Even in a time of austerity, the Government needs to be careful what it cuts, writes Paul Allen.
Government departments have spent nearly €400,000 on public relations in the last couple of years, according to figures released this week. But the fact of the matter is they should be spending more.
Saying such a thing in the current climate of swingeing cutbacks is tantamount to treason. Years of austerity have frayed tempers, and the recent debacle over household and water charges have pushed many people beyond breaking point.
Regardless of the arguments for and against such measures, the government has ultimately struggled to clearly communicate its policy. Mixed and unclear messages have constantly been leaking from the coalition government sparking panic, fear and dismay throughout the country.
This resulted in only 920,000 out of 1.6m homeowners actually registering and paying the household charge.
Even after the frantic communications chaos that led up to the March 31 deadline, the government then messed up the communication of the water charge. Was it is to be paid in a lump sum? Was it to be spread over a number of years? Would there be any charge at all? The answer was yes, no or maybe depending on who you were listening to.
The business of government is never easy. Ministers receive constant briefs and daily updates from civil servants and then have to communicate that information to the public. But just like lawyers love to speak legalise, civil servants and government officials speak in what is often an impenetrable language for the uninitiated. It is little wonder politicians frequently get caught out making blunders.
Love or loath advisors the media has branded spin doctors, the fact is that clear communications between any government and its people is a critical necessity in a democracy.
While often derided for employing dark arts, there is nothing sinister in having public relations professionals helping government ministers communicate in a clear, concise and consistent way — the opposite of what it has been happening in many instances recently.
In a time of austerity any such suggestion is met with contempt from the media and the public at large. However, the question must be asked — what type of relationship do we want with those in power?
There is a danger in Ireland that the cold eye of the accountant is valued above all else, meaning we often end up knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing.
We throw our arms up when we get misinformation or mixed messages from those in power, but will be filled with rage if we hear of ‘special advisors’ being hired to help.
While all government spending needs to be justified and accounted for, there is also a cost associated with good governance. However, some people seem blind to this equation.
Some would argue that the cost of flying the Taoiseach to a crunch meeting with EU heads of state in a private jet should be done away with and replaced with Ryanair. This is even though the time for planning, briefing and preparation afforded by taking a private jet can have a huge impact with regards to performance on the European stage.
The same is true with many areas of governmental spending. Strict accounting and transparency is a must, but there are some areas that when trimmed back too far will ultimately impact on the Government’s ability to govern.
So, when it comes to running Ireland, always taking the Ryanair option may provide an immediate saving, but could have far more costly implications on our future.
While tighter regulation is necessary, the traditional media is best placed to help police more balanced and unbiased news reporting, writes Paul Allen.
Is our media too self-obsessed? Well, according to Minister of Communications Pat Rabbitte it is. He believes that, “no other sector of society has the same ability or willingness to elevate their office politics to national news.”
However, many believe the problem with the media is that it is not self-obsessed enough. This is because, unlike the other areas of society it so vigorously investigates, it rarely turns the spotlight on its own operations in any meaningful way.
Minister Rabbitte has rightly made it his mission to improve standards in the television, radio and newspaper sectors, particularly in the wake of the highly damaging and defaming Prime Time Investigates ‘A Mission To Pray’ programme.
It is of little surprise the knives are out for RTE and the media in general after the botched hack job on Father Kevin Reynolds.
RTE became a little too self-assured and over-confident, letting its position as a big fish in a small pond go to its head.
But, according to the Minister, the likes of RTE and other big players are in for a wake-up call because he believes the future of the media in Ireland will be poorer, more democratic and online.
However, while there is little doubt the media will continue to become more fragmented, the big players of today will not only be the top dogs for many years to come, but are also best placed and have the resources to help police a policy of more balanced and fair reporting.
But while such a policy is relatively easy to put on paper, the Minister needs to be aware that changing the very culture of news reporting is far more difficult.
The media has always thrived on bad news. Not so surprising given this constant diet of conflict and drama draws a large audience and, in turn, advertisers. Good news is boring and not good for business, just ask Joe Duffy.
