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JOAN BURTON IS in a different political stride these days. She is no longer the woman at Enda Kenny’s side, and after a disastrous general election result for the Labour Party, she has stepped down as leader.
As she makes her way into The Nook Cafe in the heartland of her constituency, she is stopped by locals for a quick chat. One man asks her what all this motor insurance talk was about in the Dáil this week, telling her his has jumped up nearly €500.
The coffee shop is packed with local business people, retirees, mothers and their children – and everyone seems to know her.
Despite speculation she might lose her seat this time around, she survived the Dublin West battle, with just 22 votes separating the long-time deputy with AAA-PBP candidate Ruth Coppinger. Both women have been elected in the fifth count.
A wake up call for government
It’s Friday, and what is dominating the headlines is the reaction to the UN’s human rights committee calling on the Irish government to reform its restrictive abortion legislation.
I saw the UN statement yesterday about the fatal foetal abnormalities and I have to say, I think it was a bit of a wake up call for government.
Burton said what’s going on is a “long finger exercise” by government.
Given the likely viability of the government, it would mean that, in fact, the sub-plot is to postpone any action on the issue until after the next government is formed. I think that is an enormous cop-out. I think it is wrong.
Labour was in government for over five years with Fine Gael, so it might be too much for repeal the eighth campaigners (which Labour advocates for) to take to hear the former Tánaiste blame the party they were in bed with for the lack of swift action.
The X case and same-sex marriage referendum
Burton maintains Labour was operating under a programme for government with Fine Gael – which included addressing the X case and the same-sex marriage referendum.
We had an agreement where we agreed to legislate for the X case, which had been around for about thirty years, and we addressed that – and yes, it was very difficult to get that addressed.
Burton said raising difficult issues like abortion with the larger parties can be a difficult task.
The tendency is that among the big parties, like Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, is to not want to hear about these issues and to pass them and fudge them and delay and procrastinate. No, they are not easy… I think it is kicking the can down the road.
Having worked closely with Kenny for a number of years, she must have an insight as to what the Taoiseach’s intentions are to address the controversial issue of abortion.
She said the Taoiseach “obviously has personal issues” in relation to the subject.
I think, at this stage, he wants to delay it. He certainly strikes me as being quite uncomfortable around the issue. He would certainly present as somebody who is quite a conservative person.He has always presented to be very conservative on the issue, and that is his entitlement, but I think for society, as a government, it needs to be addressed.
Burton said that despite his personal feelings on the issue, many members of government have publicly promised to deal with it in timely basis.
Ireland and abortion
She said in reality, “really nothing is moving on it”.
I think following the UN report there is an onus on Ireland as a voluntary member to international human rights structures to address the issue.
Essentially we had a promise by the Fine Gael government that there was going to be a Citizens Assembly, and absolutely nothing has been done to convene that.
While the issue featured as part of the Labour Party manifesto before the general election, there is little that they can realistically do about it now. The party suffered a catastrophic election, reducing the number of TDs in the Dáil to seven.
An internal party report reportedly pinpointed where the party went wrong – hitching their wagon to Fine Gael meant they were too closely associated to them and then there was the issue that refuses to leave the headlines, Irish Water.
She claims it was cooked up that the minority party would be left to handle the implementation of water charges.
The one issue that really damaged the Labour party was the organisational set up of Irish Water under Phil Hogan. I think Eamon Gilmore was basically ambushed with Irish Water. I think there was a broad expectation and understanding by both Eamon Gilmore and Brendan Howlin, we’re going to have to head this up.
As Tánaiste, she claims she sought to reduce the charges “to a reasonable level” which was a net of €60 for a one person household and €160 for two or more.
Former Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly was the poster boy for water charges, and despite being out of government, Labour is still not budging or distancing themselves from the issue.
Water charges are necessary
They still state publicly charges are necessary and have called for a referendum to ensure the water supply company cannot be privatised in the future.
For those people that say we don’t need Irish Water, I don’t know whether those people are in touch with just how poor our water structure is. This week we had seven beaches closed in Fingal, seven of the finest beaches in the country, because of the sewage and pumping facilities are inadequate.
She said the government has now parked water charges and accused Fianna Fáil of “political strokes” over the issue.
Fianna Fáil having put water charges into the menu that they bequeathed to the last government in the programme with the IMF have then decided on political expediency to kick the can down the road. I think when Fianna Fáil reflect, when they see beach closures, maybe they will begin to think less in terms of political strokes and more in relation to the national good.
