Drapier: A new term dawns for the Houses of the Oireachtas. To recall Phil Lynott's anthem - the Boys are back in Town, and the Girls, too, of course.
The sound and fury in the Dáil this week seemed to be all male with the exception of Róisín Shortall of Labour who more than held her ground in disputing a point.
In Drapier's eyes, the three main leaders all performed better than heretofore in this first week. The Taoiseach gave a feisty defence of the G.V. Wright and Michael Collins cases. It is quite daft to expect that the Taoiseach of the day should be responsible for how much drink a deputy consumes in Leinster House and equally silly that he could, on a daily basis, police the taxation misbehaviour of a TD.
********************
Strong legislation has been passed by all parties dealing with drink-driving and Standards in Public Office. The legislators enacted the law and now they must face the penalties encompassed therein.
The trip to Kilimanjaro had a definite beneficial effect on Enda Kenny. He looked and spoke better, and the serious mien he adopted suits him.
As for Pat Rabbitte, he has been like a dog with a bone over the deal struck between the religious and the Government to provide for compensation for abuse victims. He has been at it now for some time and has finally found the mark. It's an issue that suits Labour, and without doubt there is much more to unravel in this tale.
The stage has been set for what will be a robust session. But it remains to be seen if the strong early performances hold up in the weeks ahead. There is much at stake for all the parties as we face the year of local and European elections.
*********************
Most of the party conventions have been held for the local elections. Stalwarts, newcomers and in-betweeners are already flexing their muscles and preparing for the slog ahead. The European conventions have not yet been clarified, with most parties awaiting the boundary commission report. The exception to this is the Labour Party in Dublin which has selected both Proinsias De Rossa and Ivana Bacik to run.
This will be very interesting. De Rossa has won consistent support and respect for his work over a great number of years, but Ivana Bacik is hungry. And more and more it is hunger that makes the difference. Ms Bacik barely missed a Trinity Senate seat in her last outing.
Fianna Fáil will need a northside running mate for Eoin Ryan, and Fine Gael has yet to make its decisions. The Green Party and Sinn Féin, in the guise of Patricia McKenna and Mary Lou McDonnell, have been announced already, but the nominees for the rest of the European constituencies remain to be decided.
*******************
October 11th is Fianna Fáil's day in the country. On this occasion it is to be Killarney. The event is billed as an ardfheis, but in reality will be a platform for the local elections, with all sitting councillors and candidates paraded and the Taoiseach availing of the opportunity to get a 30-minute TV slot.
All talk of an extensive reshuffle after the local and European elections should carry a health warning. Reshuffles don't come easily to Bertie Ahern, and the outcome after June 2004 will be minimal change.
Will the Government regret the day it appointed Niamh Brennan to head a major reform package for the health services? I think not, because the said person is in no mood to acquiesce further in the face of tardy responses to her committee's recommendations. And she's right.
It is now almost four months since the Brennan and Prospectus reports were published. Hanly has not yet surfaced but will do so after October 11th.
Wasn't it interesting that, following the Sunday Times interview with Niamh Brennan, all commentators homed in on her views on Garda matters and attributed them automatically to Michael McDowell?
Whatever happened to the equality agenda whereby women and men have their own convictions, their own points of view and their own right to express same?
Not one commentator took the view that Niamh Brennan had every right to voice her opinion and not to have it attributable immediately to her husband.
Remember all the fuss a few years ago about Charlie McCreevy's individualisation tax plan and the furore which followed? People who had been known as bastions of feminist thinking suddenly decided that individualisation in tax matters was not for them. Whereas, of course, it was essentially a strong socialist tenet which the Finance Minister had every right to expect that citizens would follow.
Anyway, back to the health reform. The Minister has shown his determination in the anti-smoking campaign, and the same brisk attitude should prevail in the wider health area.
Dilatory shuffling will not suffice. Micheál Martin should lay out the path to implementation in a logical and sequential way. Move on it step by step and have some definite measures to show before Christmas. That's where the tenacity of Niamh Brennan will prove a valuable tool for the embattled Minister. I hope she stays noisy and continues to demand that the implementation bodies are set up and that the public begins to see how its money is being spent.
********************
And so to the North. Forever with us and always in need of close attention and care. A prestigious think-tank in the UK found that almost all of the participants favoured assembly elections quickly, but with the clear caveat that there would be conditions on all sides to be endorsed.
There is evidence of increasing tolerance and respect as the party leaders talk to one another and an accelerated realisation that the week ahead will prove to be pivotal in moving forward the strong possibility of these elections.
Fingers are being crossed and, behind the scenes, both Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern have been holding meetings and working mightily to move the process forward.