Did the internet ruin your summer?

Did you notice that there appeared to be less children playing outdoors during the summer this year?

 

It didn’t cross my mind until my son commented this week that he didn’t mind going back to school because there was no one around to play with. He had a point – there were certainly fewer youngsters out playing football on our local green in comparison with previous summers.

So where were they all hiding? In a sure sign that the economy is picking up, some of them had gone abroad with their families – but that hardly accounts for the full eight weeks or so of the school break.

Was it possible that many of our children were lured indoors by their growing dependency on the internet?

The results of a new study published by Stop Procrastinating, a productivity website, seems to confirm as much.

The survey of 2,000 parents across the country found that a majority are concerned by their children’s internet use during the summer and say that it will cause conflict during family holidays.

It found that parents are also concerned by their inability to block their children’s access to the internet during the summer.

Among its findings were:
•68 per cent worried their children use the Internet for too long during the summer holidays.
•52 per cent said their children were less active because they used social media instead of playing with friends.
•48 per cent worried their children didn’t seek out sociable activities during the summer.
•62 per cent said their children’s use of smart devices would cause conflict and stress during their family holiday.
•56 per cent said that their children read less over the summer than they did when they were children. They blamed the internet for this.

While the internet can be a valuable learning resource, our reliance on smartphones and tablets has become worrying. Social networking has replaced meaningful human contact and even those with hundreds of so-called Facebook friends can, in reality, be lonely and isolated.

Parents are under mounting pressure to buy the latest gadgets for their kids, unwittingly exposing them to online violence or pornography.

Despite dire warnings about childhood obesity, kids are literally left to their own devices instead of engaging in sporting activities.

It may be an inconvenient truth, but we all know that the internet is a problem when it comes to our children. The question is: what are we willing to do about it?

Zero tolerance needed on dog fouling

When you consider the low number of on-the-spot fines issued for dog fouling across Dublin's four local authorities last year, you'd think we didn't have a problem with this disgusting epidemic that plagues our communities.

Incredibly, only 13 fines were issued in 2014 across the city and county, despite a €10,000 campaign by the councils to raise awareness of the issue.

This summer, it's everywhere you look. It’s on our footpaths, our open spaces, our grass verges and our beaches. By extension, this means it ends up inside our homes, schools, sports clubs and workplaces.

It's next to impossible to go anywhere these days without having to navigate a course around dog excrement. It’s not the fault of our canine friends, of course. If they have to go, they have to go.

Because there’s no such thing as bad dogs – just bad, irresponsible owners with the manners and civic mindedness of rodents.

The problem affects children and adults alike. At best, it is a messy, unpleasant experience, particularly when you have to clean it out of the crevices of the soles of your shoes. At worst, it can have serious health implications and even lead to blindness. 

While the laws are there to fine people if their dogs foul in a public place, enforcement is typically non-existent in some areas. On-the-spot fines of €150 can be issued or up to €3,000 if a conviction is secured in court. But the chances of being caught are pretty slim, as last year's figures show.

When was the last time you saw a dog owner being reprimanded by a council official and issued with an on-the-spot fine?

It is curious that our local authorities don’t see the financial potential of policing dog fouling as they do, for instance, parking.

There’s hardly a community left in Dublin that isn’t subjected to disc parking. Much – if not all – of this revenue goes straight into the coffers of the local authorities. By extension, this helps pay for local services such as street cleaning and road maintenance.

Pay and display parking works for one simple reason – visibility. The sight of uniformed parking warden stalking our streets is more than enough to ensure that we comply with regulations.

And more often than not, if you take a chance and don’t pay for your parking, there is a very high probability that you’ll be caught and fined. We may not like it but it’s a clear deterrent.

Imagine if our local authorities put the same effort into the dog dirt problem? Every community in Dublin should have a uniformed dog fouling inspector on the streets on a daily basis. The revenue generated from the fines alone would pay their wages. There would also be significant environmental and health benefits.

Irresponsible, selfish, lazy, pig ignorant dog owners would think twice the next time their adorable mutts soil a footpath. Find them and fine them; publicly name and shame them.

I imagine there would be much public support for a zero tolerance approach to the issue of dog fouling. Put it on your list of demands when the general election candidates come calling in the months ahead.

We're on the right track with public transport

Surely one of the most short-sighted decisions in the history of the State was the removal of trams from the city’s streets in the late 1940s, followed a decade later by the axing of the legendary Hill of Howth service.

Just imagine the positive impact on tourism today if the lines had remained in place in the intervening decades before trams seemed like a good idea again. 

While our state-of-the art light rail system has been a major hit with 21st century commuters, I’m told that the Luas doesn’t come close to matching the Dublin trams of old, where you could take a day trip out to Dalkey, Howth, Sutton, Clontarf or even Blessington.

It was a major upheaval for Dubliners all those decades ago when tram tracks had to be ripped up from the streets to make way for buses and cars in the name of ‘progress’.

Equally, reinstating the tracks for the Luas has been a headache for commuters, particularly given the modern-day explosion in traffic. Work to connect the two lines across the city is ongoing. A little bit like Dublin itself, it will be great when it’s finished.

In terms of public transport, we’re slowly getting there, even though we’re still waiting on a rail service of some description to key locations such as the airport and major population centres like Swords.

I had reason to take the bus to work on a number of days last week due to car trouble and was pleasantly surprised by how the service has improved. There’s an app that gives real-time information on when your bus will arrive – there’s even on board wi-fi. If only they served coffee!

The one negative aspect was having to listen to commuters babble incessantly into their phones as if they were the only ones on the bus. I was better prepared the next day, making sure I brought a set of earphones – problem solved.

Travelling to work by car is fast becoming the least attractive option, with fuel, parking and toll costs making it increasingly unviable.

