In recent years, we’ve had a number of strong debaters leading Irish political parties - Pat Rabbitte, Michael McDowell, Michael Noonan, etc. In the Dáil chamber, these deputies have delivered clever lines and withering put downs without a blink. Their supporters cheer them on; their party colleagues whoop from the benches. But winning the argument hasn’t done their parties’ electoral fortunes any good whatsoever.

Yesterday, Brian Cowen had his first face-to-face with Enda Kenny since becoming leader-designate of Fianna Fáil. Their last major set piece encounter left FF supporters gagging for more as Cowen delivered a now famous retort to Kenny that he was ‘neither qualified nor able’ of judging the activities at the Tribunal (Cowen is obviously an eminent legal expert thanks to the his brief period as a solicitor before his election at 24). He’ll wipe the floor with poor Enda - came the FF chorus. Fine Gael might as well just give up as Biffo will crush them in the Dáil.

If yesterday’s contest is anything to go by, FF may be seriously misguided. Enda brought up the harrowing issue of 77 year old Alzheimer’s patient who sat on a trolley in the Mater’s A&E for 67 hours after suffering a heart attack. The woman’s plight was raised through the media by her daughter resulting in her finally getting a bed. After 48 hours, she begged to die rather than continue in Third World purgatory.

Cowen went into technocrat mode, replying:

It is very important to point out that there are many improvements taking place in the health service. Obviously there are issues but if the Leader of the Opposition’s tactic is to come in and talk about a particular case where there is a difficulty and suggest that the sorting out of that difficulty alone is to sort the health service is a rather simplistic and facile approach and analysis.

Clearly what we are trying to do is to bring reforms into the health service that will deal with many of the perennial problems we are facing.

Word like ‘facile’ are cold, and to a casual listener sound like the opinions of a disconnected bureaucrat; one who is unmoved by the fact that an elderly mother only received essential treatment when her daughter begged for it through the airwaves, a woman who considered death better than days left in her own faeces in an over-crowded accident and emergency unit.

If Cowen wants to go down the cold, clinical route, then the Taoiseach-in-waiting might have a point that there is a policy equivalent of the maxim that tough cases make for bad law. However, the truth is that there were nearly 8,000 patients on trolleys in February.

This is not an isolated case, it’s uniqueness is the bravery and determination of the family to use all available means to see their sick mother treated. If a case is extraordinary then he would have a point, but it isn’t.

His reply is an insult to the thousands of families affected, and if he keeps up this style of debate, Fianna Fáil may have to significantly revise their predictions of Cowen-v-Kenny.

I was genuinely saddened to hear about the death of former President, Commissioner, Minister and TD, Dr Patrick Hillery. President Hillery was the first major political figure I actually got to see in the flesh, when he officially opened a new season at Glenveagh National Park. It was the mid-80s and we had gone on a day trip from Letterkenny, and so from a young age he was someone I was aware of.

However, in the years since then I’ve learned a lot more about this normally gentle-spoken country doctor who went on to stabilise our highest office and represent this nation to the world. As Minister for Education he established oral exams in Irish, he set up the system of Regional Technical Colleges and he set in train the process that lead to free second level education. Seán Lemass asked him to take over as Taoiseach on his retirement, but Hillery declined and went on to serve as Minister for External Affairs during the tense days of the early Troubles; he also negotiated our entry to the EEC.

As Ireland’s first EEC Commissioner, he saw to it that equal pay legislation was brought in to Ireland, and so hastened the social liberation of Irish women.

As President, he stabilised an office that had been severely undermined by the untimely death of President Childers followed by the resignation of President O’Dalaigh. Indeed his finest hour, was probably his steadfast defence of this republic during the collapse of the first Fitzgerald Government in 1982, and the attempted interfence of Charles Haughey.

