Fianna Fil 2021

Where will the Cadets of Destiny bring the Party?

An analysis of young Fianna Fil members opinions, beliefs and views on social, economic and party political issues.
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

Masters of Arts in Public Affairs and Political Communications

by

Donnacha Maguire
Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street

Supervisor:

Ms Lisa Marie Cunningham

Declaration

I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of:

Masters Degree (M.A.) in Public Affairs and Political Communications

is entirely my own work and has not been submitted for assessment for any academic purpose other than in partial fulfilment for that stated above.

Signed:

___________________________

Date:

____________________________

Abstract

It is clear that the Fianna Fil organisation is undergoing significant change as a result of the 2011 General Election. Its membership, how they react to the trauma of the loss of power and what they want their party to stand for in the future will play a significant role in the future development and renewal of the party.

This thesis examines the opinions and views of young members of Fianna Fil (less than 40 years) on a range of social, economic and internal party issues. This is the first time that such an analysis has taken place and follows on from previous research undertaken by Gallagher and Marsh (2005) on the general Fine Gael membership.

Political parties need to understand their membership, their wants, desires and needs, if they are to develop coherent and cogent policies on social and economic matters. Ensuring that the views of members form part of policy formation has been neglected in Fianna Fil since the early 1990s.

Using data collected from young members of Fianna Fil, this study explores questions such the social and economic priorities of members, their opinions on other political parties and their views on their partys European political alignments.

Members are most willing to engage with issues of an ideological basis and want to be involved in the growth and development of policies and campaigns. Support for their EU partners, ELDR and ALDE is strong.

Finally, conclusions and thus recommendations for Fianna Fil will be distilled from the views, opinions and comments elicited via the primary research

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Table of Contents Declaration Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures Abbreviations Acknowledgements Chapter One Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 Context Review Reasons for Choosing this Topic Chapter Structure 7-18 7 8 8 9 10 10 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1-6 1 3 5 i ii iii vii viii ix

Chapter Two Literature Review 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ideology Nationalism Political Parties Why do people join Political Parties? 2.4.1 The Civil Volunteerism Model 2.4.2 The Cognitive Engagement Model 2.4.3 The Social Capital Model Membership of Fianna Fil Social Issues 2.5.1 Abortion 2.5.2 Euthanasia 2.5.3 Attitudes towards Civil Marriage Equality / Acceptance of Homosexuality 2.5.4 Civil Divorce European Political Groupings Tax and Spending Cuts

2.4 2.5

2.6 2.7

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Chapter Three Methodology 3.1 3.2 Introduction Research Objectives 3.2.1 Objective One 3.2.2 Objective Two 3.2.3 Objective Three 3.2.4 Objective Four Research Design The Different Approaches to Research Reliability and Validity 3.5.1 Reliability 3.5.2 Validity Triangulation Primary Qualitative Research 3.7.1 Interviews Primary Quantitative Research 3.8.1 Online Survey Limitations and Delimitations

19-28 19 20

3.3 3.4 3.5

3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9

21 21 22 22 22 25 26 26 27 28 28 29-41 29 29 30 32 34 35 36 37 37 38 39 40 41

Chapter Four Social Issues 4.1 4.2 General Overview Social Issues 4.2.1 Civil Marriage Equality 4.2.2 Abortion 4.2.3 Civil Divorce 4.2.4 Euthanasia 4.2.5 Legalisation of Cannabis Analysis of Findings 4.3.1 Social Freedoms 4.3.2 Civil Marriage Equality 4.3.3 Abortion 4.3.4 Euthanasia 4.3.5 Divorce

4.3

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Chapter Five Economic Issues 5.1 5.2 General Overview Economic Issues 5.2.1 Trade Unions 5.2.2 Tax Burden Reduction 5.2.3 Reduction in Spending 5.2.4 Reducing the National Deficit 5.2.5 Funding of Third Level Education Analysis of Findings 5.3.1 General Overview 5.3.2 Reducing the Tax Burden 5.3.3 Cutting Expenditure to match falling Tax Revenues 5.3.4 The National Deficit 5.3.5 How to fund Third Level Education

42-51 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 48 48 49 50 50

5.3

Chapter Six Party Membership, Activity and Relationships to Other Political Parties 6.1 6.2 Introduction Party Membership 6.2.1 Length of Party Membership 6.2.2 Reasons for Joining Fianna Fil 6.2.3 Familial Relations in Fianna Fil 6.2.4 Party Activity 6.2.5 Relationship to other Political Parties 6.2.5.1 Comparisons to other Irish Political Parties 6.2.6 European Political Relationships Analysis of Findings 6.3.1 The End of the Civil War 6.3.2 What if Fianna Fil ceased to exist? 6.3.3 European Relationships 6.3.4 Membership desire to do more

52-64

52 53 54 56 58 60 61 62 63 63 63 64 64

6.3

Chapter Seven Conclusions and Recommendations 7.1 7.2 Introduction Conclusions 7.2.1 Research Question One 7.2.1.1 Social Positions 7.2.1.2 Economic Positions 7.2.2 Research Question Two 7.2.3 Research Question Three 7.2.4 Research Question Four Recommendations for Fianna Fil 7.3.1 Introduction 7.3.2 Recommendation One 7.3.3 Recommendation Two 7.3.4 Recommendation Three Further Research Required

65-73 65 66 66 66 67 68 69 70 71 71 71 72 72 73

7.3

7.4

Bibliography a) b) c) d) e) f) g) Books Journals Speeches Manifestos Reports Websites TV Shows

74-80 74 77 78 78 78 78 79

Appendices Appendix A Interview Questions Appendix B Coru is Rialacha Fhianna Fil Appendix C Stuttgart Declaration Appendix D Samples Responses from Members Appendix E Sample Survey

80-86 80 83 86 89 90

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List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 3.1 Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 4.3 Figure 4.4 Figure 4.5 Figure 4.6 Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3 Figure 5.4 Figure 5.5 Figure 5.6 Figure 6.1 Moral Justification: European Values Survey 1981-2008 Support Levels for Gay Marriage / Civil Marriage Equality in Ireland List of Interviews carried out during course of research A considerable majority of respondents identified themselves as either Very Liberal or Moderately Liberal. High levels of support for Civil Marriage Equality Support levels for abortion Very strong support for decision to introduce Civil Divorce A majority of members support the introduction of some form of euthanasia. Shows strong support for some form of legalisation of cannabis Clustering around the centre is a prevailing trend among young members Large majority in support of the statement that Trade Unions put their member's interests first. Strong support for reducing the tax burden on citizens Opposition to cutting expenditure if taxes are reduced. Members are split about the precedence of reducing the National Deficit Varied response to different funding options for 3rd Level Education Analysis of length of party membership Members responded that they joined Fianna Fil due to agreeing with the party policies and because their families always supported the party. Members are related to other members in two out of three cases Most members are not related to politicians. Number of party meetings attended in the previous 12 months. Members indicated that they were highly active within the party. Strong desire to do more and get more active among members. Significant opposition to joining other political parties if Fianna Fil ceased to exist. High levels of awareness of Fianna Fils new Euro Group. Very high levels of support for Fianna Fils membership of Liberal groupings in Europe. 13 15 26 29 30 32 34 35 36 42 43 44 45 46 47 53

Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4 Figure 6.5 Figure 6.6 Figure 6.7 Figure 6.8 Figure 6.9 Figure 6.10

54 56 57 58 59 59 60 62 62

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Abbreviations

ALDE ELDR EU FF FG Lab UK

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party European Union Fianna Fil Fine Gael Irish Labour Party United Kingdom

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Acknowledgements

There is almost nothing on earth that the people of this country cannot do better, or as well, as other people, once they apply their minds to it. (Sean Lemass)

Thanks to my supervisor, Lisa Marie Cunningham for all her help and guidance during this project and thank you to all the lecturing staff on the course who guided us through the past year.