With a bit of joined-up thinking (and joined-up Luas lines), there’s no reason not to consider using public transport more – even if it’s not a patch on the old tram system.

Mixed feelings about church camera ban

My youngest son will be making his First Holy Communion this weekend and we’re all really looking forward to the day.

Whether you’re a devout catholic or not, the occasions of Communion or Confirmation are important milestones in a child’s journey through life and provide cherished, lasting memories for all the family.

Quite rightly, we will now be prohibited from taking photographs during the ceremony – a sensible rule in itself.

The proliferation of camera phones over the past decade has brought out the amateur photographer in all of us, turning every possible event – from school concerts to sports days – into a paparazzi-like feeding frenzy.

There is nothing more irritating than seeing parents and relatives jostling for position around the altar to get the best vantage point as the priest attempts to carry out the sacrament.

So I was initially delighted to hear that the church has instructed each diocese to draw up guidelines on the use of cameras during religious services. 

However, I was somewhat perplexed to then read reports that part of the reason for the ban relates to the church’s child protection guidelines.

In my view, this is an absolute fallacy and, quite frankly, an insult to parents. A decision to prohibit photography during ceremonies should solely have been made on the basis that it is disrespectful of the occasion and an unwelcome distraction for the children. It should not be rolled out under the guise of a child protection measure.

This is the sort of nonsense that forces right-thinking people to lose all sense of perspective; where every innocent action is viewed with deep suspicion by an increasingly paranoid society.

It is, of course, only right and proper that the church has robust child protection measures in place given the scandalous history of clerical abuse in this country. With good reason, parents today are less trusting of members of the clergy than previous generations were. No longer is a priest considered to be beyond reproach; an untouchable pillar of the community afforded unwavering reverence.

The best protection we can offer our children is our knowledge of what happened in the past. 

It’s a sad reality that many decent, law-abiding priests who abhor the sexual abuse of children have been tarnished by association, through no fault of their own. Moreover, they have been further let down by the often inadequate response of church leaders, both at home and in Rome. But the fact remains that those found to be responsible for abusing children within the Catholic Church were the ones wearing white collars and administering the holy sacraments – not the parents and relatives taking photographs during ceremonies

Prognosis is poor for health service reform

You can really only appreciate the scale of the crisis in our health service when you experience it for yourself, be it personally or through the eyes of a sick friend or relative.

The main problem with our hospitals is not the standard of care provided by those in the medical profession - it’s trying to get access to it. While there are always exceptions, in general I have found the quality of our medical professionals - from frontline ambulance crews to nurses, junior doctors and consultants - second to none. In particular, I will always remember how well we were treated when our children were born in Holles Street and the immense gratitude I felt towards the competent and caring midwives.

But not all of my experiences with the health service have been so positive. I have seen elderly relatives left languishing on hospital trolleys and have endured long, painful hours in chaotic A&E departments in the presence of aggressive drunks and drug addicts.

There is a serious case to be made for segregating those presenting to A&Es with alcohol related injuries. Unless there is an obvious risk to life, they should be made wait the longest for treatment so genuine cases can be prioritised by hospital staff.

Like so many others, inordinate public waiting lists have forced members of my family down the road of private consultants where they have paid extortionate sums for 10 minutes of their time. Some private health insurance policies seems to only cover a small portion of the fee these days.

In reality, our two-tier health service is pushing patients down the private route due to the fear factor. People who are rightly worried about their symptoms don’t want to be waiting for a year or more to see a specialist under the public system.
 
But doesn’t it seem wrong that you can see this same consultant - sometimes within a matter of days - if you are willing and able to pay for it?I’m no expert on health sector reform but would it make sense if consultants were made to choose between their private and public practices? Surely more time solely devoted to public patients would help take the pressure off hospital waiting lists.
 
The other side of the argument is that consultants may well opt to exclusively concentrate on their lucrative private clinics, creating a dearth of medical expertise in the public system. It’s a difficult circle to square.

Given the chaotic system he has inherited from his predecessors, it’s unlikely that current Minister for Health Leo Varadkar will be able to magic up any quick-fix solutions this side of a general election.Chances are he’ll be leaving the Department of Health in the same sorry mess he found it in. He has less than one year to prove us wrong.

Time to end discrimination in rental market

Is renting the new buying? Are we about to dispense with our national obsession with owning our own homes and adopt a more European attitude when it comes to long-term renting?

With stringent new lending requirements introduced by the Central Bank, purchasers are going to find it increasingly difficult to find a 20 per cent deposit in a resurgent property market. First time buyers will have to stump up 10 per cent for properties costing up to €220,000 (and 20 per cent of the balance above that). 

This well-intended measure, designed to avoid a new property bubble, is going to push many families and individuals into the unforgiving world of our dysfunctional rental sector. 

Dubliners will bear the brunt of the pain for the privilege of living in the capital. Understandably, the country’s working majority need to be close to their jobs or at least within reasonable commuting distance.

With the recovery in house prices in Dublin, there has been an exponential rise in rents. A quick search on a leading property website lays bare the grim realities facing renters. Prices can vary from suburb to suburb but it’s difficult to find a decent sized family home for under €1,300 per month, even in the less salubrious parts of the city.

Beyond the Pale and away from urban centres, it’s a different story. I have friends renting an idyllic rural property – a stone-fronted converted mill – for €400 per month. You’d be lucky to get a garden shed for that sort of money in Dublin.

Traditionally, we were always led to believe that it made no sense to rent. The conventional wisdom was: why pay ‘dead money’ when you could own your own home for less?

But we are now in very different times and prospective purchasers face a range of obstacles before they can get a foot on the properly ladder: risk-averse lenders; rising house prices; inadequate supply of new homes; and new Loan to Value (LTV) borrowing restrictions. 

