European address by Sean Kelly
at Fine Gael Election Convention
in the Silver Springs Hotel, Cork
on Sunday 15th February.

It is a great honour for me to stand before you today seeking a nomination to represent Fine Gael in the forthcoming European Elections.  The last time I had the pleasure of addressing a similar gathering was when I had the great privilege of giving the Annual Oration commemorating Ireland’s greatest hero - Michael Collins, in Beál na mBlath on August 24th last.

If nominated by you, I am under no illusions that the road ahead of me is a daunting one, if I am to follow in the illustrious footsteps of the Fine Gael M E P’s who have represented this constituency with distinction - namely, Tom O’Donnell, Tom Raftery, John Cushnahan, Simon Coveney and Colm Burke.

I want to thank my proposer and seconder here today - J. Deenihan who has been a party stalwart, an innovator and a good friend of mine for many years.  His dedication and consequently the respect in which he is held was manifested clearly in his continually being returned to Dail Éireann since first elected in 1987  culminating in one of the highest votes in the country in the last General Election.

My seconder Ml. Noonan is widely regarded as one of the finest politicians of our age, a consummate debater, a wonderful party leader and probably, the finest Taoiseach the country, unfortunately never had.  I am genuinely humbled that two such highly respected senior politicians in Fine Gael should honour me by proposing and seconding me here today.

I may be seen by some as relatively new to politics but my connections with Fine Gael go back a long way, in particular the local elections 18 years ago.  My first cousin on my mothers side, Gerry Breen, is the leader of Fine Gael on Dublin City Council and as some of you probably already know, my first cousin, Fionnuala on my fathers side is married to our most effective leader - Enda Kenny and as we say in this part of the world, looking at the healthy shine on Enda “he has the signs of it”.

My wife’s family, again have been stalwart Fine Gaelers since the foundation of the party.

Some may ask why am I going into politics and why Europe?  In these unprecedented challenging times I firmly believe that new voices and new faces with a strong record of success and dedication are needed especially at European level if we are to reconnect Ireland with Europe again.  I may be relatively new to this level of politics but I am not new to the hard work that’s required for success.  I know what’s needed to build a strong proposal, to negotiate, to argue its merits and to persuade people to support it.  That is the way I have approached previous challenges and I now want to put that experience to work on behalf of the people of Munster.

Over the past few months I have been busy reading up on and familiarising myself with all aspects of European affairs.  I have read Fine Gaels own very impressive and comprehensive literature on Europe, the reports of the Oireachtas joint-committee in European Affairs, the Lisbon Treaty and the  consolidated version of the Treaties as amended by Lisbon. Also John Cushnahan very kindly gave me other leaflets and books including his own very intelligent contributions to Europe.

In the coming weeks I intend, if nominated here today, to travel to Brussels to meet MEP ’s, relevant officials and Irish organisations,  to fully brief myself on the main current issues.  Pat Cox has very kindly agreed to help me in this regard.

I have always had a deep interest in Europe. Membership of the European Union has been pivotal to the development of our country over the last 36 years.  Not only has Europe underpinned our agricultural sector it also allowed Irelands’ infrastructure to be developed at a time when we could not afford to do so our own.

While it is important to recognise this past support, the crucial challenge now is to persuade people of the importance of Europe to Ireland’s future.  This is particularly important for our younger people, many of whom, voted No to Lisbon, for whom the huge European achievements of peace and stability and the creation of a common market are just historical events.  In fact we now have a generation of young people growing up who will not even remember national currencies.  Europe, and those of us who support the process must rebuild public support and understanding by demonstrating the importance of EU membership to Irelands future economic prospects.

The first priority must be the Lisbon Treaty.  There is no doubt that the result of last years referendum has damaged the international perception of Ireland as a committed member of the E U.  Since then the behaviour of our banking sector and the dithering at government level has compounded this situation.  We have gone from a perception of a country punching above its weight in the E U to one punching well below its weight now, if punching at all.  This is a situation that we can ill afford at a time of economic turmoil and that has already had a negative effect on direct foreign investment in the country.  We need to send a strong signal to international investors that Ireland is committed to playing a central role in Europe and we must convince the Irish people that our country’s best interests will be served by being at the centre of an efficient, democratic and coherent Europe that that Lisbon Treaty aims to create.