To my friends, political or otherwise, who endured my ramblings about young people in Fianna Fil, thanks for keeping me real at all times.

To every member of Fianna Fil who took part in the survey and to those who gave up their time to be interviewed, I appreciate your help and assistance.

To those who have given their time freely and willingly to The Party over the past 85 years, may those who follow you live up to your high standards.

To the seventeen other souls in the MAPAPC class, we didnt always agree but we never allowed our political differences get in the way of building friendships.

To Patrick and Elizabeth Maguire, my maternal grandparents, who instilled in me my passion for politics and my commitment to the Fianna Fil.

To my family and in particular my parents, PJ and Jenny, who have supported me in everything I have ever done, thank you for the bottom of my heart. I will never forget you.

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1

Context Review

Fianna Fil has been at the forefront of Irish politics since its foundation in 1926 in the La Scala Theatre, Dublin by Civil War, War of Independence and Easter Rising veterans. (Leahy, 2010: 5) At its foundation, it was a splinter group from a minority party. (Martin, 2011c) Its rise to political power in 1932 was not always assured as it followed ten turbulent years in which its founders lost their quest for a thirty two county Irish Republic, lost a bitter civil war and seemed destined to be at the margins of Irish political life.

Fianna Fil was shaped at its onset as a national movement and this national movement was composed of primarily young men and women in their twenties, thirties and early forties. These new leaders of Irish Republicanism made a choice between revering a tradition which excluded them from contemporary political participating and accepting Michael Collins original argument about the Treaty. (Ferriter, 2005: 310)

Significantly, Fianna Fil veered away from the traditional European definitions of political ideologies and instead focussed on its Irish Republican ethos. Importantly, future Fianna Fil leader and Taoiseach, amon DeValera, in his address to the inaugural meeting of the party in the La Scala Theatre said: I expect that most of you are Republicans, as I am, not so much because of any doctrinaire attachment to any special form of government, but because in the conditions of Ireland, Independence and the Republic must be in practice one and the same thing. (DeValera, 1926)

This lack of an outward attachment to a core ideological belief would stay with Fianna Fil for most of its history. In turn, Fianna Fil had an ability to shift its policy orientation depending on the mood of the people or the needs of the party and its leadership. This was similar to other political partys during the 20th Century in Ireland which manifested a distinctive lack of radicalism between Fianna Fil, Fine Gael and Labour.

In discussing the possible merger of Fine Gael and Labour in the 1950s, Labour Leader Brendan Corish suggested that he would be glad if members of Fine Gael were in the Labour party. (Ferriter, 2005: 17). Ferriter goes on to question whether the issue of left, right or centre and how parties saw themselves were relevant to political debate in Ireland. (ibid.)

The strength of its membership has always been one of Fianna Fils strongest assets. With over 65,000 members according to Aidan Gormin, Director of Membership Development ( Gormin, 2011), it remains one of the largest political parties in Ireland. According to Richard Dunphy,

throughout its history it maintained its grasp of political power in Ireland due to enthusiasm, determination and work ethic of its membership located in every parish and townland in the country (Dunphy, 1995: 1995: 33)

Fianna Fil joined the integrationist, Europhilic European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) in April 2009 (Fianna Fil, 2011) after leaving the Eurosceptic, conservative and overtly right-wing, Union of Europe of Nations political grouping. As a result, the Fianna Fil MEPs elected at the 2009 European Elections, Liam Aylward MEP (Ireland East), Pat The Cope Gallagher MEP (Ireland North West) and Brian Crowley MEP (Ireland South)

sit with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament. Former Fianna Fil Taoiseach Brian Cowen was quoted as saying on EUObserver.com that: they [the ELDR] works hard to respect the views of smaller countries" and that the new partnership will "strengthen our voice and that of all people who believe in a Europe of states working closely together." (EUObserver, 2009)

1.2

Reasons for Choosing this Topic

General Election 2011 proved a massive shock to the Fianna Fil organisation. Its dominance of the Irish political system was destroyed and its position as the natural party of government in Ireland was removed. The party suffered a reversal in seat numbers in Dil ireann never seen before in its history going from seventy seven members to twenty. Fianna Fil now has a smaller number of seats than its predecessor Sinn Fin party (1922-1926) had in the Free State Dil.

Since this election, a lot of soul searching has begun within and external to Fianna Fil. David Quinn in his column in the Irish Independent on the 1 st July 2011 argues that Fianna Fail appears to have settled on a strategy of presenting itself as a socially 'progressive' party. Members are rightly thinking about what it means to be a member of Fianna Fil and also what Fianna Fil stands for as a political party. Former Leader and Taoiseach, Charles J. Haughey once claimed, at a party Ard Fheis, that Fianna Fil are neither masters of the left, nor slaves of the right but pragmatists of the centre. [Mansergh, 1986: 110]

This research sets out to test this hypothesis from Charles J. Haughey by surveying a significant number of members of Fianna Fil and also interviewing a number of people who sought the leadership of Fianna Fil in January 2011. In particular, I will survey those members of Fianna Fil less than forty years of age on their opinions on a range of social, economic and party political issues in an effort to see are there are similarities with national trends and/or contradictions with the views of the Fianna Fil leadership candidates.

1.3

Chapter Structure

Chapter 1 Introduction This chapter introduces the context in which this research will take place. Reasons for why this topic was chosen and break down of each of the subsequent chapters in included.

Chapter 2 - Literature Review This chapter engages in an in-depth review of political parties in general and why people join them. Here it compares political parties in Ireland to other political parties in the world. It will focus on current trends in polling figures with regard to both young people and the general population in Ireland. It summarises the main political terms in use today with regard to political ideology and assesses Fianna Fils and other Irish political parties attempts, or lack thereof, to conform to these ideologies.

Chapter 3 Methodology This chapter sets out the various methodologies employed during this research It provides the reasoning behind why certain people were asked to take part in an interview, how people were chosen to take part in an online survey, describes how and why the interviews took place as they did and how the data collected was analysed. In addition, the limitations and delimitations will also be discussed here.

Chapters 4, 5, 6 Research Focus These three chapters are where the various results are presented. The issues addressed in each of the three chapters will conform to the questions originally asked. Chapter 4 Political Activity and Relationship to Other Parties, considers the activity levels of members of Fianna Fil and how they view themselves and Fianna Fil in relation to other political parties in Ireland. In addition, the European context with be explored by analysing their support for membership of Fianna Fils European political grouping. Chapter 5 considers the results of the social issues aspects of the online survey in terms of how closely they mirror research findings for the general Irish population and young people in particular. Chapter 6 considers the various results of the economic questions from the online survey

Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations This final chapter summarises the various conclusions that the author has drawn from the primary and secondary research and makes a number of recommendations that may be of use in future to Fianna Fil. In addition, areas that may require further research will be outlined.

Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Ideology

Many different types of academics from political theorists to historians to psychologists have attempted to grapple with the notion of ideology. Freeden (1996:14) stated that contemporary notions regarding ideology are derived primarily from the shadow of Marx and Engels. Eagleton (1991:1) identifies a variety of definitions for ideology that are currently in use the process of production of meanings, signs and values in social life or ideas which help to legitimise a dominant political power or finally a body of ideas characteristic of a particular social group or class.