All media loves drama. And like in most good dramas, it loves nothing more than shouldering blame on a dastardly villain.
Once this blame is apportioned, reporting and editorial comment becomes highly skewed and biased.
RTE’s unfair, unbalanced and unethical coverage concerning Father Kevin Reynolds had its birth in the fact that the burden of proof was deemed less important when it came to a priest thanks to the sins of the Catholic Church.
Politicians also suffer from the sins of others. And when they are frequently harangued live on air by presenters seemingly more interested in scoring points than uncovering the facts, it feeds into and re-enforces a public mood distrustful of our political classes.
Fake tweets, on air bullying and skewed coverage has not only affected RTE, but has impacted on our media’s ability to help us develop a balanced understanding of critical news stories.
This results in emotionally driven reactions to the collapse of the Celtic tiger, the performance of our government and our relationship with the EU.
While this is never a good thing, it becomes more problematic when we are faced with the upcoming vote on the European fiscal stability treaty referendum.
The reality is that empowering the existing media to better balance the inherent bias of all journalism, is far more effective than waiting for a time far in the future when the status quo in the sector might change.
How Minister Rabbitte proceeds is of critical importance because, we need a media that not only has the power, but also the resources to reflect the truth as clearly as possible. This is highly important because if we cannot view the past and present with unbiased clarity, our view of the future will always be worryingly skewed.
After 15 years and millions of euro, the Mahon tribunal has confirmed for all who have failed to realise, we are truly living in a Banana Republic, writes Paul Allen.
After a decade and a half of foreplay the one thing the findings of the Mahon tribunal have underlined is that we have all been taken for a ride.
How can any democracy justify squandering millions of euro on the biggest investigation into corruption the state has ever witnessed to tell us all what the dogs the in street have known for years?
Not that it comes as a huge surprise, but the minimum most people were expecting was for former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to be officially tarred and feathered.
However, simply stating Bertie “failed to truthfully account for” a wedge of cash that passed though bank accounts connected with him is hardly the knockout blow to his reputation many were hoping for.
It would be any spin doctor’s wet dream to have such unspecific language used against their client. You would think after all the filthy lucre shoveled into the tribunal over the years it could have at least bought a set of teeth. But rather than dishing out a true mauling the best this toothless tiger could muster was a slap on the wrist that more or less accused the former Taoiseach of not playing ball and being a bit of a scallywag.
Indeed, the only thing the Mahon Tribunal has achieved is to confirm for those that may have forgotten that the Banana Republic is alive and well.
While Enda Kenny was doing us all proud earlier this week in the US as he charmed President Barack Obama and told all who would listen that modern, sleek Ireland is bouncing back and very much open for business, the evidence would appear to undermine him.
Yes, Ireland will recover from the recession and most likely, in economic terms at least, bounce back leaner and meaner than ever before, but the undeniable truth is that our country will remain broken.
How can we justify spending so much effort and cash on what has amounted to be a total waste of time? Why is someone that has “failed to truthfully account” for something not been branded a liar? Why has no one been prosecuted? The sad reason is that in Ireland we prefer sugarcoated double-speak rather than the uncomfortable truth.
The onus is now on the current Government to ensure such a travesty of time wasting never happens again. If someone is guilty, then drag them through the courts and throw them in jail. We can no longer afford expensive white elephants such as the Mahon tribunal and the Irish public should no longer stomach them.
In a time of austerity it is simply sinful the even contemplate ever again squandering cash on such costly circuses. Just like the only meaningful thing the Seaned produces on a yearly bases is enough hot air to float the egos of overpaid part time politicians who love the sound of their own voice, tribunals have also proved they are well past their sell-by date.
The findings of the Mahon Tribunal should be used as a wake up call for a nation that loves pointing the finger and looking for scapegoats. We need to demand a system where the privileged and wealthy actually have something to fear from fiddling the system.
The sad truth today however is that it is not Bertie Ahern that should be ashamed of himself, but all of us for hoping this charade would change anything.