My List of Private Members' Bills

If elected, I would be planning to introduce, or support the introduction by others, of Bills as follows (in order of priority):

• Burden-sharing (Personal Mortgages) Bill

  To relieve some borrowers of some liability for loss in value of mortgaged homes

• Banking (Criminal Offences) Bill

  To create the criminal offence of reckless lending , and similar

• Citizens Initiatives Bill

  To require the Oireachtas to debate legislation suggested by citizen petitions

• Voter Recall of Elected Representatives Bill

  To provide a mechanism whereby non-performing TDs can be forced to face a by-election by voter petition

• Electoral Amendment (Voter Write-In Options) Bill

  To permit voters to vote for options not on official ballot

• Public Service Pensions in Payment (Reform) Bill

  To provide for review of, especially, retired politician entitlements

• Prosecution of Offences (Amendment) Bill

  To provide for reform of public and private prosecution arrangements

• Medical Intervention in Pregnancies Regulation Bill

  To set regulations in this area implementing referendum and court decisions

• Data Retention (Repeal) Bill

  To restore a better balance between citizens' privacy and appropriate law enforcement

Please feel free to suggest more, and I will consider adding them.

They Said it Couldn't be Done

In 1932, not long after the last economic disaster comparable to our latest one, Eamon de Valera became Taoiseach, and set himself the task, among other things, of undoing the 1921 Treaty and of halting what he saw as the payment of the British Empire for our own land.

None of the sensible people thought that he could pull it off, but he did, and it was done within 7 years.

Ireland can, and will, emulate that feat in relation to our current debt problems.

We simply need to be resolute. Cork North Central voters can demonstrate that will to win by giving their first preference to the writer of this article.

My Celebrity Endorsements

Brian Cowen - remember him ? - won't be giving me one (whew !). Neither will the I.F.A.. (I'm less pleased about that).

There is no sign of Shane Ross doing so, either. Nor of Eamon Dunphy or Fintan O'Toole, I suspect.

Barack is thinking about it, though (allegedly).

Constantin Gurdgiev is being principled about it (of course).

" A Vote for Kathleen is a Vote For ...."

Yesterday's Cork North Central opinion poll published in "the Irish Examiner" disappoints on a number of levels, not least the fact that it relies on data collected over a week ago now.

Nonetheless, the poll is probably correct in identifying the fact that Kathleen Lynch, the incumbent Labour TD, is the front-runner and is likely to claim the first of the four seats. Is it also correct in suggesting that more than half of her voters will be giving their second preference to the Sinn Féin candidate ? Many campaign workers seem to think so. They may be wrong, or right.

If the latter, it will likely be because the two live so near each other, but whatever the reason, it seems that the higher Kathleen's first preference vote goes, the more likely it is that the Jonathan O'Brien, the Sinn Féin candidate, will be elected. (If the very personable Jonathan is not elected, it will probably be because a vote for him is also a vote for Gerry Adams).

What About Me ?

No doubt, Kathleen will now be even more assiduous in requesting her supporters to seek transfers to her Labour Party running mate, the impressive John Gilroy.(See, I am just trying to help you, Declan :-) )

Thoughtful voters who respect (as I do) Ms Lynch's record and abilities but who do not want to have a Sinn Féin TD may prefer to exercise other options, such as giving their first preference to me, and allowing Kathleen to benefit (if she needs to do so, which is unlikely) from a lower preference.

It's All About You, Isn't It, Fergus ?

It is, and I make no apology for it. This is my campaign webpage. Here, it really is "all about Fergus" and how I can represent the voters' decision to turn their backs on the "old politics", including the TDs who were elected by it.

To conclude, let me make my position clear: I do not believe that Kathleen Lynch wants a vote for her to be a vote for Sinn Féin, but that our wonderful electoral system could have that result.

TDs as Competent Legislators

If voters do not choose carefully, more badly drafted laws like the one described here will reach the statute book.