Ian Adam (2001:2) states that most theories of ideology have been partisan whereby theorists and followers of one political doctrine attempt to portray other peoples ideas as ideological. For example, Marx believed that liberalism was the ideology of the bourgeoisie, i.e. the middle class, which masked its exploitation and oppression of other classes. In contrast, Marx believed that his theories were scientific in nature and therefore not ideological.

Ideologies according to Adams (2001:3) are concerned primarily with the issue of values i.e. how we ought to treat each other and live together in society. He goes on to state that different ideologies offer different visions of what a good society should be. Within the Irish context, various political traditions have since Irish Independence sought to develop their own distinctive ideologies. Examples of this include the Irish Labour Party (Democratic Socialism) and Clann na Tamhlann (Agrarian Nationalism)

Gaffney (1996) does inform us that Irish politics has been primarily separated by a historical nationalist cleavage rather than any division over social class. Ideologies, according to Malesevic (2002: 49) are viewed as belief systems based on fixed and stable elements

2.2

Nationalism

As Gaffney (1996) outlined, Irish politics has been determined primarily by a nationalist cleavage rather than social cleavages. Coakley & Gallagher (2006: 51) go further and state that it is clear that as Irish people mobilised politically in the 19th Century, the idea of an Irish Nation became a central political ideal.

The rise of Sinn Fin and the decision of Irish Labour not to contest the 1918 General Election saw Irish Nationalism become the dominant force in political discourse rather than other socio-political cleavages such as class. Coakley & Gallagher (ibid) argue that had Ireland gained full independence from the United Kingdom for the entire island then a radically different Ireland, politically and socially, could have evolved.

2.3

Political Parties

Edmund Burke (quoted in Sartori, 2002:8) believed that a Party is a body of men united, for promoting by their joint endeavours the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed. Political Parties according to Heywood (2002: 97) are groups of people that are organised for the purposes of winning governmental power, by electoral or other means.

Collins and Creydon (2001:16) state that Ireland is similar to the United States in that the main parties stand principally on their records rather than their position on an ideological spectrum. Furthermore, the partition of Ireland caused the other major political cleavage; a cultural cleavage between Gaelic Catholics and Unionist Protestants, to become irrelevant in the Irish Free State (ibid, 2001:21)

Adshead and Tonge (2009:89) state that there are a number of different types of political parties that have been identified by political theorists. Cadre parties (Duverger, 1954) are those that are developed and clearly controlled by a small or elite group. Mass parties (ibid) typically evolved from those outside power, adopting a branched membership structure. Catch All (Kircheimer, 1966) parties are those parties to describe those parties that seek to shore up their traditional support with that from floating voters and interest groups.

2.3

Why do people join political parties?

According to the ISSP Citizenship Survey from 2004, 9% of the Irish population were members of a political party. However, in the same survey only 4% indicated that they were former party members. This suggests that party membership remains constant for most people and that change in party memberships occurs very little.

Whiteley and Seyd (1998: 113-138) outline three models of political participation which have been used to explain why individuals join political parties and become active in political movements.

2.3.1 The Civic Voluntarism Model Verba and Nie suggest that individuals ability to engage in party political activity is primarily determined by an individuals resources. Originally, they determined that the social status of an individual i.e. his job, education, and income determines to a large extent how much he participates (1972:13).

Latterly, Verba et al defined these resources as time, money and civic skills (1995:271). There are a number of variables outlined in Whitely (2011: 27) which have been used to as indicators of resources. They included educational attainment and spare time. As a result, highly educated people with corresponding high social class or people with spare time due to working part time are more likely to join and become active in a political party.

2.3.2 The Cognitive Engagement Model At the centre of this model is a belief that an individuals political participation is motivated by their ability and willingness to process and understand information about politics and society. (Clarke et al, 2004; Norris, 2000). Like the Civic Engagement Model, education is at the core of this model. However, it is viewed in a different way. Here, it is seen as a measure of a persons ability to make sense of the political world. The rapid rise of the internet, the development of 24-hour TV News stations and a myriad of politically focused TV and Radio stations has made it easier for people to become critical citizens. (Norris, 1999: 25)

While not only knowledgeable about politics, such individuals have the ability to appraise the effectiveness of policies and judge the political records of candidates or parties. Cognitively engaged citizens could be seen to be close to

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the Greek conception of a good citizen, who is an informed member of the polis and who fully participates in the process of government.

2.3.3 The Social Capital Model This model suggests that trust resulting from interpersonal relations within voluntary associations are functional for the civicness of a given community (Letki, 2003:10). Puttnam defines social capital as features of social organization, such as trust, norms and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating co-ordinated actions (1993:167).

Coleman (1990) believed that social interactions in a voluntary setting help to generate credit slips of obligations and foster reciprocity. Thus, if a person trusts others and has worked with them well in a voluntary capacity in the past, they are more likely to join the same political party as that person as a result (Putnam, 2000)

Clark & Wilson (1961) outlined 3 main reasons why people joined political parties: Purposive, Solidarity and Material. Gallagher & Marsh (2004: 407) in their study of the Fine Gael membership described these three reasons as follows: Purposive: Those who joined either to get their policies implemented or on the other hand those who join a party to stop another party getting into government. Solidarity: Those who joined for social reasons, to meet new people or as a result of the influence of family or friends. Material: Those who joined in the hope of improving career or life opportunities.

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Tocqueville (quoted in Bennie, 2004:116)) argues that people form and join political parties to promote common interests. However, this does not fit in with contemporary public choice theory which suggests that individuals are motivated by self interest and utility maximising. If utility-maximising persons do good for others, it must be in order to gain advantage for themselves (Van Dyke, 1995:133)

2.4

Membership of Fianna Fil

Even politicians who for most of their political lives opposed Fianna Fil had positive feelings towards the grassroots of Fianna Fil. One such example was former Clann na Poblachta Minister for Health Noel Brown who said All my life I have enjoyed the company of the rank and file of Fianna Fil: they are refreshing, mildly iconoclastic and independent and given any chance at all would be first class material for a properly developed society (Browne, 1986:222)

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2.5

Social Issues

The European Values Survey is a large scale, cross-national and longitudinal survey research programme on basic human values. It provides insights into the ideas, beliefs, preferences, attitudes, values and opinions of citizens all over Europe. (www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu). Since 1981, it has been measuring responses and opinions with regards to various social issues and their moral justifications. Abortion 1.7 2.36 2.91 3.15 Divorce 3.21 4.13 4.8 5.23 Euthanasia 2.14 2.56 3.31 3.52 Homosexuality 3.29 5.08 5.10 5.08

Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Wave 4

1981 1990 1999 2008

Fig 2.1 - Moral Justification: European Values Survey 1981-2008

Key: 1 = 10 =

The action could never be justified The action could always be justified.

2.5.1 Abortion When the rest of Europe was adopting liberal measures, Ireland held a firm stance against contraception, abortion and divorce. (Hackney and Hackney Blackwell, 2007: 277)

Abortion in Ireland has been illegal since the founding of the Republic. The illegality of abortion is derived from the Offences against the Person Act, 1961 which Ireland shares with the United Kingdom from since before Independence.

In February 2011, the Irish Pro Life Campaign announced the results of their latest opinion poll on the issue of abortion in Ireland. Carried out by the Red C

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polling company, it argued that 68% of people supported the constitutional protection of the unborn. (Pro Life Campaign, February 2011)

The Irish Family Planning Association publishing opinion poll results in early 2010 that suggested that 78% of Irish people supported access to abortion services in Ireland if the pregnancy endangered the health of the woman or if the pregnancy was the result of sexual abuse, rape or incest. (IFPA, March 2010).

