p18 mistakes on health p19 Boris lacks teeth p19

The ‘bulletproof’ border backstop is making a no-deal Brexit more likely And yet, if the negotiations succeed, Tere are two salutary lessons from the backstop won’t be needed. And if the Peace Process here. Te most sig- the negotiations go badly for Teresa nificant is that of “process”. Both sides are standing on principle: the May, it is precisely those who were Brussels designed the sequencing most skeptical about the backstop (as of the Brexit negotiations to force ear- Boris Johnson was again last week in ly concessions from London - and, British on the integrity and indivisibility his resignation speech) who will likely arguably, to humiliate them. With find themselves in charge of imple- agreement reached early that move- menting it - or not. ment of people across the Irish border Colin of the Union, Brussels on the integrity and Or in other words: in the best-case would remain unimpeded, the prob- scenario, the backstop won’t be need- lematic aspect of the border became Murphy ed; in the worst-case scenario, the cross-border trade. Te idea that this indivisibility of the single market backstop won’t be honoured. could be adequately resolved before For all that, the idea of the backstop resolving the future trade relationship hen we talk When we talk about Brexit, we are text of the document, which was con- the United Kingdom; Brussels on the has, to this point, proved effective: it is an absurdity. about the talking about an end state, not a pro- tradictory (elsewhere, it said “nothing integrity and indivisibility of its single has driven the Irish border up the ne- Te process thus was designed to achievement cess: Britain will exit the European is agreed until everything is agreed”), market. gotiations agenda, drawing repeated achieve a particular, one-sided out- of peace in Union, definitively, on March 29, 2019. and from the reaction of Brexiteers, On Friday in Belfast, Teresa May assertions from London and Brussels come, rather than to build confidence the North, Tis is a problem. Because the con- whose interpretation diverged wildly reiterated that the UK could never ac- that they intend to protect the border in the process itself. A healthier pro- we still talk flicting visions of what that end state from Varadkar’s. cept “such a threat to its constitutional status quo and forcing London to make cess would focus on achieving agree- about the should entail are getting in the way of Brussels has insisted that the back- integrity”. significant concessions on trade, edg- ment where possible, and postpone the Peace Process - not simply about the the process of negotiation intended to stop must be codified within the In Brussels, meanwhile, Michael ing them towards a softer Brexit. seemingly intractable issues till later. WPeace. achieve it. withdrawal agreement; otherwise, Barnier gave a measured response to So the backstop idea has served a By then, they may have disappeared, Tis is revealing: though the aim was Te great paradox of the Brexit there will be no withdrawal agree- May’s White Paper: he welcomed the purpose. But continuing to press for it or may no longer seem so intractable. lasting peace, the method was to de- negotiations at present is that the ne- ment, no transition, and no future opening up of a “space for construc- to be codified in the withdrawal agree- Te second lesson from the Peace vise a process that could achieve peace gotiators are tasked with agreeing on trade deal - a no deal Brexit. Tis tive discussion” and lauded a “break- ment, absent agreement on the future Process is that of Articles 2 and 3. in the short-term while suspending an end-point to be arrived at if their is the “most difficult” problem the through” on fundamental rights and relationship, is now jeopardising the Tose articles were rooted in an hon- points of intractable conflict for tack- process fails. negotiators face, Michel Barnier has the role of the European Court of Jus- entire process. Perversely, the backstop ourable view of the origins of the ling later in the process. Tis is the “backstop”: the baseline repeatedly said. tice, but was sceptical on the customs could thus be the thing that makes a Northern conflict and were integral Twenty years on from the supposed agreement to keep the Irish border Te British have proposed a back- proposal, querying whether it was “le- harder border inevitable. to Southern nationalism. But they be- end-point, the Good Friday Agree- invisible, no matter what. Last Decem- stop that would effectively see the gally feasible”. came an obstacle to the resolution of ment, the process is still ongoing. Some ber, in the EU-UK Joint Report, Britain entire UK remain in the customs But he reiterated that what is most that conflict: their very presence thus of those issues are still intractable, but agreed that, failing an overarching union, pending the agreement of a urgent is the backstop, “an all-weather made the outcome they sought - a the peace has lasted. agreement on trade, it would maintain future trade deal that would preclude insurance policy” that will “protect peaceful reunification - all the more Some saw the Peace Process as a full alignment with EU trade rules that the need for an Irish land or sea bor- Ireland and Northern Ireland against unlikely. dishonesty, believing that the “process” “support North-South cooperation, the der. Brussels has rejected this, and the consequences of Brexit”. Te backstop is now playing an was essentially a bluff, a charade to all-island economy and the protection proposed a backstop that would ef- So there has been cautious progress analogous role. It is rooted in an hon- allow both sides to dissemble on points of the 1998 Agreement”. fectively see a customs border in the in the negotiations - progress that ourable defence of all-island interests of principle and make sordid compro- Leo Varadkar called this a “bullet- Irish sea. boosts the chances of a soft Brexit, Te backstop is and in the protection of the legacy of mises. proof” and “cast iron” commitment On the face of it, these positions are which is how Ireland will best be pro- the Peace Process. But the greatest Tere was some truth to that. But that there would be no hard border. irreconcilable. Both sides are standing tected. But the sticking point remains now playing an threat to those interests and that legacy the process was its own justification: it But it was immediately apparent that on principle: the British on the princi- the very thing the EU intends will pro- lies in a no-deal Brexit - and the back- worked. this was not the case - both from the ple of the integrity and indivisibility of tect Ireland - the backstop. ambiguous role stop is now making that more likely. Quotes of the week

“My job is to be “Today, I will have to “I want to see the “Who can admit to “I’m not doing this practical and tell my children, along assembly and the human frailty, who for politics. I’m realistic. Given that with all the children executive back, can apologise, mean doing this to do there is only €800 of Palestinian Arab taking decisions on it, and move on, this right thing for million to spend towns . . . that the behalf of all of the because that is what our country.” and there is a ratio state has declared that people of Northern real life is all about.” US president Donald of 2:1 and I don’t it does not want us Ireland. Tey DUP MP Ian Paisley Trump defends his threat have first dibs on here.” deserve no less.” apologises for his failure to to impose tariffs on all $500 billion-worth of everything.” Ayman Odeh, the head of the British prime minister declare two luxury holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan imports from China Minister for Social Joint List, a political alliance of Teresa May speaking in government Protection Regina Doherty four Arab-dominated parties Belfast at a pre-budget forum in Israel