‘Rumours of my retirement greatly exaggerated’ says Brendan Howlin
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MEETING Brendan Howlin in his political heartland of Wexford town last Friday morning, was like spending time in the company of a celebrity.
In Button and Spoon Cafe where it was too busy to conduct an interview in peace, people kept coming up to the table as he enjoyed a home-made lemon and blueberry scone and a brief sigh of relief after a round of media engagements following the announcment of his decision to step down as leader of the Labour Party.
Having travelled the length and breadth of the country on the general election canvass, he was due back in Dublin the next day for party executive meetings ahead of a leadership contest, and was relishing a short interlude in his home town comfort zone.
One of the most frequently asked media questions in his step-down interviews was ‘what do you regret the most’ but there was no such query on the minds of those who excused the interruption to shake his hand.
Cafe customers variously offered their congratulations, telling him he got their Number One, ‘as always’, saying how proud they were of him and wishing him well in his retirement. ‘You’ll be missed’, said one.
‘I’m not actually retiring, I’m just stepping down from one of my roles,’ he corrected politely, with an smile.
Have some people confused his passing on of the leadership baton after four years at the helm, with a decision to retire altogether from politics?
‘Rumours of my retirement are greatly exaggerated’, he laughed, in the foyer of Clayton
Whites Hotel, where the interview resumed, before adding: ‘I think that I’ve been a national politician for so long that standing down from my national role as leader, people think I’m standing back from all my political roles which is not the case.’
‘I will, in fact, have much more time now to devote to defending the interests of Wexford. I have a number of Wexford priorities that will now have my undivided focus and attention.
‘I want to be a champion for Wexford General Hospital. It needs a champion. Every time I go out of government, it seems to be under threat. Having A&E and maternity services is important but we need the proper staffing in place. When there is not a champion in Wexford it seems to be always under threat.
‘I want to develop mental health services. There was an understanding that there would be an acute psychiatric unit in Wexford which is something we absolutely need, in a developed General Hospital.
‘The second big issue that I will be focusing on, which I had hoped to have achieved by now, is a campus for a Technological University of the South East. Until Wexford gets a fully-fledged campus with thousands of students here, we will always be behind the curve in attracting industry and holding on to our young population here.
‘They are considering sites at the moment. I allocated money for a site before I left office, that’s four years ago. It’s crazy that they haven’t finalised it. The optimum site, in my judgement, close to the County Hall, was not taken in the beginning. I’ve never been given a satisfactory explanation of why that deal wasn’t closed. Anyway, we move on and there are other options now.
‘There is one site I’m hoping will be finalised. I’m going to be on the case now. If it’s not, I will be insisting that a suitable site is found quickly and that we complete the negotiations for a University of the South East.’
‘It was earmarked to be the first one but now it is likely to be the third. Dublin is already done and Cork is well advanced. We need to get into the frame on this very quickly.
‘There will be a multi-campus and I will insist that a significant campus is located in Wexford. It will require a significant capital investment. I hope the political strength exists for that to be found.
The Labour TD of 33 years standing said nobody, not even Sinn Fein foresaw the scale of the Sinn Fein victory in Wexford and around the country, with Enniscorthy candidate Johnny Mythen capturing a record 18,000 first preference votes, the highest ever in the constituency.
The Sinn Féin surge is not dissimilar to the ‘Spring Tide’ of 1992 or the ‘Gilmore Gale’ of 2011, when the Labour Party won 37 seats, compared to a much reduced six seats (down from seven, including three
GEORGE LAWLOR WOULD BE AN EXTRORDINARY TD FOR WEXFORD AND I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO ENSURE THAT COMES TO PASS
new TDs) in the recent election.
‘Any odds you like on any candidate getting 18,000 votes, was beyond anyone’s expectations. Fair play to them and I congratulate them’ he said.
The election of Verona Murphy also caused political upset locally, giving the four parties and one Independent a seat each.
‘It remains to be seen how effective they are. You only have to look at my record of delivery to the county. I’m very proud of it and I’ll stand it against anyone that ever represented this county. We’ll see if anyone else from government can produce anthing that is close to that level of delivery.’
In relation to the negotiations for government, he said: ‘There is a lot of shadow dancing going on and it will still be going on when this is printed. The mathematics of it are clear. There are three blocks of TDs in the incoming Dail, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein.
‘Two of these blocks have to form a Government. The only likely Government is Fianna Fail and Fine Gael or one of those with Sinn Fein and that is where we will end up when we have gone through all of the pretence.’
He doesn’t have a preference but would ideally have liked the Labour Party to be central to policy formation.
‘I think the people have demanded a change of course from whoever is in Government, in health and housing in particular, and if whoever forms the Government doesn’t deliver on those, they will be punished severely.
‘The bottom line is we went into government when the economy was on its knees and we left it after five years in a much better place than we found it.
‘It would have been politically opportune to stay out of government, like Sinn Fein and everyone else, to let the country collapse and allow someone else to take the blame.
‘But that is not Labour’s way. We take our responsibilities to the country and to the people seriously. Fianna Fail and the Greens in Government set fire to the country, we were called in as the Fire Brigade but it was the Fire Brigade that were blamed for the fire, not the arsonists.’
He is hopeful of the Labour Party’s chances of recovering public support. ‘I think we are in good stead. The local elections gave us an array of new candidates who will be contesting the general election next time out. They need to bed themselves in. We have deep roots in many communities that have always been Labour and it will certainly be possible to win that support back. It will mean reconnecting on the ground, in communities, in housing estates and in workplaces, doing the hard graft of politics.’
Resigning as leader from a role he felt he had no choice but to take on, was not an easy decision.
‘Of course, it was difficult. It’s a great privilege to lead your party but it’s right in terms of the page turner, to allow this new generation to take the party on to its next phase and it’s right for me. I need to refocus myself as well in terms of how I want to represent Wexford. It’s been a challenge for the past four years. It’s been busy and challenging and emotionally draining. I’ve given it my all. I need a break too.’
Some have suggested he would make a good Ceann Comhairle in the Dail but he has no interest in the position. If he became Ceann Comhairle for a term, it would guarantee him automatic re-election, leaving George Lawlor potentially to take the Labour seat.
‘I don’t think I would like to sit in a neutral position in the next Dail. I want to express myself without any restraint.’
He doesn’t have a specific retirement plan or at least one that he is willing to reveal at this stage. ‘We have to see how this settles. We have to see how long the 33rd Dail lasts. It could be five weeks for 15 weeks. First of all, we’ll see what kind of horizon we have, whether it’s long or short term plans’.
He described Cllr. Lawlor, the current Mayor of Wexford (who polled 8,112 first preferences in the recent by-election) as his ‘natural successor who would be ‘an extraordinary, able and competent TD for Wexford, which he will be, and I will do everything I can to ensure that comes to pass.’
On the walk from Button and Spoon to Whites Hotel, he was stopped several times on the street by people eager to offer good wishes and encouragement, and again in the hotel. ‘This is rude, excuse me. I’ll shake your hand. I’m a Labour supporter and I want to thank you for everything you’ve done. You were a wonderful leader and thank you for your insight’, said one woman.
How does he feel when people speak to him like that. ‘I’m very grateful. People recognise that I deliver for Wexford and they like what I say on a national level as well. I’m very proud of this county and people know that too.’