Personally I don’t really like party politics, or the whip system to be precise. I think if politicians stood before the electorate with their own beliefs then we’d have a lot more brilliant people in the Dail. I also think we’d be represented much better if TDs were allowed vote freely on all issues, it would create a more engaged assembly that governed for the people it represented.

Before the budget is decided I think all TDs should vote for a new Finance Minister and whoever collects the most votes would reveal the budget, with all TDs agreeing in advance to vote it through. This would be very dramatic of course and there would be plenty of backstabbing and false promises but it would make great TV, scintillating economics could be the new Love Island.  

Ending the whip system would also do away with those nasty party falls outs, the likes of which has Peadar Toibin sitting at home fantasizing about riding a white horse through the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis while waving an Aontu banner.

It would also reduce the likelihood of repeating the scourge of Confidence and Supply #SecretCoalition as backbenchers would be open to vote for and against bills based on their own beliefs.

Luckily the 2020 election has four young candidates who are very opinionated and likely to make a big difference in Irish politics if they get elected. They all wear rosettes but as the old saying goes you can either trap Joan Burton in a car or join a party and try making a real difference.

The candidates also represent an Ireland at the crossroads, there was a time when the most educated candidates were school teachers, but we’re now lucky enough to have graduates who bring experience from different backgrounds to the election table. By voting for people with strong beliefs and an education that backs them up, you are more likely to get someone with the expertise to deliver better solutions, when compared to voting for someone with political connections who dropped out of college but somehow goes on to hold a ministerial position for example.

Saoirse McHugh (Greens)
Saoirse is part of a savvy millennial generation that are concerned about geopolitics, the environment, and individual rights. She has the potential to be Ireland's AOC, willing to take on a system that only works for the 1%.  Well educated, she has a Bachelor of Science in Genetics from UCD and a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security.

SMH first appeared on our TV screens running for the European Elections, and only narrowly lost out on a seat due to some clever green-washing by FG, which resulted in pop up candidate Maria Walsh taking her crown to Brussels. Although SMH picked up plenty of votes there is no guarantee she will land a seat in the Dail.  General Elections in Ireland tend to be far more tribal than the EU elections, which people take less seriously for various reasons. However with Enda Kenny busy advising venture funds there are votes up for grabs in Mayo and there is a good chance the feisty Achill Island native will get elected.

Niall O’Tuathail (Social Democrats)
Health reformist Niall O’Tuathail spent years working to improve the NHS in England before returning to the hipster capital of Ireland to start his own digital company called Mobile Clipboard in 2014.

However Niall is no stranger to politics; he successfully ran Stephen Donnelly’s canvassing campaign in 2011 and also ran David Hall’s election bid in the Dublin West by-election in 2014. More recently he ran the Yes to Equality campaign in Galway.

Niall is another example of a young candidate who can make a real difference; he has a degree from Trinity and arguably has more real world experience than any of our sitting TDs. He’s worked all over the world building infrastructure and designing technological solutions for the health sector. Niall is looking for votes to put an end to the “stale cartel” of FF/FG that has lead to years political stagnation in this country.  

Rob O’Donnell (Greens)
23 year old Rob O’Donnell says he’s frustrated by the pace of change and wants to put an end to young people leaving Tipperary, emigration has devastated small clubs up and down the county with lads leaving for jobs in Dublin and Cork before they even make the senior team.

Rob is not your typical candidate and probably the only candidate you’ll find canvassing on Tinder, but then again there is some value in looking for votes somewhere Mattie McGrath is less likely to find them. Rob is aware that Tipperary votes independent but he wants to convert some of the old diesel into green energy and hopes that a party platform and some fresh ideas can get him elected. Rob is looking for “a real plan for rural regeneration” and wants more resources invested in mental health.
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If you’re voting in Tipperary and you match change Rob O’Donnell might be worth a swipe.

Holly Cairns (Social Democrats)
As party spokesperson for Agriculture Holly has big boots to fill in the Social Democrats. Her bio reads “Farmer, Feminist, wannabe Erin Brokovich”.

Holly runs a podcast called “Inside The Chamber” where she keeps her constituents up-to-date on her life as a councillor, having won the final seat in the Bantry local elections by one single vote, making her the only Social Dem councillor in the country.

Much like our other young candidates Holly is canvassing for change; running on the mantra that “We need policies for the next generation and not just for the next election”. Holly has a first class Masters Degree in Organic Horticulture from UCC and a passion for the environment, which is the kind of combination you need in a conservative three seat constituency that was topped by pro-life TD Margaret Murphy O’Mahony in 2016. Cork South West also elected Michael Collins who got into some trouble recently for his Ireland for the Irish rhetoric. The third seat is held by former school teacher Jim Daly who wants the government to control social media, he wants anyone using Twitter to have a government issued ID so they can be easily identified #TrollHunter.

