Times are too tough for any political guff

THE ins and outs of the Paschal Donohoe controversy would give an aspirin a headache.

You’d need a legal degree in political finance to fully grasp the finer points of Postergate.

It’s hard to take seriously, with shades of Fr Ted in the headlines about election posters, raffle tickets and commercial vans.

The money involved is small change, at least on a Government level.

It’s hardly Watergate – it’s not even the biggest political scandal this year – and its relevance to the running of the country is lost on most of us.

Does it matter?

It’s not a good look for our Minister for Public Expenditure to be under investigation by the State’s ethics watchdog SIPO.

The Standards In Public Office oversees political financing, standards of conduct and election expenses.

As an aside, while SIPO’S acceptance of complaints from the public is necessary, it is open to anyone, irrespective of their motivation.

Anyway, Minister Donohoe is under pressure for failing to declare a donation from a businessman friend who paid people to put up posters for him during the 2016 election.

He gave a statement in the Dail on Wednesday, and came back on Thursday to say he’d make a new statement next Tuesday.

Instead of putting it to bed and moving on, it’ll linger now into another week.

The Fine Gael TD was contrite with apology, saying he “deeply regretted” the matter wasn’t dealt with properly and added: “Integrity is fundamental to public life.”

As sins go, it’s the venial variety. It’s fair to say Donohoe is a decent and capable minister and it would seem harsh if he were to go over this, which he may.

But it can’t be dismissed either – it’s worth paying attention. Not just because Ireland’s history of political corruption means everything now must be transparent.

There can be no hint of the nod-andwink politics of the past; the old regime Fine Gael in particular takes a high horse stance on.

The reason it reached a point of such bitter public anger in the 1990s and again in the recession is the same one it may do so again now – tough times. People are not just struggling at the moment, they’re suffering.

More than ever, our political elite need to lead by example, and show rules apply to all.

Money is tighter than ever for the current generation of workers and families. We’re keenly conscious that our hard-earned taxes pay these leaders that we voted into positions of power.

We stump up for their big, feted salaries. The taxpayer has a right to know where every cent of that money goes.

The cost of living continues to rise, with crippling energy bills crippling bank accounts and rising grocery costs.

We’re being rinsed from all angles – from basic healthcare to putting food on the table. The Irish pay more in supermarkets than any other country in the Eurozone, bar Switzerland, one of the world’s most expensive countries. Hospitals are overcrowded to dangerous levels, experts have warned. We started the new year with almost 1,000 patients without beds as the trolley count hit record highs.

And housing – the social ill underlying so many other issues – is allowed to worsen, a decade into the crisis.

At a time when we have much bigger issues to solve, the country’s leaders are dealing with the fallout from what looks like entitlement.

So when the Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald says: “Time for change” she has a valid argument.

This may not topple the Government in the short-term.

But it moves the dial further forward in changing hard-pressed voters’ minds ahead of a projected election next year.

It matters. It matters.

We started the new year with almost 1,000 patients without beds