From this crisis we will see the emergence of a new breed of long-term renter. Their children will grow up in rented accommodation without having inherited their parents’ expectations of owning their own property.

In the absence of a properly functioning and regulated rental sector, we have a long way to go before we can enjoy the standards and security afforded to many of our European neighbours.

In Ireland, some landlords have effectively operated a form of apartheid that discriminates against those on rent supplement and casts a slur on people in receipt of social welfare payments. The Government is finally bringing forward equality legislation this year that will outlaw the practice of specifically advertising for tenants who are not in receipt of rent allowance. While this is a welcome step in the right direction, will it go far enough in ending the appalling treatment of social welfare recipients? 

Local authorities also need to ensure that slum landlords are eliminated from the rental market by ramping-up their inspection programmes and taking enforcement action where necessary.

Security of tenure and measures to control the spiralling cost of renting are also areas that will require progressive political thinking if we are to offer future generations a viable, realistic alternative to home ownership.

Speed detection needed in housing estates

There has been a lot of talk of speed this week.

The National Roads Authority is proposing a rush hour speed reduction to 60km/h on the M50 in a bid to reduce what it calls the "accordion effect", where vehicles braking on a heavily trafficked route cause a ripple reaction behind them.

Most of us would love to be able to travel at 60km/h on the motorway at peak times instead of moving at a brisk walking pace, so it will be interesting to see if there is any merit to the NRA's proposal.

But traffic congestion on the capital's busiest route was the last thing on the minds of the parents of little Jake Brennan (6), who was tragically killed by a car outside his home. They held a three-night vigil outside the Dáil to promote their campaign for a speed reduction to 20km/h in residential areas. The initiative, which has become known as 'Jake's Law', was the subject of a Sinn Féin bill and was met with widespread political support, despite warnings from the Minister for Transport that its implementation could prove problematic.

But like everything else in this country, a law is only as good as its enforcement. Reduced speed limits in housing estates will do little for the safety of our children if the detection vans are not moved from our motorways and major roads and into residential areas.

One of the most notorious speed traps is regularly located on the N4, just as you exit the M50 near Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. This is not an area where children play football on the green or even where pedestrians cross the road. It always strikes me as revenue raising exercise rather than a safety measure.

I would like to see the accident statistics for this particular spot because I can't help but think that communities would be far better served if this van was located in nearby housing estates.

Residents' associations also need to play a stronger role in reducing the risk to children's lives. Attempts by parents to have speed reduction measures introduced in their areas are often thwarted by a minority of people who are afraid that ramps or excessive signage will lower the tone of the area or - God forbid - affect property prices.

In my experience, local authorities are slow to act on calls for speed reduction measures unless there is a broad consensus among residents.

On a related note, have you noticed the reduction in the numbers of so-called boy racers on our roads? I'm not just talking about the 'skangers in bangers', but also the young men who spend a fortune modifying their cars.

There was a time when boy racers plagued my community; now they are reduced to one or two brain dead idiots. You'd almost miss the obnoxious roar of their souped-up back boxes in the middle of the night.

So where have they all gone? My guess is that a large section of the boy racer demographic have either been forced to emigrate or have lost their jobs and can no longer afford to pimp their rides.

Whoever said there was nothing good about the recession?

Policing is nothing but a bad joke in our community

Isn't it great that the full resources of the Garda Síochána can be deployed when it comes to arresting a Socialist Party TD? No expense was spared this week with six gardaí dispatched in a dawn raid to bring Paul Murphy in for questioning in relation to the now infamous anti-water charges protest in Jobstown last November.
 

You’d imagine they could have saved a few bob in overtime and petrol money if they’d given him a call and asked him to attend the Garda station voluntarily.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit short-changed by the incident, not least because gardaí are as rare as hens’ teeth in my community. You see, my town is experiencing something of a crimewave, with reports of burglaries or attempted break-ins on a weekly basis at least. We live in fear of being targeted next and are in a state of heightened vigilance and near paranoia.

Burglars are targeting cars and homes in my area. PICTURE POSED

CCTVs, once the exclusive preserve of wealthy residents in gated communities, have now become the norm in my estate. Unfamiliar cars and passing strangers are viewed with increased suspicion and we have all become incessant curtain-twitchers. Faulty alarms are no longer ignored as an irritating nuisance. In fact, the companies that service them are doing a roaring trade, as are local locksmiths.

Since our town lost its Garda station as a result of cutbacks, there has been an anecdotal increase in local crime. The only time you seem to see a patrol car in the area is when the guards are responding to an incident. There is zero Garda visibility most of the time; preventive policing is non-existent.

The one exception has been the increased presence of a speed camera van in the village, even though accidents at this particular location are rare. This shooting fish in a barrel approach to road safety must have brought in a fair bit of spare change. 

Perhaps they could reinvest some of this revenue in new squad cars for our division. Our nearest Garda station is in a neighbouring town five kilometres away. There, a lack of available patrol cars is impeding gardaí’s ability to effectively respond to reports of crime. One local Garda told me that he sometimes had to respond to incidents on foot as they are not permitted to use their own cars while on official duty.

I suspect that those behind the recent spate of break-ins in my town are fully aware of the policing vacuum and are capitalising on it. The opportunistic criminals seem particularly intent on stealing cars, ‘fishing’ for keys through letterboxes in the homes they don’t ransack. CCTV footage shows the brazen thugs all but posing for the cameras.

In the absence of proper policing, our community has had to come together with its own crime prevention initiatives. We now use social media effectively to alert our neighbours of any suspicious activity and we look out for each other’s properties.

