‘We have Fianna Fail boxed into a corner and they won’t pull us down’
A bullish Shane Ross writes off Micheal Martin’s election chances — and predicts a second term for Varadkar, says Philip Ryan
SHANE Ross is in flying form. Sure why wouldn’t he be? He’s still Minister for Transport and, despite all the odds, the Government he serves in has managed to hold on to power for more than a year-and-a-half. This is despite several public clashes between the Independent Alliance and Fine Gael — not to mention the ongoing power struggle between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail which almost resulted in a snap election.
Sitting in the Dail Bar over a cup of tea before the Dail break, Ross is defiant when discussing his political rivals on the opposition benches and notably collegial, even warm, when talking about his government colleagues in Fine Gael.
He laughs with an occasional snort as he tries to navigate away from difficult questions and toes the government line like a seasoned Cabinet minister on most, but not all, political topics. This might come as a disappointment to fans of Ross’s rabble-rousing days in the Seanad and Dail, but it seems the mechanics and realities of government have slowly taken hold of the one-time political rebel.
He’s also finally beginning to enjoy his job but freely admits he wasn’t a great Minister for Transport when former Taoiseach Enda Kenny appointed him to the portfolio.
“I’m enjoying it. It took a long time to settle in and I think I was quite bad at it to start with, I didn’t adjust very well to the whole transport portfolio and I think Enda probably gave it to me at the time because it was a bed of nails. I suspect, at the time when we weren’t particularly friendly he thought, ‘Hey where’s all the industrial troubles going to arise, give it to Ross’,” he says.
He has been a lightning rod for opposition criticism, much to Fine Gael’s delight. He has faced accusations of standing idly by as the country’s transport system ground to a halt due to waves of industrial action over pay demands. He has endured the wrath of rural TDs over his drink-driving clampdown and been branded a parish-pump politician for his campaign to re-open Stepaside garda station.
In his ministry, he has overseen the privatisation of national and city bus routes but insists he has no plans to do the same to the struggling Irish Rail network. Even if he was of a mind to offload some of the rail network, Ross concedes it would be a tough sell because none of the routes make any money.
He also accepts there has been a breakdown in goodwill between the public and the transport companies which forced thousands of people to find alternative ways of getting to work, school or college during the strike actions.
Ross acknowledges that the cost of train tickets is “too high” and says the recent increase in bus fares are “hard to stomach” for the average commuter but that he is prohibited from seeking to influence rates.
He’s loath to criticise either side in any industrial relations dispute and has been similarly reluctant to involve himself in any of the pay rows.
“I would say that there are big industrial relations problems and that I really regret the fact that there appears to be hostility between management and unions and that is why I try to keep out of it to a large extent and not be on one side or the other and I think there are obviously practices that need reform and there are management expertise that might be necessary,” he says.
His standoff approach to union demands has resulted in cross-party opposition attacks but has won him plaudits in Fine Gael. Facing down the unions has also seen him receive high praise from Ireland’s foremost free-marketer, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary.
The airline chief said Ross was “playing a blinder” when he refused to speak to Bus Eireann workers despite a nationwide strike. Since lavishing Ross with compliments, O’Leary has been forced to recognise his own pilots’ union for the first-time in his company’s history and also saw thousands of flights cancelled over a rostering cock-up.
Overall, it’s been a very bad year for the Ryanair boss but Ross is happy to repay the compliments he received and insists it would be premature to “dance on his grave”.
“He is one of the people I admire most in Irish entrepreneurship and Irish business and he is adapting to the circumstances in which he finds himself,” Ross swoons.
“It has obviously been very difficult for him and I think it would be very wrong to kick him when he’s down if you are not to recognise the incredible services he’s done to Ireland, to Irish aviation, to Irish industry and to Irish people by opening up the airspaces and other countries to us,” he says.
“I don’t necessarily think it is the end of his era because there is more to Michael O’Leary than just the public persona and the image of being rabid free marketer. He is obviously a very fine businessman as well.”
O’Leary will also be delighted to hear Ross and the Government are “fully committed” to the construction of a second runway in Dublin Airport. Local residents might be less so. The Ryanair boss will also be happy to hear a forthcoming Dublin Airport capacity review may suggest the construction of a third commercially built and operated passenger terminal. Ross commissioned the review for a third terminal early in his tenure and expects the report in the new year. The review was ordered due to Ross’s concern about the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) holding a State monopoly over the existing terminals.