We only need to look at the financial and banking crisis to recognise the importance of European Co-operation.  We are under pressure now but how worse would the situation be if Ireland didn’t have the protection of the Euro zone and the European Central Bank.  If you doubt the veracity of this statement, just look at Iceland.  !!

Imagine the financial pressure our people and businesses would be under to pay the extra taxes and levies imposed by the government if the European Central Bank had not been able to dramatically reduce interests rates in recent months.

It is essential that we have an honest national debate on Ireland’s place in Europe in advance of the next referendum on Lisbon because this result will be critical for both our country and the European project.  Enda Kenny’s proposal that the legally binding assurances being offered by our European partners be presented and debated in a sequential basis so that he Irish people can be fully reassured that their concerns and doubts have been heard and addressed, is a brilliant idea and I support it fully.

In this way people can be informed of the advantages of a yes vote for Ireland but as the Irish Farmers Journal pointed out recently, in many ways the real debate will be about “what a no vote would mean for Ireland and not about getting tied up in philosophical cul de sacs.”

We will need to send a strong signal to International Investors that Ireland is committed to playing a central role in Europe and those in the “yes” side will need to demonstrate during the campaign that in the National Interest, all parties can pull together and run a strong united campaign in the overall interests of the country.

This did not happen in the last referendum as some of those most responsible on the Government side glibly boasted of not even having read the treaty and too many politicians seemed to use the occasion to promote their own profile rather than rebutting the arguments of the “No” side.

It was little wonder then that the referendum was lost.  In order to avoid a similar occurrence I would suggest that a co-ordinated campaign of the parties on the yes side be organised under the joint chairmanship of the leader of the party leader in favour of the treaty.

An agreed campaign should be undertaken and there should be no individual postering campaigns allowed.  If there is to be a postering campaign, it should contain clear messages with only photographs of the party leaders.  I believe a united campaign of this nature would not only be successful in getting a “Yes” vote but would also show our European neighbours that in times of crucial decision-making for this country we can put party political interests aside in the overall interests of the country.  I have no doubt that such an approach would not only be successful in terms of outcome but the united conduct of the campaign itself would help rectify the damaged international reputation of Ireland as a committed member of the E.U.

Having said that I fully realise that there are many issues that need addressing and reforming at European level.  There needs to be a comprehensive review of existing E U regulations or perhaps, more accurately how the Irish Government interprets and implements such regulations.

There has been a tendency by government to blame everything on the E U when clearly this is not the case.  Having said that there are clear issues that need urgent addressing whoever is to blame, as they are causing unnecessary hardship and worry for many ordinary people.  The obsession with over regulation and intrusive inspections at the micro level such as with farmers and small businesses and the lack of regulations and inspection at the macro level as we saw with the banks and the dioxin affair before Christmas, is clearly unfair and illogical.  This is one area that I would like to get my teeth into in the European Parliament.  Some regulations are far too complicated and as one fisherman said to me recently - “The regulations are so complicated that you’d need to be a barrister to fish”.  I am sure farmers, shopkeepers, teachers, gardai and many other often feel similarly in their own careers.  If elected as an M E P,  I would work towards simplifying this conundrum to bring some practicality and joined up thinking to the table.  Calendar farming and the re-introduction of the WTO talks are matters of grave concerns to our agricultural sector and strong informed voices will need to be heard to ensure our vital agricultural industry isn’t squeezed out of existence.  The reviews of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agriculture Policy are going to be absolutely crucial for the future of these industries in Ireland and the strongest possible Irish voices will have to be heard accordingly.