With a general election approaching, candidates can expect to get it in the ear if they don’t commit to the reopening of our local Garda station. Personally, I can’t wait for them to come knocking.

Has Michael Lowry made the case for gender quotas?

It was hardly his intention but Independent TD Michael Lowry may have unwittingly made the case for gender quotas in Irish politics.
 

The former Fine Gael Government minister has spent the past few decades embroiled in controversy. Not that it has affected his popularity – Mick can seemingly do no wrong with the good people of Tipperary North who must see something in him that eludes us ignorant Dublin Jackeens.

Lowry was back in the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons when he passed the Taoiseach a note in the Dáil seeking the reappointment of a former PR advisor to the board of the National Roads Authority – a grubby little gesture in itself that led to accusations of cronyism. But the fact that the note was infused with such nod-nod, wink-wink ‘sexist’ language made it worse.

STUNNER: A not bad looking Michael Lowry pictured in the 1990s. PHOTO: DUBLIN PEOPLE FILES

Lowry’s flippant comment that the woman – who by all accounts is an intelligent and capable candidate for the position – was "not bad looking either” could have come straight from the lovely girls’ contest in ‘Father Ted’. An unrepentant Lowry denied accusations of cronyism and sexism. His remarks, he said, were “unnecessary and light-hearted”.

Naturally, it’s all the fault of the politically correct media. Can’t a politician compliment a woman on a nice dress or a pair of shoes?

Lowry is not the only TD to have been accused of sexism in politics. Padraig Flynn damaged Brian Lenihan’s Presidential election campaign in 1990 by making unfortunate comments about Mary Robinson’s “new-found emphasis on her family”.

The late Taoiseach Albert Reynolds didn’t cover himself in glory either with his “that’s women for you” put down of Nora Owen in the Dáil in the early ‘90s.

There are more recent examples, too. It wasn’t so long ago that Mick Wallace landed himself in trouble with mna na hEireann when he was overheard referring to Fine Gael TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor as “Miss Piggy”, leading to much sniggering at the back of the classroom from his buddies in the manner of Beavis and Butthead.

We also had the embarrassing spectacle of Fine Gael TD Tom Barry pulling a female colleague, Áine Collins, onto his lap during a late night Dáil debate on abortion in 2013.

Even that champion of equality, Senator David Norris, came under fire for using inappropriate language when he accused Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty of “speaking out of her fanny”.

Despite there being a handful of women in senior Government positions - such as Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Tánaiste Joan Burton - the fact remains that Irish politics is still largely a boys’ club dominated by a macho culture. 

It would be a pity if women were deterred from entering political life because of the behaviour of a minority of TDs as they can make a valuable contribution. Whether you agree with her or not, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald is one of the best performers in the Dáil. And rising star Averil Power brings some much-needed energy to the Seanad, not to mention Fianna Fáil.

Michael Lowry may only have been speaking for himself but it was a telling insight into how women are still often judged on their looks rather than (or in addition to) their abilities.

In the next general election, at least 30 per cent of candidates will have to be women or parties will face State funding cuts. It remains up to the electorate to decide if the imbalance should be redressed in the next Dáil. While there is still an argument for voting for candidates on the basis of their credentials rather than their gender, there will be some formidable women on the ballot paper who will deserve to be elected on merit alone. 

The Dáil should be an inclusive workplace for women, not some political version of Jurassic Park where species we once thought were extinct still roam free.

Why Leo Varadkar's sexuality doesn't matter

So Leo Varadkar is gay. Who knew? Well, quite a few people, it seems. There were audible whispers about his sexuality within political circles. I had heard it from a journalist colleague just two days before the Minister for Health came out on Miriam O’Callaghan’s radio show. I didn’t care then and I couldn’t care any less now.

Because, quite rightly, Varadkar’s sexuality should be his own private business. But given the upcoming referendum on marriage equality, he felt he needed to share this deeply personal information with the nation.

The RTÉ interview was met with a mixture of positivity and apathy, which shows how we have become a more tolerant, inclusive society. In fact, much of the discussion on social media centred on Varadkar’s revelation that he was only 36. Not that he looks older; it’s just that he seems to have been a politician forever and has achieved a lot for such a young man.

Varadkar was praised for his honesty, a trait that sometimes lands him in trouble with the head honchos in Fine Gael. On this occasion, though, Enda Kenny was supportive, reportedly making quips about his recent visit to the Pantibar.

This further demonstrates how our attitudes to homosexuality have changed. Can you imagine a Taoiseach joking about being in a gay bar during Archbishop John Charles McQuaid’s reign of fear? There would have been a lot of hell-fire and brimstone. It’s a welcome sign that we are no longer in the iron grip of the Catholic Church when it comes to issues of morality.

Within days, the story about Leo Varadkar’s sexuality had virtually disappeared. Now, perhaps, the media can concentrate on the vital work that needs to be done to reform our dysfunctional health service. 

Just weeks earlier, his department was presiding over the worst hospital trolley numbers on record. It would be grossly unfair to lay the blame for the most recent crisis solely at the feet of Leo Varadkar, who is only in the job since last summer and, frankly, inherited a shambolic mess from his Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats predecessors. 

The Department of Health was famously dubbed ‘Angola’ by Brian Cowen and it remains one of the most toxic ministerial portfolios. Given the perilous state of our health system and the multitude of obstacles that need to be tackled, it would be unrealistic for us to expect any discernable improvements between now and the general election.

Leo Varadkar may not have all of the solutions but he is an able, hard-working politician; a straight talker who is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers. All things considered, he is probably the best person – straight, gay or otherwise - for the job. Now that the distraction of his sexuality is out of the way, we should just let him get on with it.

