Our party political system requires you to leave your conscience at the door
In less than two years’ time we will be commemorating the centenary of the Easter Rising, which for better or for worse, is recognised as a key historical moment which ultimately led to the Republic we now live in and the freedom we all enjoy. It is with a hint of irony and sadness, that almost 100 years later, the party political system which has dominated the Republic still does not allow its elected members the freedom to vote with their conscience.
Membership of our current party political establishment means that you must leave your conscience at the door, or face the type of boycott tactics that great Irish men such as Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt used to ostracise unscrupulous British landlords.
Exercise of one’s conscience within a political party system bears no resemblance to greedy landlords denying tenants and workers their rights, yet the punishment is the same.
If one member of a party honestly believes in the right to life of the unborn, but the other has profoundly different views, this should not mean that together they cannot work on other issues within the framework of a political party. It should not be the case that if agreement exists on the economy or healthcare or political reform that the expression of different views in voting on an issue of conscience would preclude working together as a cohesive unit.
Democracy for me is about persuading, not coercing. If your fellow party member cannot be persuaded of your conscientious view, then coercing them to hold that view is a much greater affront to democracy than a party which allows that member to maintain that view.
Social rights
It is not just social rights and justice norms that are changing in our fast moving society; it’s how quickly our trust in an institution – whether it is in business, public sector or charities – rapidly evaporates.
It was often said that the trinity of the Irish Republic was the Catholic Church, the GAA and Fianna Fáil. The multiple child abuse scandals and their handling by the hierarchy of the Church and the more recent economic collapse overseen by a Fianna Fáil administration means that, for many, only the GAA remains in that trinity.
The erosion of the so-called trinity of the Republic has led to a new generation, which I consider myself part of, that is deeply sceptical about all the pillars and institutions of the Irish state.
The civil service, the court system, the Dáil, Seanad, traditional party system, accountancy, legal and medical professions, trade unions, financial institutions, State agencies, schools, charities, establishment media and even the GAA are not off limits when it comes to considering the welfare of the Irish citizen.
The old party establishment hierarchy by and large is filled with members who question the institutions of our State. The problem is that the questioning by certain members on behalf of the citizen ultimately becomes stymied by a party whip system that will swallow them up until they rise to the top of the ladder and the cycle continues.
Catalyst
The Irish citizen would be much better served if the party establishment unshackled the chains of the party whip by completely reforming its application. It is of course necessary, particularly in the tradition of our parliament where a failed budget is deemed to lead to the collapse of a government, that for financial matters and matters of confidence a party whip is applied, but for all other areas this should not be the case.
My colleague Peter Mathews recently published a private members Bill which, if accepted by the Government, would force a referendum to amend Article 15 of the Constitution to read: “The Members of each House of the Oireachtas shall be representatives of the whole people, not bound by orders or instructions, and responsible only to their conscience.”
It may not be necessary to amend our Constitution to create a more independently minded member of the Oireachtas, but doing so could serve as a catalyst for change to our political culture.
Cultural rather than legal change is actually what is required to reform our whip system.
It is often said that a new political party in Ireland has no chance in the long term, because the larger parties would just steal its ideas.
While it may be the case that a new party may not stand the test of time, if a new party was established that provided for freedom of conscience and independence of mind and other political parties were to steal its clothes, in my view the very establishment of a new party would have served the Irish Republic for the better.
When Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin (Provisional), Green Party or the Progressive Democrats first started out, each of them had a binding core which brought about their establishment.
For Labour, it was the rights of the working man, for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, it was a common belief in a Republic, but a divided view on what form the Republic would take. Sinn Féin’s establishment was to provide a political voice to support the continuation of political violence.
The Green Party followed on from a European wide movement to protect the environment from industrialisation and the Progressive Democrats was to provide a more economically liberal society.
Contributions
With the exception of Sinn Féin, the other small political parties that have existed in Ireland’s short history have all contributed to a betterment of Irish politics and Irish society.
Ultimately, the smaller parties like the Progressive Democrats and Greens lost their way when they assumed high office, and indeed their clothes were ultimately stolen by the other parties, but that does not mean their core beliefs have not had a lasting legacy on reforming Irish politics and society.
The Irish electorate in every poll has shown clear support for their politician to be independent when representing them in the Oireachtas.
The economic collapse of the country, crises in Justice and Health and a sense of unfairness in the distribution of the economic recovery has seen a record breaking rise in support for independents and others in the polls.
Come general election time, the electorate should have a choice, so they can vote for a collective of independently minded politicians who champion freedom of conscience and have a clear coherentvision for the economy.