The Independent Minister’s war on the judiciary shows no sign of abating. He says he is confident his judicial appointment legislation will pass through the Dail next year despite “absurd pressure” from judges and “dreadful lobbying” from barristers and their political friends in Leinster House. And he is set to cause further consternation in the Four Courts with his proposal to introduce sentencing guidelines for judges.
The public have watched aghast at some of the sentences handed down for rape, murder and assault and Ross believes the disparity between judgments and sentences is “unacceptable and sometimes absolutely inexplicable”.
He adds: “It’s very difficult to understand even if it’s explained to you what the disparity is and it does appear in some cases judges are making decisions which wouldn’t have been made by their colleagues in the same circumstances, so I think what probably is the most sensible thing to do is to issue some guidelines in certain cases and certain sentences and I think that would restore public confidence in the judiciary.”
Only a few weeks ago the country was on the verge of a general election which could have seen Ross and his colleagues spectacularly dumped out of office after less than two years.
The controversy surrounding former tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald’s knowledge of a smear campaign against Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe could have cost the Independent Alliance votes but fortunately for Ross and his Independent comrades the crisis was averted at the last minute when Fitzgerald stepped aside.
There were rumblings before her resignation that the Independent Alliance would not be able to support a confidence motion in the Tanaiste. Ross is coy about the affair but admits he was “very uncomfortable” with the situation. “We expressed confidence in her that was our public position right up to the day of the vote at the cabinet meeting and she resigned in advance of us having to change that position,” he says.
Having weathered the latest McCabe scandal, Ross is more confident than ever about the Government’s survival. He doesn’t see a general election happening next year and if there is one he believes Leo Varadkar could sweep the boards.
He is also scathing in his appraisal of Micheal Martin’s chances at the polls and believes the Fianna Fail leader is politically “trapped” and has “boxed himself into a corner” by signing up to the confidence and supply agreement.
“If you were sitting where Fianna Fail is in the polls you wouldn’t want an election and the idea that Fianna Fail somehow has got the Government permanently on the run I don’t agree [with]. I think new politics has trapped Fianna Fail. I think the people who are trapped here are Fianna Fail and not the Government,” he says.
In cutting remarks, Ross insists Fianna Fail is “not in a position” to pull down the Government and derides the party as being neither in “office nor in power”.
“I don’t buy this business that they can pull the Government down at any minute because they can’t. They’re boxed into a corner and this Government is going very well and the economy is in pretty good shape.
“The polls are showing that Leo Varadkar has got a bounce and he’s got a certain amount of leadership. The likelihood would be that you’d get a similar result, maybe Fine Gael getting a lot more seats than Fianna Fail,” he says.
However, despite his election prediction, Ross is not willing to sign up to a vote pact with Fine Gael ahead of the next election. But, to cover all bases, Ross also said he is still open to propping up a Fianna Fail-led government should the numbers fall that way next time. He’s mostly open to forming a government with Fianna Fail because Micheal Martin was a “complete pushover” during the protracted government negotiations in 2016
“Fianna Fail and Micheal Martin was a pushover, a complete pushover and Fine Gael were serious negotiators because they were serious and I think Fianna Fail may have been going through the motions at the end of the day, I never thought Micheal really thought he was going to make it,” he says.
Does he think Martin will ever be Taoiseach?
“I don’t know, I think it’s his last chance, he’s always wanted that job, I don’t think he believes it, he looks like a long shot, if I were a betting man I’d say Leo Varadkar will be the next Taoiseach after the next election, that’s how it looks, maybe with us, maybe with others but that’s what it looks like,” Ross responds.
He’s more complimentary when discussing his Fine Gael Cabinet colleagues. Ross is very impressed with Charlie Flanagan who he says is a “really a fine Justice Minister”. He says Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy is “really honest” and was impressed that he took over the most difficult government job when asked by Leo Varadkar.
“It was unfortunate for him that his best friend put him into such a difficult situation, but that’s what you do if you’ve friends, isn’t it?” Ross laughs.
He was “surprised” that Simon Coveney chose to leave the Department of Housing in favour of the Department of Foreign Affairs, but adds that he “patently fits in to the role of statesman”.
Ross concludes: “I think he was quite relieved to go [out of housing] and I didn’t know he had his eye on Foreign Affairs at all. I thought he’d want Finance or something like that and I was surprised he went for Foreign Affairs because it’s supposedly you know you’re out of the political picture.”
‘I was quite a bad minister to start with and it took a while to settle’ ‘Sentencing decisions are unacceptable and absolutely inexplicable’