Childcare suddenly matters as general election looms

Call it a happy coincidence but it’s interesting that the Government has suddenly turned its attention to the crippling cost of childcare as the spectre of the next general election looms large.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has already put his troops on a war footing, despite insisting that his coalition will see out its full term until April 2016. But make no mistake: the election campaign got underway in earnest last October with Michael Noonan’s ‘neutral’ budget, designed to reassure us that the worst is over and we can start to look forward to the good times again. Not Celtic Tiger good, obviously, but good in a way that will leave families with more than €50 in their pockets each month after all the bills are paid.

You could sense an election in the air last week with the Government’s sudden interest in the issue of childcare affordability. It’s no surprise to hard-pressed parents that we’re the most expensive country in Europe when it comes to putting our children into a crèche. It was reported that you needed to earn €30,000 a year just to fund the cost of childcare for two children.

But Government sources revealed that this issue is to be looked at in detail by Cabinet with a list of proposals expected to be agreed before the next budget. There was talk of tax breaks, subsidies and a second year of free pre-school for under-fives. Even the older ‘latch key’ kids would be factored into the plan, with the Government either funding or heavily subsidising after-school study clubs and sports activities.

It all sounds promising. But here’s the catch: any agreed changes would need to be phased in over the course of successive budgets. In other words, the electorate would have to give the FG/Labour coalition another term to allow it deliver the goods.

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin, was somewhat stating the obvious last week when he was quoted as saying that high childcare costs were impeding women’s progress in the workplace. He confirmed that the matter would be high on the Cabinet’s agenda in the coming term.

Any measures that provide some respite for parents are to be welcomed. But the Government’s belated acceptance of the financial burden placed on working families by exorbitant childcare costs should be seen for what it is. To me, it smacks of cynical opportunism in the run up to a general election in which Fine Gael and Labour candidates will be fighting for their political lives.

Expect more carrots to be dangled before the ‘squeezed’ middle-income earners in the months ahead. We won’t get fooled again - or will we?

My fruitless pursuit of Charlie Haughey

Oneof the most interesting aspects of RTÉ’s new television drama on Charlie Haughey was its retelling of the role that the Stardust disaster played in his spectacular fall from grace.

After his ruthless power grab from Jack Lynch in 1979, Haughey was keen to put his leadership of Fianna Fáil to the electorate for the first time. He planned to mobilise the troops with a triumphant Ard Fheis on St Valentine’s Day, 1981, with the leader’s main address to be a springboard for a snap election. There were even suggestions of Fianna Fáil securing an overall majority.

Haughey on the campaign trail in 1989. PHOTO: Stephen O'Reilly

However, in the early hours of February 14, harrowing news reports of a fire in a nightclub in Artane began to filter through, with 48 young people feared dead and hundreds more injured. The disaster occurred in the heart of Haughey’s Dublin North Central constituency. He held back tears as he visited the still smouldering remains of the venue, telling reporters that he knew many of the victims personally. As a mark of respect for the dead, the correct decision was made to postpone that weekend’s Ard Fheis and Haughey’s plan for an immediate election was abandoned.

By the time the general election was held the following June, Fianna Fáil’s popularity had plummeted. Political fallout from the hunger strikes, which saw two republican prisoners take Dáil seats at the expense of Fianna Fáil, as well as Haughey’s mismanagement of the economy, resulted in the party’s poorest showing in 20 years. Just two years into his tenure as Taoiseach, a humiliated Haughey found himself on the Opposition benches as a Fine Gael/Labour coalition entered Government.

In 2001, I co-authored a book (with Neil Fetherstonhaugh) on the Stardust disaster. Apart from documenting the story from the perspective of eyewitnesses and victims’ families, we wanted to explore if there was a State role in the tragedy and the investigation into it.

While Haughey had sanctioned a tribunal of inquiry within days of the disaster, it was criticised for having restricted terms of reference. When the tribunal issued its report in the summer of 1982, its central conclusion that the cause of the fire was probable arson was met with outrage by the affected families. Within the ranks of the Stardust campaigners, opinion was divided on Haughey’s response to the tragedy. To some, he was their champion, consistently raising the issue of victims’ compensation in the Dáil. Others viewed Haughey with deep suspicion, believing there had been a State-assisted cover-up into the cause of the disaster, even though no evidence existed to support this theory.

There were also attempts to link Haughey with the owner of the Stardust, Patrick Butterly. One newspaper discovered a connection between Des Traynor, who was involved with Haughey’s former accountancy firm, and a company where Patrick Butterly was one of the original directors and shareholders. However, Haughey had severed his ties with Haughey Boland and Company on his appointment as Minister for Finance in 1966, two years before Traynor became a director of the Butterly-linked company.

Haughey’s most public falling-out with the Stardust Victims’ Committee came in the aftermath of the 1989 General Election. He was accused of reneging on a pre-election promise to provide funds for a memorial park for the victims in Coolock. After a prolonged campaign by this newspaper and numerous protests outside Government Buildings by the Stardust families, Haughey finally relented in 1991 and agreed to a scaled-down version of the park plan. Not for the first time in his political career, Haughey had gone from villain to hero. He was even invited to turn the first sod on the site of the 26 acre park.

While researching our book, we wrote to Charlie Haughey many times, inviting him to respond to the conspiracy theorists’ unfounded claims of a Stardust cover-up. He chose not to accept our offer to set the record straight. While the late Patrick Butterly was a self-confessed Fianna Fáiler, there appeared to be no love lost between him and Haughey. In his privately published memoirs, Butterly gave the impression that he profoundly disliked him, writing that “Fianna Fáil was a great party until that Haughey fella got a hold of it”.