Just when things couldn’t get much worse for the party, it started to air its dirty laundry in public, with a squabble over the leadership.
Alan Kelly made his intentions for the leadership quite clear, appearing on The Late Late Show. However, in the end, the party went with veteran member, Brendan Howlin.
That press conference
The culmination was the Labour leadership press conference, where there was one notable absence.
So are the waters calmer in the party now?
I think he is over that now, to be honest, Alan is Alan. He has a very robust personality – but the other side of a robust personality is he has a lot of energy. I think political challenge is to use that energy in a positive way to both promote change and promote the Labour party.
It is all settled. He has been in the Dáil getting his teeth into his two portfolios… I think if he just brings his energy to going after both of those I think he will achieve a lot.
She said it was an achievement for Kelly to retain his seat, saying “Tipperary politics are very rough.” Burton added that “history will be very kind” to Kelly’s work on housing.
While Kelly was closely linked to water and housing, one issue that rarely disappeared for Burton was the cuts made to the rental supplement.
This week, her incumbent, Leo Varadkar has indicated it is to rise from this July.
Cutting rent supplement
She defends her stance on the issue, saying there has been a “huge clamour to increase rent supplement”:
What sense would it have been to blanketly raise rents, given that the department of social protection had about 30% of the rental market and then say to the young person, or the family in work, we are actually going to give the landlord down the road the 20-30% increase people were clamouring for, so sorry folks, but your rent is going to go up as well.
When asked how she thinks Varadkar will get on in the new job, she reserves her judgement.
Well, lets see what he does. He hasn’t actually outlined what he proposes to do. I would imagine his focus and the government’s focus would be on the actual building of houses.
All the pressure of being in government is now behind Burton, as she finds herself in a very different position – the opposition.
She says her days are still very busy. Today she is visiting local schools in the area as well as paying a visit to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Clonsilla, which suffered serious damage in an overnight fire.
She is now the Labour spokesperson for the arts, finance and education.
Today she is meeting with one principal to get an update on the plan to rebuild the Dublin 15 school
As we make our way to the school, which is in the middle of a housing estate, she tells me this is the area John Gilligan once lived.
The diverse school population in Dublin 15
She explains the population landscape has dramatically changed and now, a huge amount of children in the area are from other countries, with 40% of this school’s population not being from Ireland.
She agreed that the admissions linked to baptism is an issue irking parents, particularly young people.
I think there is a better way of doing it. A lot of schools and not just Educate Together schools, are moving to having a more core curriculum that centres around respect for the person, the family, community, the child’s world. And then specific religious arrangements are handled through the family and the local church.
While she is relatively new to the job, she makes a number of observations. She has an issue with the use of the word ‘Deis school’, saying it should possibly be scrapped and replaced due to the label attached to it.
She also has a number of observations about the new Minister for Education, Fine Gael’s Richard Bruton. Burton said the minister can be “very conservative” which she said can sometimes be very good in terms of education.
However, she said she believes he is a fan of the British school education system, and she would not be a fan.
Our system is not as corrupted as the UK system has become.
Women in Irish politics
With role as Tánaiste coming to an end, another women, Fine Gael’s Frances Fitzgerald has stepped into the role.
During exchanges during the recent O’Higgins report debate, Burton hit out at Fitzgerald for, in her opinion, not adequately answering the question.
She told Fitzgerald that having been in her shoes, she was aware that on the white piece of paper in front of her, the words “repeat section above” was written, in case of being berated by the opposition.
When asked if this was an insight into behind the scenes of Leaders’ Questions she said the likes of Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald and independent Mick Wallace specialised in bringing up questions on detailed issues “out of the blue”.
It wasn’t possible to comment. Where it was possible to give answers I have certainly always had a policy of giving as much info as is possible and have always done that.
Burton says being a woman in politics isn’t easy. She says there is a lot of unstated misogyny, stating: “Leinster House is very much a boys club.”
Before heading off to her next engagement, Burton says women have to be tough to be in the politics game.
To be a woman in politics you have to be better than most men and there are an awful lot of average men in politics, there aren’t a lot of average women.
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Don’t belive this we are being pushed to a cash less society to suit the banks
@Paddy Sweetman: When you come from a country that’s all about cash and come back to Ireland you really appreciate all the forms of electronic payments that people here take for granted. Cash is not a great form of payment anymore.
@Paddy Sweetman: Ditching the wallet for a slim card holder, no need to watch the pennies and small change end up in jars (unless you are one of those coin counters at customer service…), faster through any till, never need to put up with an ATM queue, no cash getting lost, never seeing a mutilated note held together with sellotape and a prayer.