There are two areas I want to touch on briefly that I have a great interest in and in which I see great opportunities for development through our involvement in Europe.  The tourist industry has never been properly marketed in this country.  Individual groups and communities have done great work but over the past few years I looked aghast as I saw golf course after golf course and hotel after hotel being built without any clear strategy being put in place how to utilise and fill these assets.  The American market is a typical example -one year we are told that the yanks won’t travel in an election year, another the yanks won’t travel because of the threat of terrorism, another year it’s the exchange rate etc.
I believe a wider focus and better utilisation and development of our tourist resources could pay rich dividends for the entire Munster area.  The proper development of our regional airports, with expanded services at Cork and Shannon, allied to the restoration of the Cork-Swansea ferry and the by-passing of major gridlock towns are essential pre-requisites to opening up the Munster area to a potentially huge growth in tourism numbers especially from our European neighbours.  These things need to be happening and should have happened before or, at least, in tandem with the golf and hotel expansion boom.

As a person who has been involved in community all my life I believe one of the key ways forward for this country is the empowerment of such communities. We have seen the value of the GAA and other sporting bodies to their local communities.  The European Union white paper on Sport envisages the expansion of this dimension.  Sport has never been properly valued in this country especially its social capital and health benefits, particularly in the fight against obesity, asthma and heart ailments.

Indeed, I would see much more sense in having a department of Health and Sport rather than one of Arts, Sports and Tourism.  This step alone would put a far greater political value on Sport and bring it centre stage rather than being on the periphery where it has always been.

The empowerment of communities could lead to greater expansion and wider participation in sport but communities so empowered could also play a huge role in combating climate change and carbon emissions.  There is great potential to develop community district heating systems based in bio energy crops grown locally and, of course, we have been scandalously slow in developing energy from our great assets of wind and water.  This whole area is very important at   E U level but I believe that working through communities and empowering them can lead to afar greater quality of life for all and create good sustainable jobs in the areas where most people prefer to live - in their own place.  Certainly the bizarre situation where we import 90% of our energy requirements needs to change drastically and radically asap.

I have many other thoughts and ideas on how we can make this country a better place, a fairer place, a safer place and, above all, a place where our children can live in with good jobs and a good quality life, but time does not allow me to further expand on these ideas today.  However, if you nominate me today and I am successful in being elected your MEP, I will relish the opportunity of exploring and developing these ideas.  I hope to join Colm Burke and other fine Gael MEP’s in Europe.  We have to aim for two seats in Ireland South, a feat so spectacularly achieved in Leinster in the last European elections.  Finna Fáil has always had two candidates in this constituency.  Fine Gael, with the exception, of the last election, has always had two candidates.  At a time when we are outpolling Finna Fáil it is only sensible and practical to have two candidates.  I hope to be one of those and I hope, with your help to be elected.
I will be asking everybody for their No 1 vote for me and No  2 for Colm Burke. I want to be part of a united campaign so that we can maximise the Fine Gael vote and get the best possible result. With your help it can be done.

And in conclusion, if I may paraphrase the ditty about “Christmas is coming and the goose is getting Fat” my appeal will go on the line of the following:

“ The elections are coming,
And nobody is getting fat.
Please , put a No 1 in Sean Kelly’s hat,
If you haven’t a No 1, a No 2 will do,
If you haven’t a No 2
I need to talk to you “

As a primary teacher initially and then, as a secondary teacher it could be said that I am somewhat biased when it comes to commenting on education. But a good education should arm a person with objective skills based on an informed mind. I would hope to reflect that educational benefit in my analysis of education as it is now and particularly, where it’s going in the future and more especially, the supports that are needed if Education in this country is to achieve the twin aims of being accessible to all and of helping to fulfil the potential of each child.

At a time when this country was suffering inexorably, under the weight of foreign domination a great Irishman called Thomas Davis uttered one to the most powerful and accurate observations of any leader in this or any other country. The evocation of “Educate That You May Be Free” pointed the path to ultimate freedom, from an individual and collective point of view, for the citizens of Ireland.