There’s little doubt that Haughey was personally devastated by the Stardust disaster and that his concerns for the victims were heartfelt and sincere. It’s also important to remember that Haughey spent much of the ‘80s in Opposition. He was hardly in a prime position to influence Government decisions in relation to the Stardust, let alone orchestrate a cover-up. Haughey, in his capacity as a local TD, had also objected to numerous licence applications by the Butterlys for their Silver Swan bar in the years following the tragedy.

In our book, we concluded that while Haughey had since been exposed as a cheat in his financial dealings and personal life, nothing – other than speculation and innuendo – has ever emerged to suggest any wrongdoing on his part in relation to the Stardust disaster or its aftermath.

Fianna Fáil attacks on Sinn Féin do nothing for peace

Bertie Ahern celebrates his election to the Dáil in 1997. PHOTO: Darren Kinsella

Bertie Ahern is like my local bus service. Nothing for ages and then we see him splashed all over the papers two Sundays in a row.

With the festive season now upon us, he’s the ghost of Christmas past with an honest to Jaysus Dublin accent, appearing out of the shadows of obscurity to offer us his pearls of wisdom on everything from the Irish economy to the peace process.

And to give him his due, the Good Friday Agreement will stand as his enduring political achievement. He has every right to talk about it and take much of the credit for bringing peace to this island.

It’s hard not to cringe, though, when he mentions anything to do with the economic crash and tries to explain how he didn’t see that one coming. I imagine it’s not something he puts on the CV these days.

Little did Bertie think back in those tumultuous days of the late 1990s that the Shinners would not only be nipping at Fianna Fáil’s heels, but would have overtaken them in the polls, trampling all over their candidates in elections.

Fianna Fáil’s current leader, Micheál Martin, is acutely aware of this and rarely misses an opportunity to refer to his arch enemies as “Sinn Féin-IRA”, a term long consigned to the bad old days of  ‘The Troubles’. Whatever his views on Gerry Adams, the reality is that Sinn Féin enjoy considerable electoral support on this side of the border and have as much right to be in the Dáil as Martin’s TDs.

For Micheál Martin to persist with using such a pre-peace process cliché to describe his political opponents is unusual, especially when you consider his party’s role in bringing Sinn Féin to the political table. But politics is a ruthless game and it now suits Fianna Fáil (and Fine Gael and Labour) to remind the electorate of Sinn Féin’s shady past.

That’s not to say that the Sinn Féin leadership don’t have questions to answer, particularly in relation to their handling of sex abuse allegations. But to constantly refer to them – as Micheál Martin does – as “Sinn Féin-IRA” does absolutely nothing to advance the cause of peace in this country and undermines his own party’s role – and Bertie Ahern’s - in achieving it.

How would Martin like it if Mary Lou McDonald constantly referred to his party as “Fianna Fáil-IMF”?

All political parties have their baggage; Sinn Féin’s, to some degree, needs to be viewed in a historical context. Fianna Fáil’s troubled past is somewhat more recent and we are still living with the consequences of their shambolic handling of the economic crisis.

Micheál Martin was a leading member of that disastrous Government.

The right to protest should not be absolute

When does a protest cease to be a peaceful display of opposition and simply descend into thuggish behaviour?

Many commentators feel that a line was crossed this month when the Tánaiste was trapped in her car for a number of hours and had to be protected by gardaí. Subsequent footage has emerged that paints some of those involved in a most unfavourable light.

A journalist colleague of mine was on the scene in Jobstown that day and he recorded the behaviour of some of those involved. It makes for deeply unsettling viewing. The abusive language and aggression directed at gardaí – public servants simply doing a difficult job under difficult circumstances – suggested that, despite the best intentions of the organisers, this was anything but a peaceful protest.

•Joan Burton:  trapped in her car for a number of hours

That is not to tarnish the good names of the majority of the anti-water charges movement – or indeed public representatives – involved in the protest. But it is quite clear that the event became a magnet for troublemakers. As usual, these thugs would have been in the minority but they made their presence clearly felt, running amok under the guise of an organised protest.

Once it became apparent that a nasty element had infiltrated the ranks of the protesters, it should have been immediately called off with the Tánaiste allowed to go on her way. Instead, she was left at the mercy of a baying mob. Even if you strongly disagree with her politics, it’s hard to justify how she was treated that day.

The unsavoury events in Tallaght were in sharp contrast to the dignified protests held in Dublin city centre and throughout the country recently. Quite rightly, many of those involved in the anti-water charges campaign have criticised such behaviour and have sought to distance themselves from it.

Predictably, Government TDs were quick out of the traps in condemning the Jobstown disturbance. Taoiseach Enda Kenny went ridiculously over the top by comparing it to a kidnapping, somewhat undermining his message.

In the days that followed there were reports of alleged bomb threats and menacing calls to politicians. It would be unfortunate if the negative publicity generated by a fringe element deterred ordinary people from taking part in peaceful acts of protest.

We should appreciate that we live in a democratic society where we have a right to protest. But when it comes to violence and sinister behaviour, that right should not be absolute.

A disgruntled nation has finally found its voice

•PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Kavanagh

A disgruntled nation has finally found its voice, it seems.

Other countries must have marvelled at our apparent tolerance for the brutal austerity measures imposed on us since the IMF/EU bailout in 2010. It’s ironic that this bubbling discontentment only boiled over after the Government unveiled what they widely termed a “neutral” budget.

Once again we were being assured that the worst was over (the late Brian Lenihan rued the day he uttered those words in the Dáil). While all the economic barometers such as housing and employment were starting to head in the right direction, the cumulative effects of punitive taxes eventually took their toll. I find it interesting that it was the issue of water charges that got people out on the streets in their tens of thousands and not the imposition of property tax a couple of years ago. Whatever about the rather spurious case for landing us with yet another household bill dressed up as some sort of water conservation measure, there is something particularly immoral about taxing the family home in the teeth of the worst property crash in modern history.