Historical ‘counter-factuals’ or ‘what-ifs’ can throw up some interesting ideas. What if Paddy Hillery had accepted Lemass’s offer of the Taoiseach’s chair? Would the chain of events leading to the Arms Trial have happened? I think not, and Hillery’s famous Ard Fheis line that the Arms Trial rebels could have Boland but they couldn’t have Fianna Fáil bears this out.

Similarly, recently opened papers from the British Government of the time show that London respected Hillery’s abilities and intelligence; and perhaps as Taoiseach he could have intervened more constructively in the earliest stages of the North’s descent into murderous sectarianism.

Another point made in recent days, is that by his very presence Hillery added an air of respectability and public service to the body politic. His generation were not embroiled in financial mis-dealings on the scale of the Haughey-era. Indeed, I think it would have been anathema to the likes of Hillery. Had he lead Fianna Fáil he might have seen of Charles Haughey, and we might have been spared many of the fruits of corruption.

He was a true patriot, a man who used his talents to serve his nation without seeking personal gain, and an example to us all.

Resquiat in pacem - ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam uasal dhiograsach dhílis

Ciaran Cannon is the new leader of the Progressive Democrats - you might have heard of them. They promised a radical break from Civil War politics, and a bright new agenda for Ireland. Since their initial peak in 1987, the party has declined consistently ever since, and with the elevation of Senator Cannon, it’s hard to see that fall stopping. Indeed, as a west of Ireland politician whose fellow Galway TD has flirted with Fianna Fáil, it’s hard to see how the PDs could genuinely believe he is their saviour. If pragmatic idealism was the hallmark of the party founders, then the only objective conclusion to draw from their current state is that it’s time they concluded.

As for Cannon himself - he comes across well in the media. He’s a competent speaker and will be a new face for his party. However, his rise would be considered meteoric if it wasn’t for the lack of major interest in his new position. He was first elected as a councillor in 2004, and this mandate is his only electoral success. He polled around 3,300 votes in last year’s general election, which was a little under 6%. His new position as leader of a national party, must therefore be unprecedented.

Over at P.ie, a poster FakeViking described Cannon’s close victory as “the lesser of two nobodies”. It reminded me of the West Wing speech that Will and Toby brainstormed on the elevation of ‘Bingo’ Bob Russell to the Vice Presidency - a rise they saw as the triumph of mediocrity. Here’s what they said - see if you can change some names for the same result…..

In a triumph of the middling, a nod to mediocrity, and with gorge rising, it gives me great nausea to announce Robert Russell — Bingo Bob, himself — as your new Vice President. This lapdog of the mining interests is as dull as he is unremarkable; as lackluster as he is soporific; this reversion to the mean; this rebuke to the exemplary; gives hope to the millions unfavored by the exceptional.

Bob Russell: not the worst, not the best, just what we’re stuck with.

Too true.

Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD, has today (Monday April 14) published the Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008. Once the bill becomes law, the Dublin Transport Authority will assume responsibility for co-ordinating and planning the delivery of transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area, including Kildare.

Minister Dempsey has high hopes for the new body. “The public have a right to expect a world class, integrated public transport system and this new Authority will have the powers to make that happen. Under Transport21 Government is spending over €100 a second between now and 2015 on new buses, trains, Metros, Luas lines and roads. The DTA will ensure that these projects are delivered to the highest standards in the shortest time period possible.”

However, local commuters are adopting a more cautious tone explains Dr Tony O’Donnell from the Kildare Rail Users Group.

“As with many of the initiatives announced by the Government in recent years, the DTA seems like a very sensible and appropriate way to guide the proper delivery of transport services in the greater Dublin area. However, commuters have grown to treat such announcements with a fairly generous pinch of salt. Too many of the good ideas put forward in recent years have emerged to a fanfare of publicity only to quietly fade away once the photo-op and the press conference have finished.

“The idea of a centralised Dublin Transport Authority has been mooted for at least the last number of years, and was previously launched by then Minister Martin Cullen in November 2005. Hopefully this time, the announcement will be backed by action.