Private Prosecutions

My Platform refers to the above. What do I mean by it ?

Almost all (99%+, I'd say) of prosecutions in this country, as elsewhere, are conducted by the State, usually through the Director of Public Prosecutions ("DPP"). The DPP's office was set up about 40 years ago to "take prosecutions out of politics", and with that end in view, it was provided with several guarantees of its independence from interference. These guarantees have, as far as I know, been very effective, and they have a respectable rationale.

Even before the DPP's office was established, the power to initiate prosecution of crime was, for most purposes, an effective monopoly of the State.

The monopoly is not complete, however. A private citizen can proffer a charge against a suspected wrongdoer, and conduct a "private prosecution" of the charge, starting in the District Court. This mechanism is archaic but has not completely fallen out of use. Unfortunately, it is most often deployed as a weapon in vendettas between neighbours or former friends. In theory, it is possible for it to "kick-start" a full-blown jury trial in the Circuit Criminal Court, but this never happens. It does not happen because the system is designed to make it next-to-impossible.

There are good reasons for this, but I am suggesting that there are now good reasons to make the procedure easier.

The reasons are simply stated. The implosion of our economy in the Autumn of 2008 revealed that a number of lawyers, accountants, bankers and others had been involved in activities which, at a minimum, technically contravened company law. It is now Spring 2011, and not one has faced charges. The public prosecution service is not serving the citizens.(I am not referring to the DPP's office alone, but to the machinery of which it is one part).

Many of those citizens are confident that they have sufficient evidence to obtain convictions against the miscreants. They can prosecute them privately but will have to get the DPP's co-operation to get the real satisfaction of a conviction on serious charges.

That is why I am calling for an overhaul of prosecution services, and in particular, for the option of private prosecution to be rendered less difficult.

You Want Me To Lie To You ?

As Colm McCarthy has said, the State has not necessarily run out of compassion, but it has definitely run out of cash. As has have many of its citizens.

My monochrome literature seems to offer a bleak future, some voters say, as they compare it unfavourably to the glossy colour offerings from the other candidates.

"Recession" is not a strong enough word for the situation that we have. The glossy literature and lavish expenditure on behalf of some candidates is an affront to voters who are finding it difficult to make ends meet,and see little hope of an improvement. They deserve an unvarnished presentation of the prospects for change.

No more wishful thinking, OK ?

No More Wishful Thinking

Voters continue to ask for, and candidates continue to give, promises that the State will cure the ills of the world.

Let's have no more wishful thinking, OK ?

Are Voters Really Going to Go For "Same Again" ?

To make a difference, this Election must produce a Dáil with a contingent of TDs who are outside the "group-think" that caused the disaster that we will now have to live with for years.

Unfortunately, if the media are reliable, the voices dominating the campaign and attracting most support are, with some exceptions, firmly within the "group-think". Even when they are not quite in there - I think of Labour candidates like Paula Desmond in Cork SC - we know that they will be combining, one way or another, with the Establishment's Alternative (FG).

Are the media reliable, though ? (I don't mean that in a general sense, but as regards the perception that there will be no real change as a result of this election). The live polls on boards.ie tend to suggest so; a scattering of celebrities aside, the "group-think" seems well enough on the way to continued dominance.

Are we really going to do this to ourselves ? How can we complain about the IMF, the banksters and the like if, when given the choice, we choose "same again" ?

Why Helping Those Who Borrowed Unwisely Makes Sense

Some voters have asked why the rest of us should share the burden of the people who are caught in "negative equity", as a result, it is said, of their own bad judgement.

I hope to post my own response here - which differs in emphasis - before long, but in the meantime it might help if those interested had a look back at this article from "The Irish Times".

A discussion on Stephen Kinsella's blog at about the same time is also useful. My viewpoint would be closer to that of Stephen than of his critics.

Meanwhile, Capital Tiptoes Towards the Exit...

