Appropriate that TDs seeking to shore up their own election prospects denied right to savage Fitzpatrick

I’m glad Sean Fitzpatrick (disgraced former Chairman on Anglo-Irish Bank) is refusing to appear before the Joint Oireachstas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs. With the exception of Senator Shane Ross, who has a genuine interest in the public good, I believe the members of this group are largely interested in getting on the telly so that their ‘outrage’ at Fitzpatrick and his peers might help in some way in getting them re-elected. These are the same people who sleepwalked through the Celtic Tiger bubble. It’s nonsense. I suggest that as an alternative, the Chairman and other selected members of this Committee appear before a randomly selected panel of members of the public to explain what they have been doing, as legislators, to safeguard the public interest.

Turbulence on the Dublin rail line?

Experienced a rather nervous journey from a Kerry town to Dublin recently on the much-touted new Irish Rail Inter-City rolling stock. It should be called jumping stock. On a number of occasions when the train appeared to be at full tilt (still very slow by European standards) it jerked quite violently. Certainly violently enough to have you wearing your tea had you been holding it at that moment. It almost felt like the train had left the tracks.

In between the violent jerks there was the more familiar general shaking and shuddering. Makes going to the toilet very interesting.

In France, for example, the TGV reaches must faster speeds than the Irish rail system and yet it is an incredibly smooth ride. Clearly, the physical track network in Ireland is in dire need of re-laying if we are to be able to upgrade to faster trains in the future. Couple this with the lack of sets of parallel lines between key locations, and this makes for a pretty third-world rail system. A ‘first-world’ rail system would route inter-city trains past or around regional services by having more than one track going in the same direction. This would also allow proper express trains between major cities, thus cutting down further on the time taken. Newbury is a commuter town in Berkshire, about one hour by train from London (Paddington I think). If you stand at the train station you will notice that there are four track lines. The two inside track lines are for trains that are going straight past Newbury without stopping. So they can hurtle by on their merry way at almost full speed (it’s a bit scary if you are not expecting it so I think they give a warning).

This kind of investment in the track infrastructure is what the Irish State should have been doing during the good times when the coffers were full to the brim. Instead, Irish Rail tinkered around the edges, jazzing-up train stations and rolling stock. The prehistoric rail network remains.

Time to ‘shop around’ for a better EU treaty deal ?

For years now we’ve been lectured to by government ministers (and others such as the fuc…..ahem, the National Consumer Agency) to ‘shop around’ for the best deal. After the Lisbon treaty debacle, looks like it’s time for them to practice what they preach.

I wonder is the ‘No’ vote actually a God-send for the government in terms of domestic politics. It strikes me as a great ‘catch-all’ excuse for the coming years to avoid accountability for incompetence and mismanagement.

Martin Mansergh must make sure not to laugh

Martin Mansergh should be OK in his new appointment as Minister of State AS LONG AS HE DOES NOT LAUGH PUBLICLY. ‘Cos when the guy laughs he sounds like Dr. Evil. I’m not joking.

Thought for the day

“To know who one is, an individual must be aware of what he feels”

- Alexander Lowen

My suggested edits to the job specification of Department of Education Assistant Secretary Generals

I see that the Department of Education and Science is recruiting two additional Assistant Secretary Generals, one to be based in Athlone and the other in Mullingar. Let’s face it, running this huge part of the apparatus of the state on a perpetual ‘go-slow’ basis takes up a lot of senior management time. I’ve taken the liberty of downloading the job spec from www.publicjobs.ie and doing my own edits on the Mullingar-based position to make it more accurate. My suggested edits are in red. See below!

The Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) intends to hold a competition for the purpose of recommending a person for appointment to the positions of Assistant Secretary In the Department of Education and Science Athlone and Mullingar TLAC/388 & TLAC/389

TITLE OF POSITION: Assistant Secretary

OFFICE Department of Education and Science

LOCATION Athlone and Mullingar

Overview of the Role – Mullingar

The post-holder will be responsible for

The Department’s budgetary and finance function

· The post-holder will be responsible at Assistant Secretary level for overall co-ordination of the Department’s budget which in the current year amounts to some €9.3 bn. In discharging this role he/she will be required to have or to be capable of quickly acquiring a strong appreciation of the wider economic and social context within which education policy is framed and a clear understanding of the wide range of demands and priorities across the education sector that compete for resources .

· He/she will manage the Department’s input to the annual estimates and budget cycle. [He/she will take a lead role in mediating competing demands he/she will be required to sit on the fence in dealings with stakeholders and know when to string processes out for years in order to ensure the perpetual continuation of the status quo] and [in advancing a cohesive departmental position for discussion with the Minister developing spin for the Minister to use to evade accountability for the Ministers actions or more likely, the lack of them] and subsequently for negotiation through the estimates cycle.