In a way it’s a constituency primed for change and a fresh face representing climate action might be the very thing Cork South West has been looking for. Holly wants a future for Irish farmers and wants more investment to allow farmers transition to producing more sustainable agri-products.

Fianna Fail have published a manifesto that appeals to young families and conservative grannies. It’s nicely spaced out over 148 pages so here’s the gist of election promises in a nutshell:

There is a touch of Roald Dahl about a plan to deliver edible playgrounds for children, get your five a day while you play. The grand plan also gets hands on with internet porn; promising to protect children from online adult content. Remember there are no good apples on pornhub and nothing says privacy like blue-ray. FF also disapprove of revenge porn and with talks of enacting new laws to criminalise rompy romances gone bad there might be a whole new recruitment programme needed in Templemore, because the regular porn programme they currently have leaves new garda completely unprepared for the real world of Tinder blackmail.

FF plan on reducing USC which is ridiculous considering it is the fairest tax we have. Any reduction in USC means the lower income household pays USC for longer. What we need is for lower earners to take home a fairer portion of their wages by increasing the income tax brackets. I’ve discussed this in unconscionability previously. There is plenty of wording about middle income earners but don’t forget rich people love more money too and FF haven’t forgotten about them either. They plan to reduce capital gains tax from 33% to 25%; which could be the difference of between €250m to €500m in the budget every year. Basically freeing up casino money for property hoarders. Remember our public expenditure remains the same and this is a lot of money to make up in any budget so this should be a huge consideration if you’re thinking about voting for FF. To put it in context over a period of ten years this is the cost of one Bank bailout, and we’re still paying for the last one. So until our debt is clear I think the wealth holders should continue to pay their share.

FF’s big give away is a €2,000 tax credit for child minders, which will no doubt buy them some votes. Speaking of which there’s also more money for the public sector, with the planned introduction of a living wage of €12.30 per hour. An Ireland for all, especially if you’re in the inner circle.

FF put a big focus on Health and Housing in the way you’d expect an established party of their stature to have done, especially when they’re looking to gain seats. FF want to increase bed capacity, which could mean more beds or bigger beds; two people to a bed is one way of solving the trolley crises and has been known to cure some illnesses (temporarily). I’ll be talking more about these topics later so let’s move on. On trend they’ve also gone after the green vote promising to ban plastics and smoky coal.

There is big talk on tackling knife crime and dangerous gambling which is welcomed. There is also a full section on education and rural Ireland. The big promise here is broadband and mobile phone coverage, both pipedreams of the western world. Sensible developments include introducing commercial rate relief for rural business which might give some small towns a lifeline, for many more this would have been handy in 1980.

There is an entire page dedicated to the FAI, six pages for farmers, and a page on a new app called “Fix My Pothole”; which is basically the Healy Rae manifesto (proven vote earner).

In the arts section FF promise to deliver a Republic of Readers which is both non committal and lazy. That’s the job of our schools and art is about much more than public libraries. Book clubs for old folks is an awful attempt to win votes and they might as well lead with the slogan “some knitting done, more knitting to do”, because Michael-D tea cosies are of more modern artistic value than say Cecelia Ahern’s “PS I Love You”. This section really annoys me because I keep imagining some nice old lady trapped in a once fully occupied five bedroom house, wishing she had wifi so she could skype her kids who had to immigrate to Australia because Fianna Fail frantic economics left them without a future at home, and Michael Martin turns up to the door one day to read her a chapter from Robinson Crusoe and the worst thing is that she invites him in and makes him tea and he drinks it. 

There are some final pages on Brexit, the border, and the defence forces. The big call out being some poorly thought out words about a free trade agreement with the UK; and I doubt the EU will leave the backdoor open for Boris. 

(Picture by Harry Burton @HBtoons) 

Dublin Rathdown a constituency that covers Stillorgan, Dundrum, and Churchtown. For those of you not overly familiar with Dublin it’s the leafy middle class suburbs where Shane Ross topped the poll in 2016.

In second, third, and fourth place were Josepha Madigan (FG), Catherine Martin (GP) and Alan Shatter (FG). Unfortunately for Alan it’s a three seat constituency.

It would be a difficult place to come win a seat, Fianna Fail are trying to win two. Into that mix comes Patrick Noonan who seems to have a policy for everyone; but that’s what makes him interesting.

His website bio opens with a quote from Patrick Kavanagh, something that reflects the self confidence of someone you could only find in this part of the world, but perhaps you need to have strong self-belief if you want to make a difference.