In 1997, the Irish Times in conjunction with MRBI carried out a poll which found that 77% of Irish people believed that abortion should be permitted in the State in limited circumstances. (Irish Times / MRBI, 1997) 2.5.2 Euthanasia Euthanasia is defined, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary and quoted in McDougall et al (2008:1) as easy death or mercy killing whereas suicide is defined as the act of killing oneself (ibid). Polling of Irish peoples views on euthanasia or assisted suicide has only taken place in Ireland over the past fifteen years.

According to European Values Survey (1999) and World Values Survey (2000), Ireland ranks 3rd lowest in terms of public support for euthanasia with only 21% of respondents in favour of it. Ireland is joined in the bottom three with Malta and Turkey. De Graaf (2007) argues that this is due to high levels of people who identify as being religious. Verbakel and Jaspers (2010: 109) argue that countries that have predominantly Protestant populations are more in favour of legalising euthanasia than majority Catholic countries.

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Irish peoples views on euthanasia, according to recent polling figures, have changed considerably. Since 2005, when only three out of ten people approved of euthanasia (Irish Times, June 2005), the numbers in favour of legalising euthanasia or assisted suicide has increased to 57% (Irish Times, Sept 2010)

2.5.3 Attitudes towards Civil Marriage Equality / Acceptance of Homosexuality

Ireland has significantly higher levels of acceptance of homosexuality in comparison to other Catholic and Orthodox countries. Over 80% of people felt gay men and lesbians should be free to live their lives as they wish. (ESS Survey, 2008). In addition, 91% sad that they would not think any less of a person if they were gay. (Irish Times / Behaviours & Attitudes, 2010)
80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 51% 65% 62% 67% 61%

0%
GLEN / Sunday Tribune Landsdown / Millward Research 2006 Brown Marriage Irish Times / Irish Equality / Behaviours & Independent / Landsdown Attitudes 2010 Millward Brown Research 2009

Fig 2.2 Support Levels for Gay Marriage / Civil Marriage Equality in Ireland

Fianna Fil as a political party advocated in its 2007 Election Manifesto (Fianna Fil, 2007: 26) that it would introduce Civil Partnerships for Gay and Lesbian couples, falling short of full civil marriage equality. During the 2011 General Election, Fianna Fil said that it does not propose any constitutional change in respect of article 41.3.1 relating to the issue of marriage (Fianna Fil, 2011: 47) which meant that civil marriage could not be introduced.

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Since General Election 2011, there have been some moves within Fianna Fil on the issue of civil marriage equality. Both Senators Averil Power and Thomas Byrne have, during Seanad Eireann debates, advocated that the party needs to readdress its position with Senator Power going as far as to say I am committed to full marriage equality and it [civil partnership] does not represent true equality to me either (Seanad ireann, 7 July 2011)

2.5.4 Civil Divorce Civil Divorce was introduced into Ireland in 1995 following the passing of a referendum to amend Bunreacht na hireann in order to allow for the state dissolution of marriages. The referendum succeeded on a very narrow margin, 50.25% - 49.75% after a very bitter and difficult campaign. (Coakley & Gallagher, 2009: 62)

Fianna Fil as a political party campaigned in favour of introducing divorce; however a number of TDs and Senators campaigned openly against divorce and in contravention of the decision of the Fianna Fil Ard Fheis.

Recently, Fianna Fil candidate in the 2009 Dublin Central By-Election, Cllr. Maurice Ahern, a brother of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern stated in a candidates debate on Tonight with Vincent Browne that if there was a new referendum on divorce he would vote against it as a matter of conscience (TV3, 2009)

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2.6

European Political Groupings

The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party was founded in 1993 (Wessells et al, 2003: p380) and is committed to translating the principle of freedom into politics, economics and all other areas of our societies. (ELDR, 2011) The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is a strongly pro-European integrationist centrist group. It is comprised primarily of parties of the Centre and of the Right but also includes certain Leftist elements (Nugent, 2006: 264)

The ELDR, as an organisation, is bound by the Stuttgart Declaration, an agreement between the founding members of the organisation. It must also be accepted by all political parties who wish to join the party. Article 5 of the Declaration states: The European Union must be founded on the common conviction that the freedom of the individual, equal opportunities for all and the free competition of ideas and parties are indispensable elements of a democratic society. (ELDR, 1976: 1)

2.7

Tax Rises and Spending Cuts

A recent Irish Times / Ipsos mrbi opinion poll from July 2011 has shown that there is considerable support for reducing government spending ahead of increasing taxes. 62% felt that spending should be cut while only 20% supported an increase in tax rates. (Irish Times, 2011) Fianna Fil, as part of Budget 2011, advocated a ratio of 2:1 in terms of spending cuts to tax rises as

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per the National Recovery Plan announced in November 2011. (Department of Finance, 2010)

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Chapter 3 Methodology

3.1

Introduction

Within this chapter, the objectives of the study will be presented and the methods, either primary or secondary research will be outlined. The basis by which the research design, data collection and how the data was analysed will also discussed. The author will also discuss any problems that arose during the research stages and will evaluate what limitations or delimitations of the research were evident.

Research is a systematic investigation to find answers to a problem (Burns, 2000: 3) What do I need to know and why? should be the question that researchers should ask themselves as they set out to investigate a certain topic. According to Bell (2005: 12) this is a much more pertinent question than the generally used Which methodology? Blaxter et al argues that different kinds of research approached produce different kinds of knowledge about the phenomena under study. (2008: 58)

Due to the multi-faceted nature of this study, which focuses on young members of Fianna Fil, an effort to cross-check data findings and make use of more than one method of data collection must be made. Triangulation as this is known is cited by Bell as the one of the best means to do this (2010: 116).

Researchers upon their introduction to methodology are generally introduced to the common paradigms of quantitative and qualitative. Blaxter et al (2008:

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59) writes that quantitative and qualitative paradigms offer us a basic framework for dividing up knowledge camps. This holds true within this area of research.

3.2

Research Objectives

The four main objectives of this study are as follows:

3.2.1

Objective One

To what extent are young Fianna Fil members divided in terms of ideological positions?

3.2.2

Objective Two

To establish the support levels of Fianna Fils membership of both the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

3.2.3

Objective Three

To ascertain the activity levels of young members within the organisation and what activities they see themselves getting involved with in the future.

3.2.4

Objective Four

To establish the reasons why members join Fianna Fil and to clarify if their familys political allegiance effect their decision to join?

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3.3

Research Design

Miles and Huberman (1994: 41) outlined four types of design for integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches: Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used in parallel. Continuous observation in the field provides a basis on which the several waves in a survey are related or from which the waves are derived and shaped. Use of a qualitative method such as semi structured interviews and then followed by a questionnaire study. Both results are then assessed in parallel. A complimentary field study adds depth to the results of an initial survey and is followed by an experimental intervention in the field for testing of the results.

For this study, the third approach was utilised i.e. semi structured interviews followed up by a questionnaire as it was deemed more appropriate by the author as the interviews would enable to the author to draft more focused questions for the survey.

3.4

The Different Approaches to Research

Due to the nature of this research which attempted to look at both precise measurements of trends of facts and peoples opinions, the author decided that both quantitative and qualitative methods should be employed. Both these forms of research have their own merits and drawbacks.

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3.5

Reliability and Validity

For this research to be of a proper basis so as to be useful to other researchers, the principles of reliability and validity must be followed. This is important in particular as the author is utilising quantitative research.