And it was largely through the medium of Education that the freedom, the prosperity and wellness that we enjoy today was essentially achieved. Ireland is a country that always valued education. It wasn’t called the Island of Saints and Scholars for nothing. This love of learning and the learned reached every nook and cranny of the land. The spallpin with his rustic verse, and the seanachai with his clever wit were as valued and as welcome as any family member. When no formal education was available our ancestors invented their own schools - the Hedge Schools - centuries of great learning in the most deplorable conditions. This love of learning, the learned and their teachers continued and developed with the founding of our new state. Many changes were initiated and many schools were built especially at Primary level. Then when the inspirational Donagh O’Malley opened up secondary education to all, the seeds for the modern Ireland were sown. The fruits of O’Malley’s vision are to be seen to the present day as the freedom to educate and to be educated became almost universal. Whatever about Saints, Ireland once again became a land of students and scholars and those students and scholars spawned the further modernisation of Ireland and the Celtic Tiger, which saw the country reaching dizzy heights of economic advancement, never dreamed of in days gone by.

Alas, the Celtic Tiger is no more - dead - not because of the failure of the educational system, far from it, but the failure of those qualities that made all those saints and scholars hundreds of years ago - qualities of decency, selflessness and honesty. It was the failure of Corporate Ireland, in particular, to hold onto and treasure these values that has us in the mess we are now in as much as any global recession. I believe that we need a return to these values every bit as much as we need economic reform, if this country is to prosper again and become truly a country of great opportunity but also one of integrity, openness and welcome.

This can only happen through Education. Our motto should be “Educate that you may recover “ - recover not just economically but spiritually as well.

Our schools have long been bastions of these values and these opportunities. Because Teachers see their work more as a vocation rather than just a job. This vocational dimension is seen in the work teachers do above and beyond the call of duty, largely on a voluntary basis. From preparing children for Holy Communion and Confirmation, to coaching games, to the school choir or the Christmas pageant, schools are havens of giving, of co-operation, of decency, values replicated in many areas of society, most notably from my own experience in the GAA, but values decried and debased in the GUBU Ireland that stalked this land of our for a score years or more and that has now landed us in the mire.

The erosion of values was paralled by a concomitant erosion of respect especially when it came to figures of authority like teachers. Teachers didn’t enjoy many of the perks of the Celtic Tiger like exorbitant bonuses, executive travel and generous overtime. Because of this teaching itself became somewhat undermined and thus undervalued as a profession. It is now time for society as a whole to step back and look again at the teaching profession and at its contribution and its value to society.

Above all else teaching and teachers supply leadership, a value most scarce in this country nowadays. The world is looking to Obama as an example of great leadership and he truly is special. But I believe we should look to ourselves for leadership as our ancestors did before us - the type of leadership the teaching profession has always supplied be it in the classroom where each individual teacher takes the initiative or in society on a voluntary basis. I ask you, is it an accident that some of the most successful sports managers in this country are teachers ? - I give you Brian Coady, I give you Jack O’Connor and I give you Declan Kidney - Teachers all, leaders par excellence.

Let’s look to ourselves for leadership. We don’t need to look in awe at people from afar. And in looking to ourselves for leadership, let’s make the decisions that are needed to restore confidence and success to this country just as Caody, O’Connor and Kidney would do.

For a start and for the purposes of today’s conference we must look at Education - the cuts that are proposed for it and their likely outcomes in terms of our motto - “Educate that you may recover”.

There is no doubt that public spending in this country went completely and utterly out of control during the boom years.

Public spending powered ahead from 31.2% of GDP in 2006 to 41.8% in 2009. You would expect education to be one of the main beneficiaries. But you’d be mistaken. Yes it benefited in numerical terms but not in % terms. In actual fact the % spend on education decreased during the years of the Celtic tiger. It went from 5.2% in 1995 to 4.6% in 2005 and Ireland was joint last out of 29 countries in terms of per capita spending on second level schools. We also had the second largest primary school class size and an inadequate special need services.

For these reasons alone, it is the height of folly to be cutting back unnecessarily on front-line educational services. I don’t understand it and I don’t agree with it. By all means, rein in public expenditure but not on front-line services in Education and Health. Central administration and layers of beaurocracy is where the money is wasted.

Let the axe fall there for fall it must but vital educational and health services should not suffer. Otherwise the proposed cuts will prove counter-productive. Instead of making savings, it will cost more in the long term and the ideal, which is the hall-mark of any mature society, of cherishing all of the nations children equally, will be dealt a severe body blow.

