Garry Hynes:"What I would like to hear the Taoiseach say is that culture is as essential a part of our lives as everything else, and to reassert that. It's essential to our future health as a society.
“Everybody has concerns about the upcoming budget. The one thing we don’t need is another lecture on austerity, and we need a sense of future plans and not just a society that gets us back to the same old same old. We need a society that puts community above the individual.
“As much as you need food for your body, you need food for your soul.
“I think people will be listening for the tone. It’s an opportunity for leadership. He has been good at doing that so far, but a feelgood message that doesn’t have any depth or purpose to it isn’t going to do the trick either.
“This country has been very badly served by its leaders in the last few decades. He’s in the unenviable position of trying to lead us out of the situation.
“Everybody expects things to be tough but the priorities will tell us an awful lot about what type of society this Fine Gael/Labour Government intends bringing us into.
“I don’t envy him. In terms of advice, I would just say he should speak from the heart. Look at FDR and the fireside chats. At a time of great emergency and peril in the US, FDR managed to find a way to communicate with people. It’s a similar challenge.”
Garry Hynes is theatre director with Druid
Prof David Farrell
“The only two examples that spring to mind are when Jack Lynch was often misquoted talking about ‘standing idly by’ in the late 1960s and Charles Haughey in the 1980s with his reference to ‘living beyond our means’. They don’t bode well. It doesn’t presage anything too hopeful, given those examples.
“If I was to advise the Taoiseach I’d ask him to reread his own party’s manifesto before the last election because there was a spirit coming out of that, and to be fair from other parties also, trying to move beyond the negative and towards renewal and reform.
“Clearly the broadcast will focus a lot on economics and Europe but it would be good if he found some time to reflect on a people-centred Ireland. I hope he takes a moment to outline the Government’s plans for political reform of a substantial nature, and not just the piecemeal stuff we have been getting so far.
“The purpose of the broadcast is to focus on the economy and why we have to go through pain, but it would be a pity to miss the opportunity to say something positive and future-orientated.
“I expect the tone is going to be pretty serious. I imagine it’s going to look a lot like the Charles Haughey one . . . it was such a missed opportunity by that taoiseach. The tone should be serious but if he’s going to try to inspire then the content needs to be giving ideas. What is his vision for the Ireland of the future?”
David Farrell is chair of politics at UCD
Maureen Gaffney
“The Taoiseach’s first task is to provide a convincing framework of meaning around what the Government is proposing to do. He needs to set out a realistically optimistic framework. Let me define realistic optimism: the belief that with effort, and despite set-backs, and with no guarantees, good outcomes are possible and worth fighting for.
“Every word of that definition counts . . . Psychological science can help him here. If you study the brain activity of people who can maintain optimism in the face of threat, you will see that they react swiftly to threat and the part of the brain that generates possible bad outcomes is very active. But interestingly the part of the brain that generates possible good outcomes is equally busy . . . So it’s crucial that he not just set out grave imperatives that are facing us and the possible negative outcomes but also the possible positive outcomes – and that must be done in a psychologically convincing and motivating way. Facts convince us but it is emotions that motivate us.
“So his emotional tone will count. At least 75 per cent of his message will be judged not on content (people will wait for the budget for that) but on its emotional tone. Any forced optimism or forced ‘Grim Reaper’ tone will be disregarded. He is well placed to get the tone right. I judge him to be a naturally optimistic person and he clearly loves his job – which counts. But he also has had personal experience of pretty severe setbacks. If he stays emotionally connected to both these sides of his experience he could pull this off.”
Maureen Gaffney is adjunct professor of psychology and society at UCD
Fr SeÁn Healy
“The Taoiseach should present an honest analysis of the present situation; a vision that will guide policy towards building a society that is just and fair for all and put forward realistic proposals to move us towards such a future.
“He should acknowledge that the present situation sees resources – income and services – being taken away from poor and vulnerable people. Groups such as the working poor have taken multiple hits . . . in recent years. These situations should not be allowed recur in the coming years, starting with budget 2012.
“He should outline a guiding vision of Ireland being a just society where human rights are respected, human dignity is protected, human development is facilitated and the environment is respected and protected. The common good should underpin his vision . . .
