Ministers’ expertise often in politics, not their current portfolio
Education Minister Norma Foley’s reputation as a teacher is unlikely to be much help when it comes to schools reopening,
JACK LYNCH once toyed with the idea of appointing Tony O’Reilly, the rugby legend turned business guru, as Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture.
It was after the then-Taoiseach won the 1969 general election and was at last his own man, able to pick his own government team instead of the one he inherited from his predecessor, Seán Lemass, in 1966. O’Reilly had been boss of the Irish Sugar Company and its subsidiary, Erin Foods, and previously been head of the Irish Dairy Board where he was credited with the launch of Kerrygold butter.
O’Reilly also had a PhD in agricultural marketing from the University of Bradford. For Lynch this appointment would speak to the frequent criticism of government for so many wasted opportunities in Irish agribusiness. Irish farming and food processing might have been revolutionised.
The status of the offer has long been disputed with many Fianna Fáil insiders saying it was flattery by Lynch of a man whose advice and friendship he valued. One-time Fianna Fáil adviser Frank Dunlop saw it as “if only you could become minister for agriculture” – rather than “right so, you’re the minister for agriculture – start on Tuesday”.
O’Reilly himself, in an interview in 2006, said it was a clear job offer by Lynch. At all events, he chose the money route over politics, going to head Heinz in the US and pursue a plethora of other lucrative business interests, including being main shareholder of this newspaper group for a long time.
It is also interesting to note that in a 1979 interview with politics professor Brian Farrell, Jack Lynch lamented not having the scope of a US or French president to range far beyond the national parliament in picking the Cabinet and “get the best brains in the country”.
Lynch told Prof Farrell: “A Taoiseach really has only a one-in-two choice from which to make government appointments.”
His successor, Charlie Haughey, told political lecturer Eoin O’Malley in an interview in 2004 that he favoured doubling the number of TDs to give a Taoiseach better ministerial choices. In fact, Haughey felt that in the three governments he headed – 1979-81; in 1982; and 1987-92 – there “were only a handful of ministers of real calibre”.
Most of the studies that range over cabinet appointments in the State’s history, show that appointments were based on Dáil “big beasts”, often leading figures in their political party, who command a large vote. On occasion, they are credited with bringing in a party running mate.
Sometimes there are people with a track record in at least an allied field to their portfolio. There are accountants who become finance ministers, doctors who get to be health ministers, teachers who head the education department, solicitors or barristers who become justice minister, and farmers who get to be agriculture minister.
But the results in pursuing excellence here are untested and may be at best mixed. Our ranking of Top 10 ministers who made a difference (see panel) suggest that the biggest marks were made by generalists rather than specialists.
The troubled Noel Browne brought medical expertise to being health minister in the battle against TB, from which he had also suffered. But his experience was no help in avoiding calamity in his later Mother and Child Scheme and his senior medical colleagues played a big part in his political demise over that project.
Most of the others were generalists. Bertie Ahern was an accountant who devoted a deal of time to trade union activism which proved invaluable as labour affairs minister and in politics generally.
Another trade unionist, Barry Desmond, proved to be a high-achieving health minister amid adversity.
Charlie Haughey was both a lawyer and accountant, which proved no load as justice and finance minister. But most people will agree that political smarts trumped any book knowledge here.
Haughey’s nemesis, Garret FitzGerald, was a statistician by training. Yet his success as a minister was in the world of international politics and diplomacy. He later taught economics – but some would argue the least said about “garretonomics” the better.
Michael D Higgins, who now graces Áras an Uachtaráin, was an academic qualified in the social sciences. People would agree it was his deep sense of a much broader culture which delivered ministerial success.
Two other and more recent medically qualified health ministers, Dr James Reilly and Dr Leo Varadkar, delivered poor and very mixed results respectively. Dr Reilly seemed to have a reverse Midas touch and was quietly moved from the post eventually.
Dr Varadkar quietly downplayed expectations with some success. Fine Gael’s bold 2011 election promises to end the two-tier system with universal care were quietly sidelined and the whole idea of reforms long-fingered yet again. Dr Leo’s great success as health minister was in avoiding career damage. He quietly moved out of there on his successful pursuit of the greater prize.
Right now we have a teacher as the Education Minister, facing the biggest challenge ahead of this new ill-starred Coalition. Norma Foley’s reputation in north Kerry was that of a particularly good teacher, especially of English, and much liked by her students.
So, maybe that means she can open the schools in good order at the end of the month?
Or, on the other hand, we could note that up to June 27, her political experience rested on being a long-time Kerry county councillor who had made one previous unsuccessful run for the Dáil 13 years previously. There are many perils ahead of her delivering on the July 27 pledge which came with just four weeks left.
Everybody will hope she can deliver but the jury is out for now. So far history tells us politics was our ministers’ expertise – such as it ever is or was.
‘A Taoiseach really has only a one-in-two choice from which to make appointments’