3.5.1 Reliability Reliability has different meanings depending on whether the research being carried out is quantitative or qualitative. Within quantitative research it means dependability, consistency and replicability over time, over instruments and over groups of respondents. (Cohen et al, 2007: 146). In order for this research to be reliable, it must demonstrate that if it were to be carried out on a similar group of respondents, then similar results would be found.

Within the field of qualitative research, the meaning of reliability changes to credibility, neutrality and dependability. (ibid: 148). In essence, the author must ensure that his or her role within the collection of qualitative research does not impact upon the responses elicited from the respondents.

3.5.2 Validity Validity is the degree to which the conclusions drawn by the researcher come from the study results and are not from chance or from erroneous sources (Boudah, 2011: 64) The author carrying out this research needs to ensure that any conclusions reached are based on research and results and not from their own opinions or other invalid sources.

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3.6

Triangulation The use of more than one method or source of data in the study of a social phenomenon so that findings may be cross-checked (Bryman, 2008: 700)

The author felt that it was necessary to triangulate the various data sources with each other allowing him to check if the surveys, interviews and documentary reviews corroborated each other.

Priest classified triangulation as : Using substantially different methods to study the same problem i.e. using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. (Priest, 1996: 254)

This was felt necessary due to the limited amount of contemporary research into this area of research i.e. young members within Fianna Fil and their opinions / beliefs on social and economic issues. Using a combined method approach allows the author to control any authorial bias [an active member of Fianna Fil] and limit its effect on the studys reliability and validity.

Nachmias et al (1999: 206) argues that triangulation within research is essential as it allows researchers and investigators to minimise the degree of specificity of certain methods [of data collection] to particular bodies of knowledge.

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3.7

Primary Qualitative Research

3.7.1 Interviews Interviews have, for a long period of time, being used as a method of collecting important qualitative date for research purposes. Academic literature contains both arguments in favour of and in opposition to the use of personal interviews. Nachmias et al (1999: 237,238) states that some of the advantages include:

Flexibility An interview allows great flexibility in the questioning process thus eliciting better and more informed responses. Control An interview can ensure that the respondents answer certain questions before they answer subsequent questions. Response Rate A personal interview results in a higher response rate than mail questionnaires. Also, it allows those who lower reading and writing levels to take part in the research.

In addition, according to Robson (1993: 229), interviews offer up the possibility of modifying ones lines of enquiry allowing the interviewer to follow up on interesting responses.

24

Some academics point to some failings of interviews and argue that these should be borne in mind when designing your research. Nachmias et al (1999: 238) puts forward three disadvantages to interviews:

Higher Cost There are high costs involved in facilitating interviews. This can form a considerable barrier. Interviewer Bias Interviewers may give off verbal or non verbal cues regarding their opinion on an issue which could contaminate any responses. Lack of Anonymity Respondents may feel threatened or intimidated by the interviewer if a sensitive topic is being discusses. This would not happen in a paper survey.

In addition, Denscombe (2010: 203) argues that interviews traditionally provide non standard responses which can inhibit data analysis.

Much of traditional interviewing concentrates on the language of neutrality and the techniques to achieve it. (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005: 696). Scheurich (2002) has argued that the interviewer is a person historically and contextually located, carrying unavoidable conscious and unconscious motives, desires, feelings and biases. The author, a member and long standing activist within Fianna Fil, needs to be aware of this issue when conducting interviews.

25

Due to the nature of the people being interviewed, the author felt it more appropriate to use an unstructured form of interview. Fontana and Frey as quoted in Denzin & Lincoln state that unstructured interviews can provide greater breadth than other types given its qualitative nature (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005: 705)

Since this area of research is very particular to the Fianna Fil organisation, much of the primary qualitative research was based on interviews with a number of individuals within Fianna Fil or linked to Fianna Fil. The interviews focused on a) their own experiences of being in Fianna Fil as a young person, b) their views on the future development of Fianna Fil and c) their core beliefs and opinions.

Name Michel Martin TD Eamon Cuiv TD Brian Lenihan TD RIP Robert Troy TD Senator Thomas Byrne Noel Whelan Aidan Gormin

Profession / Position Uachtarin Fhianna Fil Deputy Leader, Fianna Fil Former Deputy Leader, Fianna Fil Newly Elected Teachta Dla Former Teachta Dla, now Senator Political Commentator Director, Membership Development Fianna Fil

Date 19th April 2011 27th March 2011 13th April 2011 6th April 2011 25th August 2011 20th April 2011 April 2011 29th May 2011

Conor King

Policy Co-Ordinator, gra Fianna Fil

Fig 3.1 List of Interviews carried out during course of research

In addition, Fianna Fil Vice President, Mary Hanafin was invited to take part in an interview but unfortunately, scheduling did not permit this to take place.

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3.8

Primary Quantitative Research

In order to measure the views, opinion and positions of young Fianna Fil members, a quantitative aspect to the research was utilised. In order to reach as many young members of Fianna Fil and in light of the fact that a large scale gathering of these members is not due to take place until November 2011, the author decided that an online survey tool would be used to collect data from respondents. www.kwiksurveys.com was used as it allowed for an unlimited number of questions and it was free to use. Survey responses were collected between 1st May 2011 and 31st July 2011 using the above website.

The Fianna Fil National Youth Officer issued an email invitation to a group of gra activists i.e. those holding a position on an gra office board numbering 156 people. In order to target those in the 27-39 age bracket, a call for interest was placed in a number of internal Fianna Fil forums limited strictly to card carrying members. The link to the survey was never placed, at any stage, on a public forum in case contamination from non Fianna Fil respondents took place.

Questions relating to basic demographics and information regarding their connections to the Fianna Fil organisation were placed at the beginning in order to make respondents more comfortable and to reduce concern about taking part.

27

3.8.1 Online Survey Due to the large official membership of Fianna Fil which at the end of March 2011 stood at 65,700 ( Gorman, 2011: Interview) and the fact that Dates of Birth are not required in a membership application, the researcher felt it necessary to limit the number of survey responses to between 100 and 200. This fits in well with current thinking as Denscombe (2010: 24) recommends that small scale survey research should include between 30 and 250 respondents.

3.9

Limitations and Delimitations

Limitations, according to Phelps (2005: 63) represent circumspections imposed on a researcher by external circumstances. Mauch & Birch (1998: 105) states that a limitation is a factor that may or will affect the study, but is not under the control of the researcher, a delimitation differs, principally, in that it is controlled by the researcher. For example, documents may be unavailable or particular interview subjects may not be in a position to take part.

Within this survey, access to people should not be an issue due to the authors role within the party. However, some issues may be still too sensitive to talk about, especially in light of the recent general election results.

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Chapter 4 - Social Issues

Question ten to fourteen looked at views on a range of social issues such as abortion, civil marriage equality, divorce, euthanasia and the legalisation and regulation of cannabis.

4.1

General Overview

Social Freedoms Spectrum

43.51% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

17.53%

20.78% 12.99% 3.90% 1.30%

Fig 4.1 - A considerable majority of respondents identified themselves as either Very Liberal or Moderately Liberal.

This graph shows that over 61% of the members of Fianna Fil under 40 years of age surveyed identify as either Very Liberal or Moderately Liberal.

