Is Ireland a Democracy?

[Lazarus]

Having read Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly's speech today, it raises the bigger question in my mind anyway, who the hell is actually running the country? It is obvious that the Executive decide on all matters, and the Government supporters vote as ordered. Therefore, there is no democratic political machine in action. Our elected T.D.s who are elected to legislate, and not to fill in potholes, are not legislating. They are being told what to do, and they do it.

That is not democracy. That is dictatorship. How do we know who is instructing the Executive on what to legislate for, and how to vote.

[Bobert]

Oh God! The list of problems with this country's system of government is endless.

[ibis]

Nah - it's a factional oligarchy, but factional support is expressed through voting.

[FutureTaoiseach]

It's more a spectrocracy. The ghosts of the Civil War run this country through inherited voting-patterns since then. And even they are subject to Brussels, which is itself an oligarchy where referenda-results of which they disapprove are routinely flouted when it doesn't suit.

[Pauli]

I thought it was the received wisdom at this stage that Ireland employs a gombeen kleptocracy system of government.

[Ulster-Lad]

Our TDs are supposed to represent us the people who elected them. In reality that is far from the case. As pointed out the cabinet makes decisions then our representatives vote to support them. Not really democratic!

[gaius hippingo]

Our TDs are supposed to represent us the people who elected them. In reality that is far from the case. As pointed out the cabinet makes decisions then our representatives vote to support them. Not really democratic!

And the same demographic of halfwits continue to re-elect their halfwits of choice, namely such idiots like Mary Coughlan or Jackie Healy Rae, parochial gombeens who embarrass us by reflected what the average Irish person is truly like - spiteful, mean spirited and self serving.

[markeys]

I blame us. We elected gombeens.

What did we expect? That we'd elect gombeens and suddenly they'd start looking out for our interest?

I'm rather worried about who's running the country given that the bankers and telling FF what to do. Who can forget that night the bankers showed up at government buildings and FF asked how high they should jump? Must be some dirt floating around FF don't want to come out. Actually, this meeting is specifically excluded from the secret inquiry set up by FF to investigate anyone but FF. Looking less like a democracy every minute.

[Libero]

Having read Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly's speech today, it raises the bigger question in my mind anyway, who the hell is actually running the country? It is obvious that the Executive decide on all matters, and the Government supporters vote as ordered. Therefore, there is no democratic political machine in action. Our elected T.D.s who are elected to legislate, and not to fill in potholes, are not legislating. They are being told what to do, and they do it.

That is not democracy. That is dictatorship. How do we know who is instructing the Executive on what to legislate for, and how to vote.

No, the Republic of Ireland is still a democracy, albeit one that knowingly adopted the Westminster system and, with a party system in place, the almost-inevitable result: the elective dictatorship. Elective dictatorship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have to say: I'm a bit bemused by much of Emily O'Reilly's criticism, and the sort of reaction shown on this thread. It seems to have come as a big surprise - to people who should know better - that an Irish government would react as it did to a report critical of one of its own, even if that meant imposing the whip inside the committee system.

The precedents have been there for decades, especially the use of the whip to squash almost any sensible legislative initiatives that meekly come from an opposition member. Dáil Éireann is worse even than Westminster for routinely dismissing that sort of initiative. And we all now how Bertie Ahern was able to engage in years of non-answers before the Dáil, because he knew a majority of members would never censure him or impose a proper chair/speaker.

It was always just a matter of time before the "because we can" factor outweighed the soft sentiment that Oireachtas committees should operate freer from the whip than does the Dáil. And that's why I'm not at all surprised that O'Reilly's report has been consigned to parliamentary oblivion. She is right though to say that it reflects not just on our system of democracy but on the wider political culture. When it comes to voting, the running of parliament doesn't seem to be all that high up most voters' lists of priorities.

[Panopticon]

I blame us. We elected gombeens.

What did we expect? That we'd elect gombeens and suddenly they'd start looking out for our interest?

Quite.