Lots of advantages other than “suits the banks”.
@Pádraic Brady: If I have €100 in my wallet, I’m in control of it. If I have €100 in the bank, they have control of it. Now multiply that by every penny you have. The bank have total control over it. Bank system goes down, that’s you with no access to your funds. At least with cash, you’ll always have something to get you by.
@Pádraic Brady: not to mention cash is filthy. You have no idea where its been. You could be paying for something with a note that was up someone’s nose the previous weekend.
@Paddy Sweetman: Cash is king for the black market economy.
Can understand the push for electronic payments 100%.
@Paddy Sweetman: Not to suit the banks, to suit the government.
Government see a cashless society as a way to clamp down on the black market so they are putting pressure on banks to implement and increase digital payments.
If you dislike tax dodgers then it’s a good thing.
If you’re a conspiracy theorist then you’ll hate it.
@Pádraic Brady: Even if you only use card or phone you should always carry cash in cash of emergencies. Bank systems and go down at any time. What do you do then?
@The Bolt: and what if you need more cash and the banks ATM and systems are down? It’s the exact same, unless you keep your money in pillowcases under your bed
@Pádraic Brady: Last I heard coins are legal tender. As for safety, some day the banks will be hacked. From being bailed out by the taxpayers, the banks again govern the country. Even the banks ATM machines were farmed out to private companies who charge a fee just to withdraw your own money. The mafia must be in awe of the Irish banking cartel.
@Pádraic Brady: Faster through any till , no queue, where do you spend your money , must be online only. The day its cards only will be a day of regret,
@Paul Cunningham: really cash is not a good form of payment. If we go cashless and we have a massive recession you think you will be able to access your money. Just remember greece and the army stopping citizens taking out there Own money from the banks. Cash is king for a reason. Also cash gives people independence from banks and governments
@Elaine Phelan: pillowcases? Wrapped in a hanky in my case
@Paddy Sweetman: cash will be important in a blackout. Save cash and use cards where possible.
@The Bolt: If you have €100 in your wallet and your wallet falls out of your pocket, is picked from your pocket, your pocket goes on fire or you get held up, then you no longer have control of the €100. If the bank loses it, burns down or is robbed, you still have that €100. They are responsible for keeping it safe.
@The Bolt: Put all your money under the mattress so, much safer
@The Bolt: Do you keep all your savings in cash, in your wallet?
@Conrad Shields: Do you not remember the last time that people couldn’t pay their bills on time because their salaries weren’t lodged to their accounts on time at month end?
@Paddy Sweetman: and the tax man
If we move to cashless, the government and banks have total control over this. Think about it. No putting money in an envelope anymore for a birthday or wedding etc. There are lots of ways we need cash.
@Ruairi Colton: Argos Vouchers so
@Ruairi Colton: it’s a mass conspiracy then..
@Ruairi Colton: bitcoin buddy.
@Ruairi Colton: Instant transfer by Revolut/N26.
@Ruairi Colton: Nonsense, besides, governments already control the money supply, that is literally what central banks are for and its not about some grand conspiracy either, it’s to control inflation.
I laugh at the old “we need a cashless society”. No tax dodgers don’t usually use cash particularly the extreme tax dodgers. They work in the private sector with the help of banks. London being one of its outposts. Also those who think cash isn’t used never had to clear customs at a border crossing on any EU border where very often the EU authorities demand cash themselves. Police forces across Europe looking for cash only in many cases for on the spot fines. Also like everyone else on the journal commenting I’m a tax dodger on the lower scale. I just bought goods on the Internet in the UK delivered to my friends house avoiding vat and import duties saving €500. Dam right I want cash to remain. The government know far too much about me already.
@Dead Dano LoveHate: A man of taste and quality, I see.
@Mjhint: Your comment is confusing, you are talking about tax dodgers and then mention London as an outpost? Like, you are aware Ireland is one of the top 2 tax havens on the planet, right?
@Contrary Mary: Argos do sell toys. For children.
I use cash as much as possible. Less data for the megacorps to mine
@Quiet Goer: listen boy, cash is king, never mind data and the like, cold hard cash in your hand is worth a lot more than waiting around for it to be transferred. I once sold something for 5k less than I’d valued it as one offered cash and one was waiting on a bank transfer. I still have that cash in the attic covering the odd expense I have that I don’t like others to know of and I will have it another while yet too boy
@This time its personable!: How long does it take to transfer a wad of notes, boy? How long would you genuinely have been waiting for that transfer to come through? Longest I’ve ever waited was about 6 days. For 5 grand, I’d wait as many days. And listen, boy, if God forbid your house ever goes up in flames, you might be a little less thankful your lump sum went up along with the house.