A relatively small proportion identified as being Conservative; less than 17%. Very low numbers were unsure about their positon. There is a sizable proportion of the respondents who class themselves as Centrist on social issues; nearly 21%

29

Very few of the members of the Fianna Fil PP interviewed were willing to use the above terminology to define their position with the exception of Brian Lenihan TD who said that In my youth, I would have classed myself as a liberal. I mean I would have always questioned the status quo (Lenihan, 2011). During the interviews, Michael Martin, Robert Troy and Eamonn Cuv (2011) responded that republicanism was the philosophy that defined themselves the most as politicians. In addition, Eamonn Cuv added that he felt that secular was a word he was more comfortable with than liberal as it had too many negative connotations within Irish public discourse. ( Cuv, 2011)

4.2.1 Civil Marriage Equality A very large majority of respondents said that they either strongly agreed or agreed with the question that All Citizens in a Republic should be entitled to avail of a Civil Marriage - nearly three quarters. This mirrors and in fact, goes further than the recent polling figures on peoples views on marriage equality which fluctuates between 60-70% in support. (See Fig 4.2.1)

Civil Marriage Equality

2.60% 4.55% 8.44% 46.75% 37.66%

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Fig 4.2 High levels of support for Civil Marriage Equality

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There was some concern arising out of the interviews about the terminology used to define marriage equality. Eamon Cuv (2011) felt that there should be a complete separation of church and state union and a new term be devised for all those engaging in a state recognised relationship. He went on to say that:

As a republican, in the traditional sense of the word, we must have a complete and unequivocal barrier between state based contracts and those conducted within faith communities. ( Cuiv, 2011)

Fianna Fil Leader, Michael Martin TD felt that Gay Marriage isnt as big a deal for people as some people would have us believe yet he was unequivocal in his support for the recently enacted Civil Partnership Act 2011. (Martin, 2011a)

Fianna Fail has been the most progressive parties historically in terms of rights for Gay and Lesbian couples. Personally marriage is a sacrament of a church and if the church wants to allow gay and lesbian couples engage in that sacrament, that is their choice. I dont see any massive differences between Marriage and Civil Partnership. (Troy, 2011)

The Civil Partnership has struck a very fair balance and if you look at other European countries, what we adopted is the norm. The Civil Partnership provisions should be tested for a period before we look at introducing marriage equality. I know that younger members and voters are significantly more in favour of this but I wonder would you get the same high approval numbers from people with children. (Lenihan, 2011)

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4.2.2 Abortion

Should Ireland's abortion laws be relaxed?

50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Yes No Unsure 44.81% 37.66%

17.53%

Fig 4.3 Support levels for abortion Despite Fianna Fils portrayal as a conservative political party, the results obtained by the author from the survey regarding the issue of abortion were surprising. A plurality of respondents 44.8% felt that Irelands abortion laws should not be relaxed with 37.7% in favour of some form of relaxation. Those who were in favour of keeping the abortion laws as they are were very clear in their views about why they felt this way. One male, in the 31-40 age group, from the Meath East constituency said: the right to life of the unborn is sacrosanct and goes to the very essence of the republican ideals I hold- Human Life is sacred from conception to the grave-it is what real equality is all about

Another male, aged 16-20 from Cork South Central who said voted to relax the current laws felt that an abortion should only take place if: The mothers life is in danger or if she has been the victim of a rape

A female respondent, aged 21-30 from Donegal North East voted yes to relax the current rules under the following conditions:

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when a woman is the victim of rape or in the case where it would be deemed cruel to let the child be born... strongly opposes laws being relaxed to such an extent where abortion is used as a means of contraception

The author noted that there is a high level of those answering with Unsure; approx. 17% which may indicate that there is a lot of soul searching being undertaken by those in this cohort i.e. their views may not have fully formed either way.

Leadership View All interviewees from the Parliamentary Party and Conor King, Director of Policy at gra Fianna Fil all said they remain committed to stopping the introduction of abortion in Ireland. Robert Troy TD, a 29 year old first time member of Dil ireann, said that he believed he could never see abortion on demand introduced into Ireland, and especially by Fianna Fil (Troy, 2011)

The score achieved for those who are not in favour of relaxing Irelands abortion laws was significantly lower than the polling figures compiled by the Irish Pro Life Campaign / Red C (February 2011) which showed that 68% of people supported the constitutional protection of the unborn. As per some of the comments from respondents above, perhaps there is doubt within people over protecting the unborn and respecting the health and well being of the mother. This may cause differences in the polling figures.

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4.2.3 Civil Divorce

Support for Civil Divorce

3.90% 0.65% 14.94% Strongly Agree 42.86% Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

37.66%

Fig 4.4- Very strong support for decision to introduce Civil Divorce

Over 80% of respondents indicated that the introduction of Civil Divorce in Ireland in 1995 was a positive step for the country. Negligible opposition to this statement was reported with between 4% and 5% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. Relatively high levels supported the unsure option. Nearly 15% said that felt unsure as to whether it was a positive or negative step for Ireland.

Leadership View Divorce was a very contentious for us in Fianna Fil in 1995. It was a major issue at the Ard Fheis preceding the referendum but I supported it at the time because it was the right thing to do legally and socially (Lenihan, 2011)

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4.2.4 Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide

Support for introduction of Euthanasia

Unsure No Yes 0% 10% 20% 25.97% 30% 40% 50% 25.97% 48.05%

Fig 4.5 A majority of members support the introduction of some form of euthanasia

A plurality in opposition to the introduction of Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide with 48.05% saying no to the question. Equal support was given to both the yes response and to the unsure response. Majority in favour of some form of euthanasia being introduced but a strong divide between young members.

Leadership View In the course of his interview, Conor King, Policy Director with gra Fianna Fil said: Euthanasia, assisted suicide or whatever you want to call it is a tough question for many in Fianna Fil and among young people in Fianna Fil. On the one hand we have a strong pro life element within the party who would strongly object and on the other hand, we are seeing a growing liberal / personal freedoms tendency. It is an issue, quite like abortion, that no one in Fianna Fil would want to engage with if they can avoid doing so (King, 2011)

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4.2.5 Legalisation of Cannabis

Should Cannabis be legalised?

50%

40%
30% 20% 10% 0% Yes 22.73%

38.96% 33.12%

5.19% No For Medical Purposes Only Unsure

Fig 4.6 Shows strong support for some form of legalisation of cannabis

Total support in favour of legalisation, including both positive options i.e. Yes and Yes For Medical Purposes Only is in excess of 60% Yes For Medical Purposes Only receives the strongest support of the all the options with 38.96% followed by No on 33.12% followed by Yes on 22.73% and Unsure on 5.19%.

Leadership View I do not support the legalisation of cannabis. It has been legalised in certain restricted ways for medical purposes but I dont think we need to go any further (Michael Martin, 2011a)

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4.3

Analysis of Findings

Young members of Fianna Fil are generally as liberal of the general population with respect to many of the social issues researched in this dissertation.

4.3.1 Social Freedoms

Those identifying as Moderately Liberal or Very Liberal added up to over 60% of the survey sample suggesting that this ideology is the dominant ideology among young members of the party. When looking at this result one needs to refer back to Adams (2001: 3) who suggests that ideologies are concerned with the issue of values whereby i.e. how we ought to treat each other and live together in society. If this is the case and we accept this proposition, young Fianna Fil members believe in the primacy of the individual and the rights and responsibilities that go with personal freedoms.

The option to identify oneself as a republican was omitted from the possible answers in other to force participants to think about their ideology in more traditional, non-Irish terms. This was done so that we could see past the historical nationalist cleavage identified by Gaffney (1996).

37

4.3.2 Civil Marriage Equality The support levels for Civil Marriage Equality as shown in the results of the online survey surpass the levels of support within the general Irish population which only averages 66% over the past 10 years.

