A visit to Leinster House to meet the Green Party

Yesterday evening a group of us were the guest of the Irish Green Party at Leinster House. Organised via Damien Mulley through Ciaran Cuffe's office, we were invited to talk to the politicians and take a look at the inner workings of one of the most important buildings in the country.



It was an interesting mix of bloggers, members of the boards.ie political forum and journalists. We were welcomed by Ciaran Cuffe and Damien Connon, the Communications Manager for the Party. After a brief orientation we were brought on a tour of the offices in Leinster House - more modern perhaps than the exterior suggests but hardly luxurious. I was struck by the juxtaposition between the architectural beauty of the building and the function aspects of how this was built.



Ciaran Cuffe's office was a perfect example of a busy and well used workspace. Maps adorned the walls, particularly of his own consituency of Dun Laoighre and evidence of both his past in architecture and town planning and his current role as Party Whip and spokesperson on Transport and Marine; Justice, Equality and Law Reform; Foreign Affairs.

His openness and frankness in discussing the pressures of his job was refreshing, as he explained how, despite how it might appear, his day was filled with meetings, hearings, emails and the simple matter of getting things done.

A wordle on his noticeboard reveals a lot about him and his commitment to the job



while his desk, though admittedly tidier than either of mine, shows a hectic workload



Following this tour - taken in two segments due to the size of the group - John Gormley, party leader, joined us to discuss some of the issues he faces in his role, in how Leinster House operates and how the requirements of his role can be both frustrating and, in the current climate, more important than ever.



With probing questions from Mark Coughlan, Ciara Brennan, Gav Reilly and Cian O' Flaherty among others, they handled all questions frankly, with fairness and a certain amount of resignation to the fact that the only answers were the honest ones.



We were joined briefly by Senator Deirdre de Burca as talk turned to online engagement, what parties can do (and shouldn't do) and just what people do and realistically should expect from a politician online.

I feel honesty was the main thrust of the feedback and while the conversation was brief, it signified a need for more of this dialogue to take place. Our presence and their invitation indicated a willingness to talk, listen and learn, which in itself is an important development and indication.



We then were invited to the public gallery to watch a vote take place. It was a pretty full house - all of the main labour faces I'd recognise were there, though I didn't spot Brian Cowen. The photos (very sneakily (and illegally) taken were at 20:55 which shows that it's not all holidays and expenses...





Leaving, politicians like Joan Burton, Jackie Healy Ray, Mary White and others greeted us, some aware of who we were and why we were there, others just friendly.

One of the striking things about Leinster House is the side that many people don't get to see - the amazing art, sculpture and building decoration in the building. I was particularly impressed with some of the sculptures and the care that is taken in placing them. Some shots below:

















Leaving Leinster House after a drink in the bar and a chat with some friends and twitter acquaintances, we took the chance to strike a pose. Who knows when the next time the opportunity will come?



Overall, an interesting introduction into the workings of the building and some of what goes on there. There is a change in how politics is run and how politicians communicate both online and off, and I firmly believe that parties interested in engaging with "new media" (a phrase I detest but will have to do) will be the ones to succeed. It's a learning curve for everyone but talking to those who talk to others is always a good thing.

My thanks to Damien for arranging, to Damian, Tim, Ciaran and all in the Green Party office for the welcome and hospitality and to everyone else for providing good company and interesting conversation. Very impressed.

The Governator is on Twitter!

It's Arnold Schwarzenegger in his role as Governor of California and he really seems to have gotten a handle on how this thing works...



Michele Neylon has made a very good point last night...

Irish women work six weeks for free: video interview about women and politics

More from the Labour Party Conference, my interview with Sinéad Ní Chúlachain, Chair of Labour Women about pay differences, Irish women, Labour women and why we should care about politics.

The day was windy so the sound in all parts isn't ideal but it was definitely one of the most interesting talks I had all day.

Why should I care about politics? Video interviews from the Labour Party Conference

I was at the 2009 Labour Party Conference held last Saturday.

It was my first political party Conference/Ard Fheis/Meeting. I'd never have considered myself interested in politics but something Suzy said - along the lines of "if you're interested in things changing or improving, you're interested in politics" - struck a chord and so I took the Labour Press Office invitation to attend the event as a blogger and went along for a look, not knowing what, if anything, I could contribute.

I'll do a longer post on this soon - Simon McGarr's is well worth a read - but I wanted to upload the videos I have ready to show of interviews I was lucky enough to get.

How? I asked for them.
Why? Well, I just wanted to know two things - why I should be interested in politics and why should I be interested in the Labour Party.

I knew of course that they were simple leading questions, designed to help party members talk with passion about the Labour Party, but passion is important too.