@Nollaig Ó Ceallaigh: it’s only money at the end of the day, if ever there was a fire that was so devastating then I’d be more thankful of no one getting hurt than any money, cash or card you can’t take it with you. Besides, I said what I valued it at not it’s true value, I was being tight to ask what I did as wasn’t pushed to sell it, but when offered cash straight, no messing or 50 questions like Mr. Transfer, I decided I’d take it while it was offered like it was, opportunity doesn’t knock twice. Waiting and messing about for 6 days, I couldn’t be at it.
@This time its personable!: I’d be happy knowing no one was hurt, and also that my money was safely elsewhere. Meh, offered an extra 5 grand I’d be happy enough to answer a few questions and wait a little bit, but fair enough.
While both cash and cashless should be accepted, be wary of businesses that accept cash only. Let’s just say their arrangement with the revenue people is probably not what it should be…. and they do exist.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: i find a hell of a lot of takeaways are still cash only
@Fr. Fintan Stack: yes I went to pick up a Chinese takeaway last week and i stopped at the bank to take out cash as it’s cash only. I knew this. But the atm was out of order. I explained this and they refused to give me the order. I am local and they know me I would have dropped it in. Maybe they can’t take the chance I understand too. I found this a bit frustrating that they didn’t take card
@emer daly: I generally avoid places that are cash only as I believe that they are trying to hide their something and are not paying all their taxes as they don’t declare all of their sales. They are making a small fortune by not declaring all sales
@Fr. Fintan Stack: Fact , i know of a few who do similar when they’re a bit short.
@David O’Brien: I was waiting for “down with this sort of thing” comment.. Pff
A combination of both is the right way to go.
I would actually hate to be a teenager growing up in this horrible new world of ours. Pretty soon there will be no pubs, no nightclubs and you’ll need to go abroad to find either. You won’t be allowed to use cash, and you’ll have to declare the €100 that your godfather transferred to you for your birthday. For once in my life I’m almost glad to be getting old, and glad I grew up in the 80s and 90s when we knew how to have fun.
Contactless on the phone. It’s nearly 2022
@Cian McInerney: Paying by watch isn’t mind blowing anymore too. Truly the future.
@Cian McInerney: what happens if there’s some sort of huge tech outage and you have no access to your money you cannot say this is not possible, the more we move online the bigger the risk, cash will always be king
@Cian McInerney: enjoy when ur battery dies or amazon data centers have a blackout. Haha
@Alan Peters: with you on that one Alan,,
@Finn Bar Regany: my card acts up in my local tesco at the checkouts and the atm all the time it’s the only place it happens might be there wifi don’t take the risk of going into the place anymore without cash
@Alan Peters: Offline payment systems will cover that.
By the way, we had a 6 month bank strike here in 1970 followed by a 6 month delay in processing and clearing payments – the economy functioned perfectly well with very little cash in circulation at all.
Cash is nothing more than a medium of exchange, it is in the process of getting replaced by something more efficient.
Progress.
I’ll always want to be able to access my cash, but day to day contactless payments are my preference.
@Cian McInerney: too slow fiddle for people looking on phone painful when waiting in Q
@Simon: Amazon data centres the world over will all experience a blackout at once? No part of that sentence made any sense whatsoever. Haha
I tried to buy a woolly jumper the other day but the transaction was declined. The cashier said “Try the cardigan” It still didn’t work
Second “cashless” article today, this one with a poll… All so blatant really. Interesting to watch but quite sad at the same time.
@Bill ORourke: or its at simple as they had the one article that drove engagement and someone decided to follow that up with a poll.
Most times the obvious is also the truth and you are not being conned.
The unfortunates that are being “left behind” are not getting hit with contemtible bank charges, I was contactless but have now reverted to cash just because of the banks greed.
@der Fussballmeister: I pay no bank charges at all.
I guarantee that you pay though – withdrawing cash through the ATM will have a cost, lodging cash to your account will have a cost.
I’ll safely wager that you pay more for using cash than I do for using digital payments.
The only one that offers privacy is cash. For the rest, banks and GAFAM know everything, but no one cares about their privacy these days.
@Claude Saulnier: Cryptocurrency offers quite a lot of privacy. Unfortunately, not a lot of uptake on it just yet though.