“Did a man like Charlie ever notice the butterflies? That man was wise in the ways of the world. But wasn’t it easy been wise in that small way. The meanest minds became the great ones of the world’s wisdom because the really fine minds saw that such success wasn’t worthwhile. Politicians, businessmen and all that breed could be beaten blind at their own game if the good men tried. He was quite sure of that”.

But Patrick’s middle class aspirations don’t end there; a vote for Noonan is a vote for Ireland’s first planetarium, public saunas, polygamy, subsidised gym membership, and an end to surprise cinema ads.

He’s also gone right after that millennial vote with a campaign for universal basic income, lowering the voting age to 16, and wants to offer Julian Assange asylum.

With over 70 policies on the website he has a more readily available election manifesto than Fianna Fail and it’s not all notions in the wind either. Some good ideas that you might not hear others talk about include introducing Public Car Insurance, building an All Ireland Hiking Trail Network, and introducing a Ministry of Serendipity. Ok this last one just shows that he’s got Cadburys in his pocket, the amount of lobbying going on these days is ridiculous. The following is all from his site, just skip to the Ministry of Serendipity if in doubt about where this is going.

Public Car Insurance
Car insurance in Ireland is one of the highest in the EU. For years the government has tried to get the insurance companies to reduce their costs. Sadly, the car insurance incentives are still geared towards fleecing the average consumer. You can’t blame the insurance companies for this, they are bound by their shareholders and doing what any amoral corporate entity would do. As such, government policy is required to realign the incentives of the industry. A public insurance option would be the best way to achieve this. Such models already exist in some provinces in Canada. Essentially, since car insurance is legally mandated for consumers the usual free-market economics can’t work as standard. The public insurance option would operate like a normal car insurance company but would be backed by the Irish government and run on a not-for-profit model. Citizens would still need to pay for insurance but since it would just need to break-even the premiums would be lower. The ultimate aim is to provide a better service for a cheaper price. This would then properly incentivise the private car insurance companies to either adapt or die.

An All Ireland Hiking Trail Network
Ireland is one of the world’s most beautiful countries and boasts some of the most hospitable people to boot. Whilst we do have many great hiking trails scattered across Ireland (The Wicklow Way starting right here in Rathdown) there isn’t a reliable infrastructure in place to make it a truly attractive place for hiking.

As such we need to do three things:

1. Invest in a series of connected way-marked hiking trails that run through all 32 counties in Ireland
2. Create a network of simple huts and rain barrels (for drinking water) every 10/20km
3. Introduce right to roam and camp laws like they have in Scotland and Sweden e.g. allow anyone to pitch a tent for a night so long as they’re 500m from a road, house etc.

Doing these 3 simple steps would have massive cultural and economic benefits for the entire island. As well as for our own physical and mental health too. For example, on the Camino de Santiago for every euro a hiker spends along the trail it generates up 18% in local employment in rural areas. On the Appalachian Trail in the USA, which goes through 14 states and has between 2 and 4 million hikers every year, they found that rural towns near the trail each received up to $2 million from the hikers passing through every year. On the Te Araroa trail in New Zealand, which spans the entire country, from just the 1200 people who hiked the whole thing last year they generated $12 million NZD , all pumped backed into the local rural economies. Visit Scotland in 2015 found walking tourism generated £1.26 billion to the Scottish economy. There is no reason Ireland couldn’t do the same.

Ireland is a perfect location for such a trail because:

• We’re damn beautiful
• We’re damn friendly
• We speak English
• We have a temperate climate (can hike all year round)
• We don’t have any dangerous animals (such as bears, snakes)
• We have a large diaspora who want to explore our country

Whilst a lot of the economic benefit comes from international hikers coming to explore Ireland, there would also be great benefits for all Irish citizens who would know that, in any county in the country, they could hike to anywhere else they wanted to, safely. As well as ensuring that everyone has a trail nearby if they just want to hike for an hour or a night. The mental health and health benefits of being out in nature can’t be overstated. The trail could also be graded for bikes and/or horses. The Pacific Crest Trail in the US, which goes from the Mexican border all the way up to the Canadian border, is an example of a trail that is graded for hikers, cyclers and horse riders. It would also be a great partnership project for Ireland and Northern Ireland to work on to ensure all 32 counties have connecting hiking trails.
 
Ministry of Serendipity
A lean rag-tag team of approx 5 people with a small budget of approx €10 million with the mission to create and propagate instances of serendipitous joy and happiness across the country. Whilst most government ministries have clear briefs and upfront projects, the purpose of the Ministry of Serendipity is to create random joy for Irish citizens.

We don’t know what they could do but if you happen upon it, you’ll smile.
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This would be rolled out incrementally and the concept validated on its outcomes. If after a year or two, people didn’t feel it was beneficial on the whole then it would be scrapped.