Here's some of what people told me:

Eamon Gilmore, Labour Party leader



Pat Rabitte TD, Spokesperson for Justice (be warned, we were in a very noisy place)



Emmet Stagg TD tells me about his political career and why I should care about politics. He was a gentleman, we had a great chat.



Senator Ivana Bacik:



I'll be blogging more about this - I have more interviews to come - but I sit here now, looking at them again, impressed by the passion and the hunger for change with not just those I interviewed, but practically everyone I spoke to.

Huge thanks and props to Stephanie who was a brilliant camera person and partner in crime.

Brian Cowen nude - the video

Gotta love the stuff coming from Doris/Magee these days - here they tackle Picturegate (or Cowengate if that be your preference!)

Brian Lenihan TD responds to cervical cancer campaign email with press release

When Shauneen emailed us as part of the "Harney must reinstate cervical cancer vaccine" campaign, part of the request was to email our local TD to tell him what we thought of the Dáil vote which sought to have the cervical cancer vaccine programme implemented. That was mid November 2008.

Brian Lenihan, the Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin West, Minister for Finance and ex Minister for Children is the local TD here so I dropped him an email back then. I got his response by post this morning.

Dear Darragh

Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to your email regarding your concerns on the HPV vaccine.

I enclose herewith copy of press release issued by Ms. Mary Harney T.D., Minister for Health and Children in this regard.

If can be of any further assistance on any matter please don't hesitate to contact my office,

Best wishes

Yours sincerely,

Brian Lenihan T.D.
Minister for Finance

The attached press release was a statement by Mary Harney on the HPV vaccination programme dated 04 November 2008.

"The economic situation has rapidly and seriously deteriorated. Public resources, including those for health, are very scarce indeed and will remain so. I have decided that the best that can be achieved in these circumstances is to prioritise funding for the development of the cervical screening programme and treatment services at the eight designated cancer centres, which includes the challenge of funding very expensive cancer drugs. I will not therefore be proceeding with the introduction of a HPV vaccination programme.

"The continuation and expansion of the Cancer Control Programme under Professor Tom Keane remains a priority and funding of €15 million has been made available for this.

"At the moment we are rolling out the National Cervical Screening Programme, CervicalCheck. The Programme will provide free smear tests through primary care settings to the 1.1 million women living in Ireland aged between 25 and 60 years. A successful national programme has the potential to cut mortality rates from cervical cancer by up to 80%."

I don't think there's much point on commenting on how ineffective and unsatisfactory either Minister's response is.

As of today there's 12,804 members in the Facebook group. Their aim is simple - it's calling on Minister Harney to go back on her decision to not implement the vaccine for cervical cancer for 12 year olds, a programme that would cost just €8m a year for primary schools and one that could save an estimated 50+ lives a year.

If you haven't joined the group, please do so. If you haven't invited your friends to join, please do so. The group grew from 255 members on Nov 12 to over 12,800 today with your help.

You can also join the 1,335 people who have signed the STOP Cervical Cancer Petition which calls upon:

"The European Parliament, the European Commission and all National Governments of Europe to implement the effective organised cervical cancer prevention programmes that will provide the optimal protection against cervical cancer for all the women of Europe."

How will it benefit us?

This isn't as much a political post as it is a thank you to Darren for all his work on breaking down the Lisbon Treaty to an easy to understand "this is what we're voting on".

Despite all their talking crap about their great work, their campaigns and their passion for the future, I've yet to see one person from the seemingly/apparently farcical organisations that are Labour Youth, Young Fianna Fáil or Young Fine Gael - the future leaders of this country - come up with a good explanation, a simple breakdown or a cohesive argument to explain and support the campaign that the parties they're supposed to be in are supporting.

This campaign won't do it. Rock the Vote won't do it. Their so called easy-to-use guide is copied and pasted from the same sources as most of the parties, and is as equally difficult (for me) to understand. I can't see the benefits, I can't see the problems if we don't, but I do grin at the irony of starting the guide with

Rock The Vote is a non-profit organisation that seeks to promote political engagement among young people. We are completely non-partisan, and our goal is to inform you, the voter, about the issues at hand. We provide impartial materials that you can get registered, get informed, and rock the vote.

Yeah, good for you, campaigning for yourselves. But what will Lisbon do for me? Or the hospital waiting lists and closures, on the education system, on the funding of much needed services and all the other stuff I've asked here.

It takes Darren, one of the least politically associated but communications minded people I know to be able to connect with the issue and to show the issues there are with it.

As I said before, and Darren says now, the country needs a change. It needs a voice. This voice is saying no. No to the waste of time, money and campaigning that should have gone towards improving the country for its people rather than for a community we have a right to benefit from.

Unless I see the actual benefits to the people in this country, I'm with him on this one.

Well done sir.