Or the alternative title - The problem with voting for political dynasties, Opus Dei members and people who swing small implements around at councillor meetings…
“Oh Mary why don’t you have some sense? Please do something to restore my confidence”…or so wailed truthfully the Irish Band, ‘The Four of Us’. And it could have been probably written about a few ministers we know.
A lot of people in Ireland are against the idea of gender quotas in politics and I used to think the same. Critics would say, ‘well it should be the best person for the job’ or ‘why should women be put forward, why should they be singled out, isn’t it discrimatory? Bleeding fascist feminists looking for more, are ye not happy ye earn 70% to what a man earns in this country? Sure this equality lark is working out grand for ye. Put on the kettle there, will ye? Good girl!’
Well we had lots of so-called qualified and experienced people in the Dail and look where that got us: paying for all the crimes of the old boys club and their cohorts. In every Irish government dynasty politics was the status quo and no one openly criticised that until recently. However there is one problem voting for women in Irish politics and with damning evidence for the opposition to pounce on regarding the gender quotas argument. As the upcoming female representatives will show, these candidates were voted in by women and not only did they ignore their electorate but then with further betrayal they happily endorsed the rules of the old boys club. Here’s the roll call and in no particular order of unmitigating damage done: Mary Hanafin, Mary O’Rouke, Mary Harney,Mary Coughlan & Mary White.
Culprit no 1 - Mary Hanafin, former schoolteacher, preening daughter of conservative TD Des Hanafin. Known for her Opus Dei membership pro-life and conservative views and she was probably the girl at school who got all her Girl Guide badges (god I hate girl guides but that's another tale woe). In her time she did a brutal job as minster for social affairs getting rid of the Christmas bonus and cutting the payments all round and refused to support children with autism.
Conviction - Famously stuck to her guns contesting her seat in Dun Laoghaire and lost it but threatened like the terminator that she will be back. After a good self-flagellating, of course.
Mary O’Rourke - known as the ‘Mammy of the Dail’ and the eccentric and entertaining auntie of the failed minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and his kicked-in-the-head-as-a-child-startled-looking brother Conor Lenihan who also lost his seat. Mammy was the minister for Public Enterprise for encouraging privatisation of state- owned telephone company Eircom. When that failed, Mammy was handsomely rewarded with a seat in the Seanad.
Conviction – telling bedtime stories to little Conor and Brian about the good oul’ days of Fianna Fail yehaw!
Mary Harney- the worst of the Marys with her failure to improve the Irish health service. She was an easy target to caricature due to her size and her taste for excess. She had a good start in the 80s with banning the bituminous coal eliminating smog in Dublin city. However her turn as the Health Minister trying to manage the cumbersome HSE (Health Service Executive) went up in flames.
Her taste for the finer things in life at the expense of the ordinary taxpayer were well-recorded, she used a govt jet to open a friend’s off-license in Leitrim, then went on an infamous expenses trip to Florida purchasing unflattering haircuts and treatments (honey there ain’t enough money for...). Good at playing the bully as she was able to break the power of the pharmacists but couldn’t go after the real culprits, the pharmaceutical giants and their inflated costs until too late. She also made enemies of the Irish Nurses organisation and wanted nurses to do overtime for free. The minister certainly would not have tried the same bullying tactics with doctors.
Conviction – scarpered before the election but not before she was famously covered in red paint by Eirigi councillor Louise Minahan at the Cherry Orchard hospital for crimes against the health service.
Mary Coughlan - a popular minister for Agriculture and the farmers with her no-nonsense language (lots of swearing, tut, tut, etc) and again her dad and uncle were already in politics so you know the nepotism drill, etc.Her down-to-earth tomboy manner didn’t work with the businessmen (these guys never swear don't you know) when she took the role of Tanaiste and as the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment. Like many of those brought into politics because of family connections Mary soon fell afoul of the public. She also became an easy target of the media contributing gaffs by mixing up Darwin’s theory of Evolution to Einstein and saying to the international press:
'Emigration what emigration? Sure the young love a bit of travel. Oh there's a recession on? It's amazing what happens when you talk to a few people isn't it?'
Conviction – too light but a few science classes in her local community education class followed by an exam on Darwin and Einstein.
Mary White – token female Minister of the Green party and Minister for Equality (har di har). I heard her speech at the UCC women’s political representation in September 2010 where she entertained the audience of her time as a local councillor and her efforts to get speaking time. The former Minister made a device with a bell attached to catch the deputy’s attention at councillor meetings. For her time in the Dail she should have brought a catapult and a big rock as she acquiesced to cuts, approved the bank bailout and positively contributed... well feck-all, in office. Along with the rest of the party she voted for the cuts in the minimum wage affecting low-paid women workers and stated herself that she was against gender quotas.
Conviction – a keen hill walker she might get some fresh air and take a long walk off a short pier...
It’s hard to feel sorry for this lot, they walk off with big severance packages for the damage they have caused and it’s the ordinary woman that suffers from their cuts. So granted, the Marys haven’t advanced the cause of equality in Ireland but that’s not to say that gender quotas couldn’t work. Ireland is a corrupt country with political scandals leaking every day. Gender quotas introduced for a certain period can help change the old boys club and the greedy cronyism. The women listed above were voted in for every reason but gender quota implementation and they have created years of damage. Women candidates mobilised by their grassroots organisations using gender quotas can implement their electorate’s wishes then the objective of striving for fair, equal and better representation will have succeeded. If the electorate want to break cronyism then gender quotas is one of the best options for their future.
So if someone knocks on your door and they’re called Mary, do the follow: cross yourself (don’t say a hail Mary), eat some garlic and break into the well-known tune by ‘The Four of Us’.
Yeah that’ll work.
Mary Hanafin – payoff of €99K and a pension of €226K
Mary Coughlan – TD & Ministerial pension of €104K plus lump sum of €148K
Mary O’Rourke – initial payoff of €310K plus
Mary Harney – Lump sum payoff of €300K and a yearly Ministerial pension of €70K per year and TD’s pension of €50K
Mary White – lump sum payoff of €43,780 and a yearly pension of €7,514.00
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