@Nollaig Ó Ceallaigh: bitcoin maybe, since there is no one controlling it.
@Claude Saulnier: There are plenty available.
Cash is King
Theirs room for both the push to control peoples money and eliminate cash is just not on..
Digital is really convenient and easier, and I find I spend less (if I went to an ATM it would only give me a 50 most of the time, and I’d end up spending the whole thing fairly easily – with a card I spend exactly what I intended to and no temptation “sure it’s in your pocket, why not”). ATMs only giving 50s is a big problem as well especially when it’s coming up to the end of the month and you haven’t actually got 50! BUT I wouldn’t like to see totally cashless come in and I don’t think any places should be allowed to refuse cash either. As mentioned, we’ve already seen several breakdowns where card readers haven’t worked for a day or two at a time, so there’s no point saying that’s impossible, and until tech is at a place where it can be relied on, it can’t be the only option. Plus there are plenty of other things we want cash for – put it in a card, tip a waiter so they’ll actually get to keep it, sponsor a kid for a charity thing, etc.
@Carla Kerr: Exactly how I feel about it. There should always be an option for cash for purchases under €50. On aecond thought I’d make that for purchases under €100, at the rate inflation is galloping.
I know people who hadn’t the money to pay bills because they were waiting almost a week for a check to be lodged to their current account. They could have paid in the post office in cash if they hadn’t been isolating. Even if we all had plenty left at the end of the month, imagine trying to get home if your car or wallet was stolen? It’s all fine until you don’t have alternatives.
It all went to cr p when we moved from a bartering economy to a monetary system….
@Rui Firmino: Really? So let’s say you’re a graphic designer and you run out of bread.
How long will it take you to find a Baker who is in need of one loaf’s worth of graphic design work?
@Lee King Buckett: Same amount of time it would take you to recognise a (hopefully) sarcastic comment, I guess!
Cash so much faster and easier than sticking card I. Then pin and waiting for approval, or trying to find app on phone old slow and painful
@Maurice Leahy: Of course just tapping my card on the terminal is a lot faster than counting through notes and waiting for change. Unless everything you buy is exactly e50?
Smart watch
For charities the coppers and other coins we throw in the charity boxes are much needed revenue. The pandemic has hit charities hard and they have missed out on their usual fund raising events. Are we to go cashless now and cut off another much needed source of revenue? Not everyone donates to charities electronically. We need to think of others instead of always mé féin.
@Teresa O’Halloran: What are you on about? Every time I pay with PayPal I donate e1 to a charity. I can donate to charities through Revolut. I can actually be charitable and donate on their websites. If we went cashless there would be ample opportunities for charities to accept donations. No reason why, with the demand there, that the likes of AIB couldn’t put 1% or whatever of all your transactions towards a charity of your choice.
Even the Chuggers will soon need a card reader.
@lelookcoco: Sumup already exists, you can pay contactless at small markets and taxis if needed. No reason charities won’t have them on the streets.
@Paul Cunningham: Sumup takes a few % of every transaction. It’s not cheap, you are paying to pay
@lelookcoco: Sweden cover this with swish.
Cash is legal tender. Can’t be refused as payment without the law being changed
Watch, been using 90%+ of the time for a few years now.
Very rarely use physical cash anymore.
Can’t believe we still have no contactless payments onboard Buses after spending millions on consultants for “next generation ticketing”
@Cormac McKay: Can’t believe the Leap card app still requires you to actually have a card. Card uses NFC, phone uses NFC, card reader uses NFC. Cut out the middleman already!
if you all want to keep your privacy, fight against cashless society
People saying cash are only being nostalgic and afraid we’re being done over in some way by going cashless. It’s still money
Trying to avoiding cash as much as possible.
No option to pay by Crypto ah come on The Journal keep up.
We’ve all got those fee annoying friends who insist on calling us as opposed to sending a simple text. I guess those are the same people who can’t grasp how convenient cards are. Technology has always changed what’s normal for us, and sometimes it is for the best.
@Máirtín Mac Cormaic: #few annoying friends
Card during pandemic, cash without it.
Lee King Bucket…. I think Rui Firmino was joking … tongue in cheek I think it’s called .
#contactless all the way. Not used cash on a regular basis for years now
There go the Chinese takeaways
There is nothing more infuriating when you are rushing to work and an old person gets on and fiddles for an eternity for a 1 or 2c
Apple Watch
With takeaway fish and chippers the barter system might work i.e. for a sack of late season King Edwards the chipper manager might agree to supply so many takeaway meals.
have your say