TCD Professor Kevin O'Rourke, no relation (and no "raving left loonie"), says of our bank rescue arrangements:

Of course ordinary French and German taxpayers are going to be angry at lending their money to an insolvent state with lower tax rates than their own. Why wouldn’t they be ?

Of course ordinary Irish taxpayers are going to be angry at having to pay for high interest loans designed to bail out foreign banks. Why wouldn’t they be ?

And while ordinary Europeans get angry with each other, with unpredictable political consequences, capital walks away scot free.

(Commenter "zhou_enlai" on irisheconomy.ie inspired the title of this post)

Two Down, Two to Go !

When I first thought about this election, I quickly decided that all 4 sitting TDs could well lose their seats.

Nominations have not opened yet, and already two are gone. I predict at least one other casualty.

Anything is possible. Don't assume that the only question is whether Labour, Sinn Féin or Fine Gael will gain the seat that Fianna Fáil has now conceded.

The past is not a reliable guide to this election.

A Note on This Website's Policy Regarding Anonymous Comments

All comments here are subject to moderation before being published. This is a nuisance for me, especially as the site gets few enough comments as it is !

However, I have seen too many unmoderated sites become unreadable as a result of the many kinds of abuse of free expression in which the Internet specialises, and as owner of this website I claim a monopoly on making it unreadable :-).

Still, with comment volumes low, and only some, mostly polite, spammers to censor, I have developed a liberal approach, which permits nearly everything.

That includes anonymous commenters most of the time, even when I don't like what they say.

However, I basically disapprove of anonymity, outside of truly sensitive situations, and if you are tempted to comment, but want to hide your identity, you risk not being published here.

It is unapologetically random, but by using a pseudonym (e.g. "Eamon") and giving a fake e-mail address, intending commenters increase the risk of being filtered out.

Other things that increase that risk are defamatory or abusive remarks, whether about me or about anyone else, shameless self-promotion or prolixity.

Four out of Five Voters Prefer ...

TDs obsess about "constituency work", but 80% of voters never need a TD to do this at all.

I wonder whether, if TDs had paid more attention to the 80%, they might have done some of the things neglect of which has "sent us up the Swanny".

The purpose of my candidature is, in the first instance, to re-awaken the attention of the 80%, and to give them someone for whom to vote if they are of the view that Ireland should come first.

It is not that I will refuse to do any constituency work: there is a sense in which all politics is local, and a legislator who does not keep in touch with his constituency is a mere bureaucratic functionary, not a democratic politician. I am not interested in being a bureaucratic functionary.

However, as that great Corkman Edmund Burke memorably said

We have a country

If You Want the Same Kind of Result...

Since the last General Election, we have experienced a once-in a-century catastrophe.

One cause was the way we approach the choice of our TDs.

If the only thing we do is to replace those who kept Ahern & Cowen in office, we will probably end up with replacements of the same quality.

Will electing two FG, one Labour and one FF TD to the next Dáil improve anything ?

TDs Represent Constituencies

TDs do have a duty to represent their constituencies, and constituencies need to have representatives, as well as a voice in decisions of national importance.

I am not suggesting that TDs ignore so-called "constituency work", but that they are currently devoting too much time and attention to that aspect of their role.

Did We All Party ?

We didn't all party.

But collectively we made some poor choices. Among those were some TDs, Ministers and public watchdogs.

Even when we chose good people, we did not always give them good signals about what was important.

Extracting the ultimate political price from those who have failed us most is necessary, but not sufficient.

Election Platform

For non-Facebook users, the election platform and other material is now becoming available here.

My Campaign Statements so far ...

...are on FaceBook here and here.

I do realise that not everyone reading this can access FaceBook, and I will shortly make the material available directly on this website, and probably on other websites devoted to the election.

New Election Date

Further twists and turns are still possible, but the main parties have now agreed on February 25 next as Election Day.