“In particular, we would hope that the body follows up on a number of key objectives including the integration of planning and delivery of services across the greater Dublin area. This would allow commuters from South Kildare to avail of the same integrated tickets, and transport options as users travelling from Hazelhatch and closer to the city. We’d also hope that there is no further watering down of the plans for Sallins, Kildare and Newbridge under Transport 21. We lost out between the original Kildare Route Project and Transport 21, and we can’t afford to see any further reductions in our slice of future development.

“It is also good to see that the planning of future housing developments in the DTA’s area will be linked to the availability of transport infrastructure.”

The Bill will now make its way through the Oireachtas and should become law later in the year.

So it might look and sound like a giant fly, but this is a really amazing video of a robot developed in the US. If you’re secretly (or maybe not that secretly) a bit geeky on the inside, then you’ll be very impressed with the robot. It can walk, run, balance on uneven terrain and even right itself after a flying kick.

The robot is a joint project from Boston Dynamics and DARPA.

A Fine Gael councillor once told me that managing FG members was like trying to herd cats - her point being that unfortunately Fine Gael tends to attract people who think for themselves and are less likely to tow the line.

This can be a virtue. It should mean that our average footsoldier is blessed with the ability to be responsive to changing situations and ready to adapt to their surroundings. Unfortunately, it also leads to people going on solo-runs without considering the ‘Big Picture’.

This has been an issue in the party for years, and at the highest levels lead to splits and intrigues at times when our collective focus should have been on the enemies without not the perceived enemies within.

The last week has given two classic examples of how a lone dissenting voice in the echo chamber of the media can turn opportunity into unnecessary difficulty.

Last Monday, on Questions and Answers, a Ballbriggan Town Councillor Sean Browne said that it gave him no pleasure to call Enda’s leadership into question. While it might not have given him pleasure, he certainly didn’t say it by accident as it had little to do with the topic under discussion. Instead, to Mary Hanafin’s grinning pleasure, he turned the departure of Bertie Ahern under a cloud of controversy into a reflection on Enda Kenny. So are defeats snatched from the jaws of victory.

Today’s Independent contains a letter from Darren Mac An Phíora, a former party member, on the same lines. Mr Mac An Phíora made the same points on politics.ie in the last few days, which is a very different environment to the national press.

P.ie is full of rank of file party activists, who typically post off their own bat, and not from any position of rank or authority. That means that the posts can be viewed in that specific, low level context. The national press do not make that distinction, and to casual readers, a letter from a relatively new member, who has resigned from the party, and who never met Enda or held branch office, could be mistaken for a wider rot.

The echo chamber is a good metaphor for these kind of statements. By making them on national television or a leading newspaper, two lone voices generate the kind of unwelcome air of dissent that no party needs. Last week the party saw off our electoral nemesis, and the united focus should now be on returning political discourse to real issues and presenting an alternative to years of FF misrule. This is no time for public self-criticism.

It’s a shame that the two gentlemen didn’t see fit to work through the party structures to affect change. As Garrett Fitzgerald put it, one of the reasons to get involved in party politics is to make a positive change. Griping in public isn’t constructive and it doesn’t help.

In the letters page of the Irish Independent of February 28, I wrote that it was time for Brian Cowen to step forward and provide some much needed direction at the top of our political system. The events of last week mean that Mr Cowen now has the opportunity to refocus politics back on the issues that really matter to the citizens of this country: economic stability, health service reform, education, and so on.

However, I would put it to the new Taoiseach-designate, that he has another more subtle yet no less important challenge: raising people’s expectations of politics.

Bertie Ahern has damaged politics in a number of ways, and the new leader should grasp the opportunity to put things right. Where Ahern obfuscated and fudged, Mr Cowen should follow his instincts and be direct. Where the previous adminstration erected layers of bureaucracy to mollify discontents and avoid tough decisions, the new cabinet should be truly and directly accountable. And where Mr Ahern was happier on the Premiership or Hello magazine, Mr Cowen should return some dignity to the office of Taoiseach.