The high levels of support among young members of Fianna Fil is in contrast to the official stated position of the party where is does not support any change to article 41.3.1 of Bunreacht na hireann which deals with the issue of marriage. (Fianna Fil, 2011)

While young people tend to be more liberal than older people (Rawls, 2005: p48), it is interesting to see that young Fianna Fil members are more liberal than the general Irish population and in particular the stated Fianna Fil position on this issue. Another point of note is the support levels for Civil Marriage Equality across the various ideological divides.

Only approx. 7% of respondents opposed the idea of civil marriage equality yet 17% of respondents identified as being either moderately conservative or very conservative. Perhaps there is a current of libertarianism running through young members of Fianna Fil. Libertarianism is: a species of (classical) liberalism, an advocacy of individual liberty, free markets and limited government rooted in a commitment to self ownership, inprescriptible rights and the moral autonomy of the individual (Boaz, 1998: ix)

38

Another area that has arisen is the high levels of support for civil marriage equality among male respondents. Three quarters of the survey sample were male and as such would have a statistically important influence on the final results of the survey. In the Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relations (ISSHR) survey from 2006, 57% of men aged 18-24 said that homosexuality was never wrong compared to 77% of women in the same age group. For those in the 25-34 age group, the figures were 59% for men and 68% for women. (Department of Health & Children / Crisis Pregnancy Agency, 2006: 103). These attitudes do not seem to have been an important factor.

4.3.3 Abortion Many surveys which ask questions about the issue of abortion and or access to abortion can become skewed due to the relative biases of the people asking the questions or paying for the survey to be carried out. This can be manifested in the type of question asked or the phrasing / terminology used. For example, the Irish Pro Life campaign asked the following question in its 2011 survey carried out by Red C Polling: Are you in favour of , or opposed to, the constitutional protection for the unborn that prohibits abortion but allows the continuation of the existing practice of intervention to save a mothers life in accordance with Irish medical ethics?

Whereas the Irish Family Planning Association asked the following question: Do you support access to abortion in Ireland if the pregnancy endangers a womans health or if the pregnancy is the result of sexual abuse, rape or incest?

39

Both these questions fundamentally ask the same question with the addition of a caveat in terms of sexual abuse, rape or incest on the part of the Irish Family Planning Association.

Young Fianna Fil members were more inclined to be supportive of abortion laws in Ireland being relaxed. Opposition to this was far less than expected based on anecdotal evidence. Again the issue of gender is something that must be taken into account when looking at these figures.

The ISSHR survey (2006) again shows that there are significant differences in terms of opposition / support to opposition that break down along gender issues. This research shows us that younger women (<35) think that abortion is never wrong than men in a comparable age grouping. However, this does not explain the low levels of opposition to relaxation of abortion laws among young Fianna Fil members as three quarters are male and as such should be more hostile to abortion.

4.3.4 Euthanasia The issue of Euthanasia is a difficult one for many young Fianna Fil members. In order to come to a conclusion, they must reconcile their liberalism viz-a-vis personal freedoms and individualism and the latent prolife stream that runs through the majority of Irish people. As a result, the results obtained from the online survey are hard to comprehend. While there is still a plurality (48.05%) in opposition to euthanasia or assisted suicide, 26% are in favour of it while 26% were unsure. In times to come, what way the 26% who are unsure will play a crucial role in the position Fianna Fil takes on this issue.

40

The results obtained from the online survey suggest that young Fianna Fil members less willing to be in support of euthanasia compared to the Irish population in general who in a September 2010 poll in the Irish Times were 57% in favour of introducing euthanasia / assisted suicide. The responses from the interviews with those in a leadership position within the party seem more in tune with the opinions of the general Irish population; perhaps indicative of their age and likelihood of having families.

4.3.5 Civil Divorce Very high levels of support for civil divorce and its introduction in 1995 among young members of Fianna Fil. Many of the survey sample, in particular those in the 16-20 and 21-30 age groups would have grown up with divorce a reality. They would have been oblivious to the strong opposition at the time to divorce from particular sectors of society.

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Chapter 5 - Economic Issues 5.1 General Overview

Economic Spectrum
40% 30% 32.47%

27.27%

24.03% 7.79%

20%
10% 0% Left Wing Centre Left Centrist Centre Right Right Wing Unsure 1.95% 6.49%

Fig 5.1 - Clustering around the centre is a prevailing trend among young members.

Relatively equal levels of support for Centre Left, Centrist and Centre Right. Limited support for extremes such as Left Wing (<3%) and Right Wing (< 8%) Members are clustering around the centre.

Leadership View Michel Martin, in his first speech as Uachtarin Fhianna Fil (Leader) on the 26th January 2011 stated:

At its most creative and effective we have always been committed to a middle-way which believes that a commitment to both economic growth and social progress can and must go hand-in-hand. The empty slogans of the ideologues of left and right have never and will never deliver for the people of this modern democracy. (Martin, 2011b)

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5.2.1 Trade Unions

Trade Unions put the interests of their members ahead of the interests of the Irish People 47.71%
50.00% 32.68% 11.11%

0.00%

5.23%

3.27%

Fig 5.2 Large majority in support of the statement that Trade Unions put their members interests first.

Nearly half of all those surveyed strongly agreed that Trade Unions put the interests of their members ahead of the interests of the Irish people with a further 33% agreeing with it.

Less than 8% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement with a further 11% staying neutral on this issue.

Leadership View The strength and power of the trade union movement has actually declined especially in the private industry...Its not the case that Trade Unions became too strong; its more the situation that the Social Partnership Model became unfit for purpose. (Martin, 2011a)

43

Former Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD said: I should hope that they put the interests of their members first. Thats why their members pay their dues on a weekly or monthly basis. Trade Unions are like every other interest group doing their best for their particular sector of society. (Lenihan, 2011) Recently elected first time TD, Robert Troy TD said: Unions have an important role to play in the work place but I think that government must step back from the very close relationship with unions and ensure that agreements such as Social Partnership never become a weight around the neck of the tax payers (Troy, 2011)

5.2.2 Tax Burden Reduction

Lowering the Tax Burden is something all governments should aim to do

50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree 18.95% 40.52% 15.69%

21.57% 3.27%
Strongly Disagree

Fig 5.3 Strong support for reducing the tax burden on citizens

Nearly two in three (60%) felt that the Government should as a priority aim to reduce the tax burden on citizens. 22% disagreed with a further 3% strongly disagreeing with this proposition. Nearly 16% were neutral or on this issue.

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Leadership View Fianna Fil Seanad Spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Senator Thomas Byrne says: I think people can get quite fixated on the tax levels applied to people. We just have to look at the Tea Party in the United States. Yes of course we should try to reduce the tax burden but not at the expense of the services we ought to provide to our citizens. (Byrne, 2011) Conor King adds: So long as young people see their taxes being wasted, there will always be a desire to see their tax burden reduced. However, if that waste is cut out, I think more and more would be happy to pay their taxes (King, 2011)

5.2.3 Reductions in Spending

Reduction in spending as a result of reducing Tax Burden

7.84% Yes No

33.99% 58.17%

Unsure

Fig 5.4 Opposition to cutting expenditure if taxes are reduced.

Significant opposition, nearly 60% to reducing spending in order to offset a reduction in the Tax Burden. One third of respondents opposed to cutting expenditure.

