Opinion

Tom Kelly: Rule-makers in public life must lead by example

Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary resigned as agriculture minister after it emerged he attended an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner which breached coronavirus regulations. Picture by Mal McCann
Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary resigned as agriculture minister after it emerged he attended an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner which breached coronavirus regulations. Picture by Mal McCann Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary resigned as agriculture minister after it emerged he attended an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner which breached coronavirus regulations. Picture by Mal McCann

IN April, when Scotland's chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood resigned from her post because she broke government guidelines on travel, I felt sorry for her.

Here was a woman grappling at the coal face Covid-19 and someone who was doing a good job too.

Her lapse of judgment was catastrophic for her professionally and for Scotland.

Opposition parties were opportunistic in seeking her resignation but it was inevitable she would have to go.

Unlike Dominic Cummings, Calderwood had skills and knowledge relevant in the fight against Covid-19. Also, unlike Cummings, Calderwood was not part of a protected inner elite.

Cummings remained in post because a weak and insidious prime minister could not operate without his political Svengali.

In Scotland, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, followed the rules and Calderwood was out.

Cold, maybe calculated, but clearly the correct course of action.

Sturgeon was right for two reasons.

The first is obvious; those who make the rules cannot be seen to be breaking them.

But the second reason is equally important. The public need to see practical leadership from those in public life in order to have confidence in them.

In England, the public regularly watched their representatives applying the rules to others but not themselves.

Unsurprisingly, they have no confidence in the plodding approaches by third-class ministers in a second-rate cabinet.

In Northern Ireland, the deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill and some of her colleagues blatantly breached public health guidelines in relation to funerals.

It was a slap in the face to so many who had sacrificed so much over the past few months and an insult to healthcare workers everywhere.

Quite correctly, they forfeited the trust and confidence of the public and coalition colleagues as a result of their cavalier attitude.

It seems ironic to now hear Sinn Féin representatives in Dáil Éireann calling for heads to roll over the recent activities of the Oireachtas Golf Society.

It is not a point of principle for Sinn Féin, it's about being shamelessly opportunistic.

One Sinn Féin TD, David Cullinane was reported as saying "those who breach Covid-19 guidelines should resign - even if they think they did not break them".

That said, heads should roll.

Recently-appointed agriculture minister, Dara Calleary, has resigned and this talented politician has lost his opportunity to fulfil his political potential. It did not have to be this way.

What kind of staggering arrogance or indifference possessed those organising a poxy golfing society outing for parliamentarians during a pandemic?

They should hang their heads in shame and apologise to health care workers, nurses, doctors and members of the emergency services in the country.

Calleary has taken an honourable exit as has Fine Gael senator and Leas-Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Jerry Buttimer. But what of the other public figures who attended?

Fine Gael's Phil Hogan is an EU Commissioner. The fight against Covid is international. Could a golf jolly really be that important to him during the current scheme of things?

And what of the former Fine Gael Attorney General, now Supreme Court Judge, Seamus Wolfe?

Is it really possible to have one of the highest judicial authorities in Ireland to remain in office after his attendance at Clifden?

Some opposition politicians have already said he must resign and they may have a point.

At this stage of the pandemic, the public health messaging is by necessity more complex as the balance between opening up the economy and continuing health safeguards are running in parallel.

This makes the conduct of those in public life even more important. They are not only setting the guidelines and rules but must lead by personal example.

The late Bill Shankley said: "The trouble with referees is that they know the rules but they don't know the game."

Politicians, like referees, know the rules and must apply them to save the game from falling into disrepute.