Speaking as one of the poor unfortunate commentators who is unlucky enough to have to think about politics for a living, I often find myself blown out of the water by the astute eloquence of non-political people, whose incisive commentary sums up situations far better than I ever could.
And one great example of this is a Gript interview last year at a protest against the EU’s treatment of the Irish fishing industry.
At the protest, one woman beautifully and succinctly summed up Ireland’s relationship with the EU, in a monologue which is deserving of a chef’s kiss:
You see that? No media training, no political science PhD – just good old fashioned common sense. Búla bos, madame – you hit the nail on the head.
The reason I bring this up over a year later is because the lady’s excellent description is more relevant now than ever. Last year the issue was fishing – now Ireland is begging the EU to let us keep running our own power stations and avoid freezing in the winter.
As reported by the Irish Times:
Now, at this point you might be tempted to ask why, a century after winning the War of Independence, our government is having to grovel to a foreign political body for permission to keep open our own power stations and prevent rolling blackouts.
After all, the new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss simply lifted the ban on fracking overnight just after taking office to ensure the UK’s energy security. She didn’t need anyone to cosign or back up her decision – she’s the Prime Minister, so naturally she gets to decide her country’s energy policy. It’s a no-brainer.
JUST IN – UK govt to scrap fracking ban tomorrow — Telegraph
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2022
So why, then, is Ireland such a whipping boy by comparison?
Well, in truth, this “begging for scraps” mentality is actually what we’ve come to expect in Ireland lately. In fact, this whole thing gives me déjà vu.
After all, at the start of the year, when fuel and electricity prices were soaring to shocking levels, the government offered the public a tiny tax cut, which they even admitted themselves at the time would be quickly absorbed by the price increases and do almost nothing to ease the financial burden on consumers.
When asked why the government wouldn’t simply offer a bigger cut on VAT, Taoiseach Micheál said he had to have his permission slip signed by a parent or guardian first – i.e. the European Commission:
On rising energy costs, Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD tells RTÉ's Six One News Ireland has asked the European Commission to consider more flexibility on VAT rules and the Energy Taxation Directive to allow member states to do more to ease the burden of price increases on people pic.twitter.com/BGBfeY3g6c
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 15, 2022
In fact, at the start of Covid-19 in February 2020, when we were being told that the virus could kill 120,000 people in Ireland, then-Health Minister Simon Harris said there was no point closing the borders, even if we wanted to, because EU free travel rules would render any ban we implemented null and void:
Translation : We have to wait for the EU to tell us what to do..!
— greenshame (@greenshame) February 27, 2020
So to translate: “The EU has more control over our borders than the Irish government does. There’s nothing we can actually do to control who comes and goes, even if we want to.” That’s effectively what he said.
Even in a moment of dire national crisis – be it relating to health, energy or the economy – our leaders consistently find themselves crawling on their bellies off to Brussels begging on Ireland’s behalf for the right to help ourselves.
Today in Ireland, we have the “An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas?” government. A government whose leader openly rejects national sovereignty as a “backwards-looking idea.” Our leaders are content to sell every scrap of dignity and self-respect this country has for an ounce of that sweet, sweet nectar which is European praise.
If our politicians can’t make meaningful decisions anyway, why do we even need them? We may as well sack them all and give their salaries directly to Ursula Von Der Leyen – cut out the middle man and all that. Why waste millions of euros in taxpayer money on irrelevant pen pushers who are just shuffling papers and can’t decide anything of substance?
The numerous crises of the last few years have clarified our situation: we now know, if we didn’t already, that Ireland’s position as a free and independent country, with its own place among the nations, is quickly vanishing. At the current rate, we will soon be reduced to a cringe-worthy European suburb with a sprinkle of home rule if we’re lucky.
One thing is absolutely clear: we need a government that understands the value of independence, and we need it fast.