“Ireland’s current, very difficult situation was caused in part by forces in Ireland. This should be addressed in a fair manner with those who caused the problems being the ones who will pay for the consequences of their actions. Those who did not cause these problems should not be asked to pay any more towards rectifying these problems.
“Ireland’s current problems were also caused in part by forces outside of Ireland, particularly in the EU . . . German and French banks gambled recklessly in lending money to dysfunctional banks in Ireland. Those banks lost their money. Yet those who gambled are having their bets returned in full, while Ireland’s poor and vulnerable people and the ordinary taxpayer are being dispossessed to make these repayments.”
Fr Seán Healy is director of Social Justice Ireland
Susan Mckay
“I think the Taoiseach needs to inspire us all to feel that he does have some sense of being in control, that we do have some notion of national pride and sovereignty left.
“He needs to acknowledge that half of his people are women and one of the historic problems that have landed us in the mess we are in is the absence of women from decision-making. This has been widely internationally acknowledged.
“Gender equality should be a key principle of good government.
“I would like him to bear in mind that in many very important ways it is women that are trying to hold Ireland together at the moment. They are managing household budgets and holding together marriages, families and communities that are under pressure.
“That is something that can take a terrible toll on the mental health of women, and women do make up the vast majority of carers, whether caring for children, older people or people with disabilities.
“They are trying to maintain the same level of care without even letting those people they care for know they have fewer resources. That can take its toll.
“He could give women a huge morale boost by recognising the self-sacrifice women make to try to ensure other people in their families and communities are protected.
“Women are very realistic. They are not expecting miracles.
“I would also like to hear him acknowledge the shocking rise in the level of domestic violence in the course of this recession.”
Susan McKay is chief executive of the National Women’s Council of Ireland
EXPERT VIEW
Martin Mackin, Jack Murray, Andrea Pappin
TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny should avoid appearing “too stage-managed” when he delivers his “state of the nation” address on television, according to communications experts.
Martin Mackin,director of Q4 Public Relations, said the idea of Mr Kenny speaking directly to viewers was a good one and he would advise that nothing should be allowed to distract from the message the Taoiseach wants to deliver.
“I’d play it absolutely straight. Nothing fussy; no gimmicks. He should speak straight to camera and one-to-one with the viewer.
“If you do anything that looks too stage-managed, too produced, it could be counterproductive. All you need is a desk, a flag and direct engagement,” Mr Mackin said.
“It’s a very good idea to do this. It’s been long overdue. The key things he has to hit are to frame the budget properly, in both its national and international context, and map out the principles and values that underline budget decisions.”
Jack Murray, managing director of mediacontact.ie, said he would advise Mr Kenny to look to one of his political heroes, former US president John F Kennedy, for inspiration when considering his address, which is expected to be made in coming days.
“He’s a big student of JFK and this is kind of his JFK moment. He needs to use at least one phrase or soundbite that people will remember. Not like Brian Lenihan’s ‘turning the corner’ or Charles Haughey’s ‘tightening belts’, but a positive phrase that people can connect with,” Mr Murray said.
“He can’t use the language of austerity. He needs to use the language of ordinary citizens to get the message across.”
Mr Murray said the address should acknowledge the sacrifices people have already made: “There are three things he needs to do: show empathy, be realistic and offer hope.”
Direct “pieces to camera” had not proved Mr Kenny’s strong suit in the past, Mr Murray said, “but he has an instinct for communicating with people and, if he can bring that to his address, it will take him a long way.”
Political consultant Andrea Pappin, who runs Plain Talking Productions, said the address should be brief and preferably written by the Taoiseach himself. "He should be given space to do that. If people say the honeymoon is over, then this is the opportunity for the Government to renew its vows with the people," she said.
“Very few people ever get this opportunity to address the nation, so use it.
“Irish people are really good at spotting guff at 20 paces, so keep it short and have something that is tangible and realistic to announce.”
Ms Pappin also suggested Mr Kenny could list some of the Government’s achievements to date, “without sounding like you’re electioneering”.