What should a TD be doing??

[barrym]

Apropos the George Lee affair, it has at least opened a sort of discussion on what it is that a TD should be doing.

Most of the pols says 'what did Lee expect' - he cannot be the policy maker so soon.....

Others, the more cynical(?), say he had no hope, the Dail is for pragmatists.

On Frontline the usual suspects (Whelan, etc.,) say - you cannot get on being a policy wonk, you have to get the medical cards and attend the funerals.....

That last bit really annoys me - if you are entitled to a medical card you get one, wtf are TDs doing in there? Similarly, funeral attending by pols is a farce, everybody knows why the turn up. Except for personal friends and family they've no need to be there.

We desperately need some people in the Dail who occupy themselves with dealing with the needs of Ireland, not the needs of medical card applicants. Surely we have moved on to a situation where you can make your name as as TD by being good at managing this country?

Bye, Barry

[Drico]

All this talk of "medical cards", "funerals" and the like is simply a dismissal of constituency work. This is a fundamental part of a TD's job and is incredibly important. Dismissing it is rather disrespectful of the many people who put in so much work at the ground level.

George Lee's problem was that he did not representing Dublin South to be the privilege that it is. Instead he felt that the Dáil was privileged to have him as a member, he seemed to think that constituency work was beneath him (he didn't even bother with a website ffs, nearly all councillors go to the bother of putting one up) as opposed to being the majority of a TD's workload. The c.100k salary could hardly be justified by the few days a year that the Dáil actually sits, especially when you discount the many of those days spent on local issues anyway. The reality is that most time has to be spent on the nitty gritty, less glamorous stuff at a constituency level.

[Chrisco]

All this talk of "medical cards", "funerals" and the like is simply a dismissal of constituency work. This is a fundamental part of a TD's job and is incredibly important. Dismissing it is rather disrespectful of the many people who put in so much work at the ground level.

There is no question that the work is important, but is it important that our national legislators do it? Could a county councillor not do them?

[laidback]

Regarding medical cards and welfare benefits generally, there are existing services like the Community Information service which can help, and ultimately there is the ombudsman. TDs should not get involved if approached should inform constituents of the services that can advise and help them.

TDs and councillors (who now receive a salary as well as expenses) should have job descriptions including what they are NOT to do - but these job descriptions should not be written by politicians needless to say.

Regarding politicians websites, the taxpayer pays for them under the special secretarial allowance - they just send in an invoice from the website designer. So george did not have a website - he saved us money!

[Own Arris]

All this talk of "medical cards", "funerals" and the like is simply a dismissal of constituency work. This is a fundamental part of a TD's job and is incredibly important. Dismissing it is rather disrespectful of the many people who put in so much work at the ground level.

If people need help getting medical cards, council houses etc. the idea that a TD could speed up this process using an inside track implies wholesale corruption or at least favouritism.



We do not elect and spend a fortune on government in this country for people to use TDs as social workers. They are there to legislate not to stop dogs s******g in our gardens. For TDs to be used as errand boys spits in the face of proper governance and is an insult to democracy.



I'm not blaming the TDs per se, but we need massive political reform if we are to end the type of gombeenism that has lead us to near ruination.

Whatever about the ins and outs and method of George Lees departure, he does us a great service in highlighting some of the practices that prevent our TDs from doing their job.

[cyberianpan]

Irrespective of their qualification and experience freshmen TDs should spend their first decade doing:







If they're lucky then they'll make Minister... and will get staff to do the above :-D
cYp

[Edo]

Very simple answer here

Politician wants to be elected - politician does what he needs to to get elected - Politician does what he can when elected to stay elected.

Who does the electing? - who makes the decision on whether the politician is any good or not?

Because after being away from the internet for a day until now - its the one answer that nobody wants to address around here.

Its the people, stupid - welcome to the joys of democracy - so stop lecturing and get out there convincing and like 99% of whinocracy around here - stop talking about it and get out and do something about it.

But then - where is the fun in that?

You want the electoral system reformed etc etc - well start talking directly to the people of this country - its in their hands - we get the democracy we deserve.

if you want politicians to stop worrying about potholes and more about planning - well start voting for politicians who have the same priorities - stand yourself and convince enough of your friends, neigbours and associates to do so - because that is the only way things around here are going to change - the make up of our current dail is representative of the people who participate in the democratic process in this country - if you dont feel represented - well then you have ask yourself why not?

[consultant]

Irrespective of their qualification and experience freshmen TDs should spend their first decade doing:







If they're lucky then they'll make Minister... and will get staff to do the above :-D
cYp

But this is the Irish political system. Without it, apparently, we can't expect our politicians to lead, govern and manage.

(BTW, what is the going rate for an apprentice painter?)

[gombeennation]

All this talk of "medical cards", "funerals" and the like is simply a dismissal of constituency work.

The point is that this should not be part of the work.
WTF should going to a funeral be "work" - its pathetic.

This is a fundamental part of a TD's job and is incredibly important.

Its a fundamental part of being a gombeen - its incredibly important part of getting re elected.
This is why these gombeen take part in this farce.
Again , its pathetic.