· Throughout the year he/she will also be responsible for appropriate overall expenditure management across the Education Vote and in meeting the associated reporting requirements at a corporate level within the Department to the Department of Finance and to the Government.

· The post holder will also have responsibility for the operation of the Department’s finance unit, including the operation of the financial management system (FMS) and meeting government accounting and financial reporting requirements.

Curriculum, Assessment and Qualifications Policy

· [The post-holder will have responsibility for advising on policy in relation to curricular and assessment matters at primary and second level. In this context he/she will liaise closely with and provide the policy context for the work of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the State Examinations Commission. He/she will also have overall responsibility for the funding and oversight of these agencies and for driving policy changes in this complex operating environment. The post-holder will also have oversight responsibility for An Choiste Um Gaelscoileanna agus Gaelscolaiochta.The post-holder will ensure that the NCCA does not ‘get ahead of itself’ and propose anything too radical or innovative. The post-holder will ensure that the NCCA does not put the Department in an awkward position where it cannot justify doing nothing.]

· [The post-holder will have responsibility for advising on policy in relation to the further development of the national qualifications framework, including issues relating to the recognition of foreign qualifications and the regulation of private providers of education services. He/she will have oversight of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council and the Further Education and Training Awards Council. Ditto above ]

Policy on ICT in Schools

· [The post-holder will take the lead role in advising on and in the implementation of the Department’s ICT in schools strategy. The NDP provides multi annual funding in excess of €250m. for this purpose and the post-holder will have responsibility for advancing a comprehensive strategy and implementation plan to secure a genuine embedding of ICT in teaching and learning. None of the current Assistant Secretaries want this one on their desks (it was pointed out recently that the funding set aside is nowhere near what is required), so the new boy or girl should get it.]

· [He/she will oversee the operation of the National Centre for Technology in Education and collaborate with a wide range of interests in advancing this nationally important agenda. We don’t really understand the potential role of technology in education. We prefer the status quo. Keep this crowd happy and quiet.]

Department’s regional office network

· [The Department has 10 regional based offices reporting to a central co-ordinating unit. The post –holder will be charged with overseeing the diverse work programme of this networkThe post-holder will attempt to create, for the first time, the impression that the regional office structure has any value.] [This includes the provision of departmental input to a range of locally and regionally based fora, advisory and operational inputs on locally based issues and contributing to the delivery of departmental initiatives in areas such as enrolment, accommodation provision etc The post-holder should make sure that this extra layer of bureaucracy facilitates surveillance, and where necessary, interference, procrastination, and obstruction at regional level, all in the interests of control and maintaining the status quo.] The regional office service also oversees the work of the visiting teacher service for Travellers.

· [The regional office service is staffed by administrative and inspectorate staff and the post-holder will have to be capable of managing this resource to maximise coherence and delivery of results this meaning results from the Department’s perspective, not the taxpayer/citizens perspective (sure what do they know?).]

· He/she will have a strong planning and developmental capacity in advancing the role of the regional office structure within the Department.

Personal requirements

Candidates should have a record of achievement in their careers to date and have the ability and capacity to perform effectively as an Assistant Secretary in any area of the Department’s remit and as a member of the Department’s Management Advisory Committee. Many of the significant issues within the Department’s remit span individual MAC members areas of responsibility and in some instances also require collaboration across Departments. [The capacity to work within a strong team ethic at MAC level is an important element of any Assistant Secretary level job within the Department the ability of senior management to protect each other and collectively avoid accountability for anything is paramount.]

The appointee will:

· Demonstrate an understanding of or the ability to quickly acquire an understanding of the wide-ranging and multi-faceted issues in the education sector, from early childhood to adult education

· Be capable of operating effectively in a complex negotiating environment involving a wide range of interest groups

· Be able to analyse and evaluate financial matters within a wider education policy context

· Have a strong appreciation of the role of education as an agent of economic progress and social cohesion and a capacity to engage with curricular, education content and pedagogical issues as drivers of change and improvement in the education system.

· Have the capacity to deal with all aspects of the Department at Assistant Secretary level and to contribute actively to the overall leadership of the Department.

· Demonstrate a liking for works of literature such as George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four

The attention of candidates is drawn to the generic competencies that have been developed for use by TLAC for Assistant Secretary posts.

Independent does a U-turn on interest rate predictions in two days

If you are reading the main newspaper you get this:

“European Central Bank Officials are raising the prospect of interest-rate increases for the first time since the global credit squeeze began last August, stepping up their battle to keep inflation in check” – Irish Independent, Wednesday 23 April 2008.

If you are reading Property Plus supplement (funded through advertising by estate agents), you get this:

“ECB President, Jean Claude Trichet, is expected to help improve housing affordability by cutting interest rates before the end of the year…” – Irish Independent Property Plus supplement, Friday 25 April 2008.

Which is it lads?