While his sometimes brash demeanour may not be to everyone’s taste, a bit of honest ‘take me or leave me’, with a dash of actual political conviction and focus, may be just what we need to re-engage people with politics.

I’ve made a pretty lengthy submission to the Local Electoral Area Boundary Review Committee. If you’re interested in reading it - you can access it here: Submission to the Boundary Review for County Kildare.

The main points are a realignment of the LEA boundaries so that they better follow the current Dáil boundaries; an amalgamation of Leixlip and Celbridge into a single 6 seater; and a transfer of considerable population into a new 4 seat Athy-Kilcullen area.

The savage murder of two innocent Polish men in Drimnagh during the week disgusted me. How can this country raise children who are willing to end life so cheaply and so viciously? The usual talking heads popped up to tell us that this was an ‘isolated incident’; did not indicate a general anti-immigrant feeling; shocked a community. But the tragic thing is, that as a society, we all have to share some responsibility for allowing things to get to this point.

This casual violence is the ultimate extension of a selfish society; of youth who idolise a lifestyle of sloth, excess and a ‘gangsta’ attitude. It is an extreme case, but the motivation behind it isn’t isolated - just ask the people of Limerick. Life is cheap, society sets the price and the poorest communities pick up the bill.

Liberals will tell you that the perpetrators are victims themselves: victims of social exclusion and disadvantage. There is disadvantage in Ireland, and Drimnagh has its fair share. But I don’t imagine the kids involved in this crime go hungry. They probably wear designer sports gear and have PlayStations, mobile phones and an active social life. They are not being forced to work down mines or in cotton mills like the disadvantaged children of our past. They are not disadvantaged in an absolute sense - they are disadvantaged relative to how the middle class thinks life should be lived.

I was at a Fine Gael meeting a few years ago where the subject of community policing and ASBOs was being discussed. A member of the audience suggested that the real problem in these communities was self-esteem. This is an interesting thought and one which has come back to me time and again since. The speaker suggested that a lack of self-esteem made for a life without ambition. It left people disengaged. But the sad thing is - the youths involved have self-esteem, lots of it, to the point of supreme cockiness.

The problem is that the values that they measure themselves against are not those of a mature, caring society. There is no room for compassion, self-sacrifice, ambition or taking responsibility for faults. Their world of disposable celebrity is all about superficiality, greed, consumption and satisfaction-on-demand.

In the past, social stigma was a powerful mechanism for ensuring social cohesion. In a tight community, social standing depended on the views of peers. Since these communities were often quite socially isolated, or perhaps socially insulated, they were less open to having their value-systems influenced from outside.

Perhaps as a society we should call time on this decay. Our values as a society are worth defending. I think it is time for the State to consider introducing social stigma as a punishment for anti-social behaviour.

To the middle classes, prison is still a stigma, as is having your name published as a tax defaulter or a drink driver.

Unfortunately these devices no longer carry the same shame to disadvantaged communities. To some, prison is a right of passage and in the UK anti-social behaviour orders have become a mark of social standing. They do not stigmatise. They do not discourage. Put simply - they do not work.

Perhaps something more radical should be attempted. The real need is to find some mechanism for ensuring that the punishment imposed is meaningful within the value system of the accused, and ideally that, in time, their value system should realign with that of society as a whole.

In medieval times, ridicule and shame were used to achieve this; wrongdoers were placed in the stocks. I don’t think we’d consider that as a realistic proposition today, but there should be some modern equivalent and it’s hardly beyond our collective imagination to identify a suitable contemporary equivalent.

In parallel, the State should put resources into constructive activities that generate positive esteem. The activities should be ones that are of genuine interest to teenagers, like providing equipment and training for modifying cars. This could be used to incentivise good behaviour.

Whatever happens, the current drift and decline has to stop, and some radical thinking is needed.