Dismissing it is rather disrespectful of the many people who put in so much work at the ground level.

yes, lets not disrespect the gombeens , that would be terrible.
doing such tough tough work.
being that insincere doesnt come easy you know - have to practice the ould grimace on the face - the heartfelt handshake - not easy to be so too faced.
you also have to work out which funerals to go to - number of family members etc. all vital stats. make sure they all see you. harrowing stuff. its an art form you know.

George Lee's problem was that he did not representing Dublin South to be the privilege that it is.

George lees problem is the same as everyone elses problem - the gombeen structure that exists in irish politics.

he was voted in on the premise of helping with economic policy.
when it became clear that the GombeenForce was too great to break down - he took the honorable way out. admit defeat and leave the rotting corpse.
native gombeens cannot get their head around this because being in the dail is all they have ever yearned for and cannot comprehend someone giving that up on a point of principle - it sends shockwaves thru their GomBrains.
they just cant handle it
"i have went to 2457 funerals , and helped with 6,779 medical cards to get here - there is no way i can leave after "working" so hard"

Instead he felt that the Dáil was privileged to have him as a member, he seemed to think that constituency work was beneath him

again , he wasnt there to do the coffin chasing , or the medicard scam.
if you can grasp that fact you may soon see the light.

(he didn't even bother with a website ffs, nearly all councillors go to the bother of putting one up) as opposed to being the majority of a TD's workload.

WHAT????? He didnt get his nephew to set up a frontpage website and put in an expense of 3k? What a fiend - how very dare he!!!

The c.100k salary could hardly be justified by the few days a year that the Dáil actually sits,

again , thats where the problem lies - they should do MORE time in the dail - less time coffin chasing. its the system that is at fault here.

especially when you discount the many of those days spent on local issues anyway. The reality is that most time has to be spent on the nitty gritty, less glamorous stuff at a constituency level.

yeah processing medicard forms, getting people houses they are already entitiled to

[rockofcashel]

All this talk of "medical cards", "funerals" and the like is simply a dismissal of constituency work. This is a fundamental part of a TD's job and is incredibly important. Dismissing it is rather disrespectful of the many people who put in so much work at the ground level.

George Lee's problem was that he did not representing Dublin South to be the privilege that it is. Instead he felt that the Dáil was privileged to have him as a member, he seemed to think that constituency work was beneath him (he didn't even bother with a website ffs, nearly all councillors go to the bother of putting one up) as opposed to being the majority of a TD's workload. The c.100k salary could hardly be justified by the few days a year that the Dáil actually sits, especially when you discount the many of those days spent on local issues anyway. The reality is that most time has to be spent on the nitty gritty, less glamorous stuff at a constituency level.

Getting "medical cards" and "attending funerals" are NOT a fundamental part of a TD's job, and is NOT incredibly important.

It is that attitude that has backswoodmen elected to Dáil Eireann, and while Irish people continue to insist that these backswoodmen do the kind of work you characterise as important, then we will have poor public representation at national level.

I happened to stand for national election, and local election a couple of times, and I was not elected, and I don't do the funeral gig. Maybe that is one of the reasons I wasn't elected. But, I also happen to feel that it would be completely insincere of me to traipse from funeral parlour to funeral parlour night after night for years, trying to pretend I gave a damn about the people who are going through a personal tragedy, when they reality is, that I simply wish to be seen at the funeral.

If sympathising with a persons family is so important to a TD, then why don't they wait until maybe a day or two after the funeral, and go along to meet the family and offer their condolences.. instead of actually timing their arrivals to the parlour or church at the time of most exposure i.e. just before the lid is put on the coffin or after the decade for the rosary has been said in the church and people are about to turn to leave.

You see, I even know what time its best to "sympathise", because you can time it by the arrival of the various local pols... I've even had the pleasure of pols who know me tapping me on my shoulder at funerals where I have attended eg family or friends, and ask me to point of the deceased's family, because they haven't even got a clue who is dead, they simply happened to be passing through town when they saw the cortege.

Same with medical cards, grants, farm headage payments etc etc etc... 99% of these things can properly be sorted out by public servants without any input from a politician whatsoever, but the political tradition in this country has ingrained in Irish people some feeling of need to go to a local pol to get what they are either entitled to or not as is the case in some circumstances.

For anyone to use a politician to get something that they are not entitled to, is simply corruption, and means that resources are diverted to places where they should rightly be going instead.

The job of a Parliamentarian is to bring forward and scrutinise legislation for all the people, not those in their own backyard. That can be done further down the political ladder. Until we as a people start electing politicians to do that, we will end up with sub standard national representatives.

Jesus Christ, I remember once being in a debate about the "smart economy" and the "internet revolution" and hearing comments from all my local TD's, who admitted after the meeting that none of them were even able to turn on a computer. When John Bruton was first shown how to use Windows, he was told to click the icon on screen with his mouse to open a programme and promptly started tapping the screen with the mouse before complaining that it wasn't working. These people are away with the fairies as to what most of us actually need from our Government, because there isn't many votes in doing the actual work we are paying them to do.