It beggars belief that people straddled with massive mortgage debt – particularly those in negative equity – should be expected to pay a tax on their ‘asset’. Let’s not forget that the deposits we had to find to get on the property ladder was after-tax income. Our monthly mortgage payments are also after-tax income.

Property tax is a bitter pill to swallow for those who had to pay ridiculous sums in stamp duty during the Celtic Tiger years.

It’s extraordinary that we allowed ourselves to be bullied by the Government into accepting property tax. Why weren’t we on the streets then? What’s going to happen when house values inevitably rise and we have to recalculate our LPT liability after 2016?

The Government’s jittery reaction to the water charges protests shows that Fine Gael and Labour have finally grasped the political reality of the situation. The recent poll showing Sinn Féin to be the most popular party in the country will have further concentrated minds in Government Buildings - and this at a time when Gerry Adams is embroiled in the Mairia Cahill controversy.

We will have a new Government by 2016 but will regime change make any difference to our lives? Recent history will have taught us not to hold our breath. Expect the next Government to blame the old one for all our ills.

Latest fare increases are a tax on working people

Earlier this year I embarked on an experiment to see if we could do without one of our family cars. In this era of austerity, the notion of a two-car household felt a bit Celtic Tigerish.

The cost of keeping two cars on the road has become increasingly prohibitive when you factor in fuel, road tax, insurance, toll charges and servicing. We worked out that getting rid of one car would easily fund a family holiday abroad or – more sensibly – could be put aside for our eldest daughter’s imminent college fees.

Naturally, my car would be getting the bullet. I’d have to bus it to my office in the suburbs or make do with the train if I needed to go into the city. How hard could it possibly be? There’s even free Wi-Fi on the buses these days.

•Public transport needs proper Government funding. FILE PHOTO

I’m not living near the DART line but there is a reasonably regular commuter train service during peak times. The problem is that the station is a two-mile trek from my house so I’d either need to catch a bus to catch a train or park and ride (leaving my wife without a car for the school runs).

On the occasions when I took this option, I was faced with a ridiculous daily rate of €4 to park at the station, followed by a return fare in excess of €10 – and that was before this month’s increase! The train journey into the city was uncomfortably crowded, with standing room only.

The bus option didn’t work out much better. For the privilege of making a return journey to my office (which wasn’t even as far as town), I was charged an extortionate €8.40. This was pretty much on a par with the petrol costs of taking the same trip by car. So after a month of standing in the cold and rain and being forced to listen to commuters loudly babble into their mobile phones, I was back stuck in traffic in the comfort of my car.

Of course, I could have done it slightly cheaper by getting a Leap Card (which is a great initiative) or monthly ticket. But at the end of the day, the saving wasn’t enough to justify getting rid of the car.

The reduction in Government subventions to public transport companies has been directly blamed for the most recent hike in fares. In effect, the increases simply feel like another form of taxation on working people. If our politicians are serious about reducing our carbon footprint and getting people out of their cars, transport needs to be adequately funded by the Exchequer in the public interest.

I suspect that commuters’ tolerance for fare increases is getting close to tipping point.

'Love/Hate' depicts a Dublin we can all relate to

I must admit to being something of a latecomer to 'Love/Hate', RTÉ's riveting and rightly acclaimed crime drama.

Looking back now, the first series bears little resemblance to the tour de force that the programme has become. I remember being distinctly underwhelmed by the show in its early days, despite the fact that it starred acting heavyweight Aidan Gillen. It was late into series four before I dipped back in to see what all the fuss was about. This time, the performances seemed more assured; the writing was stronger; and the tension created by the evolving plotlines was often unbearable.

Nidge is a television character that many communities will be familiar with

There may well have been some disappointment at how series four ended but it set the scene nicely for what was to come. So far, the latest series of 'Love/Hate' has been an absolute triumph and is compulsive viewing every Sunday night.

RTÉ has upped its game in recent years when it comes to original television drama. 'Single-Handed', the story of a lone Garda taking on corrupion and crime in a rural Irish community, was excellent. But last year's highly anticipated missing teen drama, 'Amber', failed to live up to the promise of its opening episode and was ultimately unsatisfying.

The station's upcoming drama on the life and times of Charles Haughey should make for interesting viewing and will no doubt reignite national debate on one of Ireland's most divisive and controversial politicians. Let's just hope that the presence of so many 'Love/Hate' actors in the Haughey production will not prove too much of a distraction.

But back to Nidge and Co for a moment. I was trying to comprehend the huge appeal of the series as the credits rolled on one of the most explosive episodes so far (the one where the young Traveller boy is shot during a botched hit on his dad, Patrick). There is stark realism dripping from every page of writer Stuart Carolan's gritty script. Perhaps it's the familiarity of it all: the recognisable landmarks of the city; the authenticity of the dialogue; the drug lords living abroad; the brutal depictions of the type of violence we read about all the time in newspaper crime reports.

Most of us know parts of the city where residents are in constant fear of  real-life Nidges or Frans. We hear about pub shootings and daylight assasinations with disturbing regularity. It's a story that resonates with us. For all its brilliance, perhaps 'Love/Hate' succeeds most for creating a fictional Dublin we can all too easily relate to.

We should fear the living, not the dead, on Halloween

The other night I was awoken the by flashing lights of a fire engine parked outside my house. I initially thought that a neighbour's property had gone up in flames so was relieved to learn from a fireman that they were dealing with a blaze in an unoccupied Martello tower across the road.

It was quickly brought under control by the experienced fire-fighters. It looked liked an act of wanton vandalism. After all, a vacant historic building such as this is hardly going to be hit by an electrical fault in the middle of the night.