Artists being drowned out by pissed-up ‘audiences’

Today’s Independent has a quick review of Owen Brady’s recent gig in Whelan’s, Dublin.  Reviewer Ed Power states that ‘…not everyone is even here to listen to Brady — when he lowers the tempo to strum the semi-acoustic ‘Sun Shining Down’ the hubbub from the bar threatens to drown him out.’ Power goes on to say that ‘If there’s a problem it’s that this kind of music — yearning, syrupy and anthemic — is designed for ringing out across adoring arenas, not wooing semi-curious punters in a darkened club.’

I don’t know anything about Brady, but as someone who has been in Whelan’s plenty of times, I find his comments absolutely bizarre. Nothing bar thrash death metal could drown out the  constant ‘hubbubb’ that is in the background in gig venues all over Dublin. As far as I can see many members of the ‘audience’ (I’m not sure if that’s the correct term any more) at gigs these days in Dublin are ’semi-curious’ (perhaps ’semi-comatose’ might be a more appropriate term).

Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned, but I kind of assume that when you pay money into a gig venue to see an artist, you are interested in listening to them, either because you know their stuff and like them or you’ve heard a bit about them and want to judge for yourself. Instead, what we get is a significant proportion of the audience who are much more concerned with getting pissed than listening to the music. I’m not just talking about little venues like Whelan’s. Vicar Street is no different. I’ve even heard Bruce Springsteen being practically drowned out by a mass of chatting ‘audience’-goers in the Point Theatre. As well as alcohol, mobile phones with cameras have made things worse. Now it seems the most important thing to do is get a picture of the artist on-stage; once you have that, sure who gives a **** about the rest of it??

There’s a distinct profile to these ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) punters, who come in both male and female forms. They start off seemingly very excited about the impending arrival of the artist on-stage. They scream and roar a good bit (things like ‘come on ya good ting’). They go wild when the artist comes on stage. They might listen for the first song. But then they seem to lose interest, and proceed to start yapping with their friends as if they were down the local. Bizarrely, they return to screaming and yelping when each song ends, even though they haven’t paid a blind bit of attention to the song itself. Tension invariably erupts during particularly quiet music, with genuine listeners becoming fed-up. The shhhhhhh’s start going around. Depending on how pissed-up the offenders are, they either quieten down a bit or respond to the pleas to shut-up with ‘ah why don’t ye chill out’ or worse, some obscenity.

And the staff/management of these venues? They don’t seem to care. They probably make more money from the drink sales than the ticket sales.

Participation in Class Theatre

“Professional” life involves resigned participation in class theatre. As far as I can see, most people don’t question their work, their jobs, what it all means to them. There must be some reason why so little change in the public sector gives rise to such minimal reflection. There is a silent context, a hidden reason for all this. I believe that to be class theatre. We do not question the purpose of our organisational and professional lives because to do so would show up the charade of class theatre. Without occupations, there is no middle class. This class can only survive through its members occupying certain positions in perpetuity. The middle classes are defined by their location in the world of work. They are not the owners, but rather the managers. It is far more important to assert one’s right, as a member of the middle class, to ‘own’ a job within the managerial hierarchy, than it is to question whether the jobs, collectively, are achieving the objectives to which the rhetoric refers. Managerial positions are literally about the survival of class identity, and status. This imperative is much stronger than any other reason for the job. Through the content of managerial positions in both the public and private sectors, through the interrelationships, the ways of working, members of the middle class declare their claim to be and to continue to be in the middle class. The spin says its all about outcomes, but its not really. Its about how dedicated you are to propping up the system.

Dublin will never be free of traffic gridlock

I don’t believe that Dublin will ever be free of traffic chaos. In the age of technology, people are simply too attached to the experience that being in a car brings them.

    The government’s transport policy is based on the assumption that when an adequate transport infrastructure is created for the greater Dublin area, people will switch from their cars in droves. This is one big assumption. Transport bureaucrats assume that people slowly go out of their minds sitting in traffic. Do they? I don’t see it. What the transport anoraks don’t understand is that many people derive emotional security from driving. They are in control in this shell. Outside they often feel they have no control. They have power in the shell, a refuge from feeling powerless elsewhere. In an era in which personal space is ever more aggressively defended, the car provides the perfect, controlled refuge. We can talk or sing away to ourselves and there’s no one there to judge us as mad. We can be ourselves. Outside we don’t have the confidence to be ourselves.

The love affair with the car represents our headlong rush to integrate with technology, despite the fact that its cold and lifeless and despite the fact that in doing so we become more isolated from our fellow human beings. We have our laptop, our iPod, our mobile and our car. None of them talk back. They do whatever we ask of them. They don’t make us feel uncomfortable or inadequate.

So sit back and relax. Stick on your favourite CD and drown out the noise outside. Switch on the heated seat. You are in splendid isolation and no one can touch you.