I am sure Fergus Finlay will deal with the whole area of special needs. Cutting services that effect this vulnerable area is uncharitable and unjustified. Reduction in Traveller grants means less educational opportunities for Travellers; the same applies to reduction of language supports for immigrant pupils. Reduction of school book grants and library services and aid to protestant schools will undermine hard won progress in these areas over many years.

The Programme for Government contained 121 commitments on Education. Three of the most important were:

• Reduction of Primary Teacher / Pupil ratio from 27:1 in 2007 to 24:1 in 2011.
  It’s not going to happen. Instead it’s now going to go up to 28:1.

• The proposed class size reduction for core subjects at second-level will not
  now happen either as the ratio is set to go up rather than down from 18:1 to 19:1.

• And the implementation of the long sought Education for Persons with Special   Educational needs is to be dealt a hammer blow.

Savings are needed and these cuts will bring savings but at what cost in educational quality terms?

There are other proposals which I fear will not only prove counter-productive educationally but will mean a loss of revenue rather than an increase as envisaged. Take for instance, the proposal to increase school transport costs to €300 for second-level students. What will happen here, and parents have told me this, is that parents will cease using the school transport system and club together to ferry their children to school by car, thus making the school transport system more expensive and also bringing more cars onto the roads - a double disadvantage.

At third level the increase in registration fees are fees by the back door and in increase in fees will mean less opportunities for the less well off in society. As well, with employment drying up, students will find it harder and harder to get temporary or part-time jobs so they will be faced with higher fees and less wherewithal to pay for it. Already, there is evidence of this, in the canteens of third level institutions where students are spending less and probably not eating enough wholesome food.

I am not a person who glories in criticising others. I know the Government were taken unawares by the sudden bursting of the economy bubble but the fire brigade action that followed had panic written all over it.

Deciding in September to bring forward the budget from December to October was akin to deciding here today that instead of holding the Junior and Leaving Cert Exams on the 3rd of June this year, we will now hold them on the 3rd of April. Imaging the chaos that would ensue. The bringing forward of the budget has had the same effect economically. We acted in haste and we will suffer slowly but seriously as a result.

I think it’s time for a re-think. Where education is concerned everything should be looked at again. Decide what’s sacrosanct and what’s not. For a start an awful lot of the paper work, incessant reporting and beaurocracy which is stifling progress and has swelled the ranks of the Civil Service with non-productive jobs; should be re-assessed.

Schools should be trusted more to do the job. As I said earlier, for most of them it is a vocation and they are manned by people with great leadership skills. Instead of publishing league tables of how many from each school went on to third level, schools should be encouraged to publish Annual Reports not just comprising of their educational achievements but also chronicling the enormous amount of extra-curricular activities, voluntary engaged in, that are so much part of almost every school in the country covering such areas a sport, art, drama, music, charities and services for special needs. This is the only true assessment of schools who are motivated not by greed or self-praise but by the educational mantra of “Mens sana in Corpore Sano”.

It would also be very interesting to see how much fund-raising schools undertake, again voluntarily, to provide the infrastructure that is so badly needed to cater sufficiently for their students.

I don’t wish to be seen to be too critical of the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe. For a start, we share to the same Alma Mater, St. Brendan’s College - although he was well gone by the time I entered that famous establishment as a perky little pleb many moons ago. And, on a personal basis, Batt O’Keeffe is a very decent man.

No, he has been dealt a bad hand by the scissors architects of the budget. It is time to deal those cards again so that we retain what’s truly valuable and discard the unnecessary beaurocratic layers.

We will need a knowledge economy if we are to emerge victorious from this recession. Education is the key and in the area of retraining and up-skilling especially those, unfortunately unemployed, the VEC has a major advantage over other state institutes and its expertise should be utilised accordingly.

Yes, we are in a precarious state at the moment. But we can and will get out of it. I say that we must look to ourselves for leadership we must return to the values so cherished by our ancestors and to restate the Davis theme - We must “Educate that we may Recover”. There is no better way ! There is no other way.

Mile Biochas.
Sean Kelly,
NAPD Conference
Golden Lane,
Dublin 8.