The madness that is Halloween had started early, it seemed. Despite the best efforts of local authorities to remove stockpiled bonfire material in the run up to October 31, certain teenagers somehow always find a way to ruin the seasonal rituals for the rest of us. It's likely that football pitches and local green spaces throughout Dublin will bear the scars of unauthorised bonfires when we wake up on Saturday morning.

What should be a fun night for families and young children can be a fraught with danger. Hospital A&Es tend to be overrun at this time of year with Halloween related injuries sustained through drink-fuelled violence, fireworks and bonfires. Unspeakable acts of cruelty against animals have been committed by low-life thugs during the pagan festival, a sorry reminder of the need to keep our pets indoors over the next few days.

Unfortunately, like St Patrick's Day, Halloween has long been hijacked by out-of-control teenagers intent on causing mayhem in the name of celebration. It's a bit of an Irish thing, really. Any special occasion in this country is often used as an excuse to drink to excess and engage in reckless, anti-social behaviour.

This Friday, it's vital that we supervise our children as they innocently head out trick-or-treating. In particular, we need to keep tabs on our teenagers. A recklessly stacked bonfire or mishandled firework can instantly change their lives forever. One thing's for sure: our overstretched, under resourced emergency services will have their work cut out for them.

Amid the chaos, there will be community-based Halloween events throughout Dublin providing safe havens from the darker side of the festivities. If we take proper precautions and point our kids in the right direction, there is no reason why the night can't be an enjoyable and safe experience for all.

It's a sad fact that Halloween, for all its spooky connotations, has become a night where we should be more afraid of the living than the dead.

Government suffers major water damage

You can only begin to imagine the panic that belatedly gripped the Government parties as the full ramifications of water charges finally hit home over the weekend.

Depending on which media outlet you believed, the numbers protesting in Dublin city centre were somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000; a display of public unity not seen on the streets in decades. Whatever the correct figure, the photographs and television images laid bare the full extent of anger at the Government's imposition of water charges on a nation reeling from seven years of brutal austerity.

•The marchers' message to our politicians was clear. PHOTO: Conor Ó Mearáin

How many of those who marched will vote for Labour or Fine Gael in the next general election? You can be certain that this question concentrated minds in Government Buildings in the panicked pre-budget scramble to offer some concession on water charges. As predicted, there was some respite in the form of tax relief and an additional €100 for those receiving the household benefits package but this is unlikely to be enough to quell growing public discontentment since the establishment of Irish Water.

While tens of thousands of people chanted anti-Government slogans in the city, the political realities were being spelled out for the main parties in Dublin South West and Roscommon South-Leitrim. The election of two new TDs on the basis of their opposition to water charges has sent serious warning shots across the bows of Labour and Fine Gael. Perhaps not quite holed beneath the waterline just yet, but the Government is now very much on the back foot on this issue and the anti-austerity movement will rightly feel that they have the wind in their sails.

Despite all the claptrap about water charges being a measure to encourage conservation, in reality it is simply a revenue raising exercise, with no pricing guarantees beyond 2016. The State itself is the biggest waster of water, not the domestic or commercial user (I am loath to use the word 'customer'), with its antiquated network of leaky pipes.

We are being asked to fund a major capital expenditure programme that will take years or even decades to bear fruit. Once water meters are installed and our new utility bills start plopping through the letterboxes, there will be no turning back. As householders, it's hard not to feel that we are once again being lulled into a false sense of security by having our initial bills based on an assessed charge. It was the same when the €100 Household Charge was introduced, which was simply a precursor to the more punitive Local Property Tax.

Most of us suspect that the only way water bills are heading is up. Just look at what we are now forced to cough up for our refuse collection - a former local authority service that was once funded from general taxation.

The Government continues to insist that water charges are necessary. However, the thousands who marched through the city this month will no doubt be emboldened by the partial climbdown on the issue by Michael Noonan in Budget '15. The question is: how much more water damage can the Coalition withstand?

Soccer parents should be seen and not heard

One of the most welcome developments in schoolboy soccer this year has been the 'Silent Sideline Weekend' initiative.

This is where parents and coaches alike are urged to let the kids play the game without the distraction of expert advice or criticism being shouted from the edge of the pitch. However well intentioned, loudly expressed words of encouragement often have the effect of intimidating the youngsters and hampering their development as players.

Skills: kids should be allowed to enjoy the game. STOCK PHOTO

As a father of two sons involved in schoolboy soccer, I am happy to report that the majority of parents, coaches and supporters generally behave in an exemplary manner. But there have been some exceptions.

I've witnessed unacceptable behaviour from a minority of parents over the years. Some can be incredibly critical of their kids and you shudder to think of what the car ride home is going to be like if the result doesn't go their way. You'd wonder if they are trying to live their own unfulfilled sporting dreams through their children.

I recall one particularly nasty incident when a parent positioned himself directly behind the goalkeeper - his son - and shouted instructions in his ear for most of the match. For the rest of the time he hurled abuse at the young referee and almost came to blows with the coach from the opposing team who had asked him to calm down. It was an uncomfortable spectacle for the kids. They just wanted to play the game that they loved and weren't really all that bothered about the final score.

Young soccer players need to make their own judgements and mistakes. It's how they learn to progress. The coach can offer them constructive advice at half time or when the match is over. They should be able to communicate with each other on the pitch without being drowned out by deafening roars from the sidelines.

It's a sad fact that a number of referees have quit schoolboy soccer due to intimidating and thuggish behaviour by some parents. There should be zero tolerance by clubs for this type of behaviour. I imagine it's a problem not just confined to soccer.

When it comes to letting your kids enjoy their sport, it should be a case of parents being seen and not heard.