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5.2.4 Reducing the National Deficit

Reducing the National Deficit should take precedence

1.31% 11.11% 39.87% 32.68% Strongly Agree Agree Neutral 15.03% Disagree Strongly Disagree

Fig 5.5 - Members are split about the precedence of reducing the National Deficit

Members are evenly split on this issue. 41% oppose this idea while nearly 44 % support it. One in six members is neutral on this issue.

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5.2.5 Funding of Third Level Education

3rd Level Education Funding

Government should 10.46% pay for it via the Tax Maintain the Status Quo Government Loans to Students Graduate Tax 7.84% 30.07% 18.30%

Means Tested Fees

33.33% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Fig 5.6 - Varied response to different funding options for 3rd Level Education

A scattered response to this question with no leading response. There is hostility towards maintaining the status quo or using the tax system to pay for 3rd Level Education. The return of Fees based on a means test leads the way with support of one third of respondents.

Leadership Views Conor King is quoted as saying: Ogra Fianna Fil members recently voted on this issue and the final results was in favour of a Graduate Tax to pay for 3 rd Level Education. gra is not homogenous in terms of this issue and there has been considerable debate on this topic. (King, 2011)

47

5.3

Analysis of Findings

5.3.1 General Overview

Former Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fil, Charles Haughey said in his 1976 Ard Fheis speech that we [Fianna Fil] are neither Masters of the Left nor Slaves of the Right but Pragmatists of the Centre (Haughey, 1976). This summation of Fianna Fil economic policy still holds very true in 2011 especially in light of the results of Question 8 of the survey which shows that the young members of Fianna Fil are clustering around the centre with support relatively evenly split between Centre Left, Centrist and Centre Right (with a slight bias towards Centre Right). This is probably unique among Irish political parties where for example Sinn Fin members are predominantly left wing as are Labour members with Fine Gael members mostly right wing.

5.3.2 Reducing the Tax Burden

There is considerable support among young members for the proposition that reducing the tax burden on citizens should be a priority for those in government. Three in Five respondents responded saying that they either strongly agreed or agreed with this statement. One in four opposed this by responding with either disagrees or strongly disagrees. Again, this could be an indication of a growing libertarian streak i.e. smaller government with a reduced tax burden on

48

citizens as a result within younger members of the party. This is quite similar to the Tea Party movement within the United States Republican Party.

Interesting this is a continuation of Fianna Fil policy over the past 14 years which saw a continual reduction in tax rates and increases in tax credits to reduce the burden on tax payers. Perhaps, members are only supporting what they have gotten used to. It would be interesting to repeat this question in 10 years time to see if opinions have changed.

Those who opposed this viewpoint, roughly one in four, could be considered to be the same people who responded to say that they were either left wing or centre left in philosophy. It seems that members are following through on their ideological positions on narrower topics.

5.3.3 Cutting Expenditure to match falling Tax Revenues It seems that despite a strong desire among young members of Fianna Fil to reduce the tax burden on citizens, there isnt as strong an appetite to cut spending to match falling tax revenues. Over 60% said that they would not want to see this happen. What this means is that if we cannot cut expenditure to close the gap then taxes must rise.

This is in stark contrast to an Irish Independent / Millward Brown Landsdown poll from the recent General Election that showed that 65% of voters wanted to see spending cuts before tax rises. What is causing this will need further investigation but I would assume that there is a latent social justice element inbuilt within members of Fianna

49

Fil originating from the old adage ascribed to Sean Lemass There is no need for a Labour Party in Ireland, we have Fianna Fil.

5.3.4 The National Deficit There seems to be a lack of consensus among members regarding the need to cut the national deficit. Just over 40% support it being made a priority while approximately the same number opposes this being the case. This is interesting as during the preceding two years Fianna Fil ministers and leaders were quite clear in their assertion that cutting the deficit as soon as possible was Irelands best hope of getting out of recession. This may signify the disconnect that many in Fianna Fil especially those who commented on various sections of the survey and said they felt that the members werent listened to.

5.3.5 How to fund Third Level Education How society funds third level education is an issue that arises every number of years. Over recent years, due to worsening economic conditions, the spectre of reintroducing fees has appeared on the horizon. Fianna Fil, who originally opposed the scrapping of fees by the Rainbow Government in the mid 1990s has since then, supported the Free Fees Scheme. However, some have begun to question the cost to the exchequer and ultimately to the tax payer for this scheme.

When polled, members were quite hostile to maintaining the status quo in terms of how we fund third level education with less than one in twelve supporting this. 10% of members feel that the Government should pay for 3rd level education via the tax system which would cause issues as this would undoubtedly require an increase in taxes.

50

The Graduate tax proposal whereby students would, upon graduation, pay an extra 1-2% in their taxes to cover the costs of attending college or university gets the support of less than one in five members.

Over 60% support either government backed loans to students to pay for their college education, similar to the system in place in the United Kingdom or means tested fees. There is no consensus among members on this issue and it may take a lot of toing and froing to reach one

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Chapter 6 - Party Membership, Activity and Relationship to Other Political Parties

6.1

Introduction

With over 60,000 members, Fianna Fail is one of the largest voluntary organisations in the country. Its membership has been seen as one its strengths and one of the main reasons why it has been able to maintain its stranglehold on political power in Ireland.

Since General Election 2011, there has been considerable anger amongst the membership of the party regarding how they are treated by the leadership of the party. In an article written by Harry McGee for the Irish Times, former TD for Dublin South East, Chris Andrews said that:

he believes that a few decisions by headquarters to impose candidates and to ignore the views of local organisations speeded up the disintegration of Fianna Fil (Irish Times, 2011)

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6.2.1 Length of Party Membership

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

24.07%
10.49% 36.42% 19.75% 9.26% Party Membership Length

10 years +
8-10 years 4-8 years

1-3 Years
< 12 Months

Fig 6.1 Analysis of length of party membership

Low number of respondents said they joined less than 12 months ago. Over 70% of respondents said they joined the party over four years ago. The largest proportion of respondents (36.42%) said they joined the party between four and eight years.

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6.2.2 Reasons for joining Fianna Fil

Reasons for Joining Fianna Fil

Other Wanted to stop another political party Agreed with their Policies Wanted to make new friends My Family always supported Fianna Fil 11.73% 4.32% 55.56%

1.23%
27.16%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% Fig 6.2 Members responded that they joined Fianna Fil due to agreeing with the party policies and because their families always supported the party.

A strong majority of members (55.56%) said that they joined Fianna Fil as they agreed with the partys policies. A significant proportion of respondents (27.16%) who outlined that they joined Fianna Fil primarily because their family had always supported Fianna Fil.

Limited support for the other two options of Wanting to stop another political party from gaining power (4.32%) or Wanting to make new friends (1.23%)

A number of respondents who clicked Other gave disaffection with another political party as a reason for joining Fianna Fil. Significantly, these members moved to Fianna Fil from both the Green Party and Sinn Fin.

A member from Northern Ireland said he felt that there was a lack of choice in political parties in the North and that Fianna Fil was the only party on the island that could truly fulfil my political goals.

A male member, aged 31-40 from Donegal said that I examined all the parties and felt that Fianna Fil was closest to my political / social perspective

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Leadership View Fianna Fil Leader outlined that there are a number of ways people can get involved in Fianna Fil. Clearly quite a large number joined the party due to family members such as their parents or grandparents were members. Others joined because their family would have been seen as a Fianna Fil family or their friends with existing party members (Martin, 2011a) I joined the party in 1975 aged 16 and at that stage the dominant political influence on me was family. It was obvious to me that I should join Fianna Fil (Lenihan, 2011) I originally got involved, at 10 years of age, in the Presidential Election of 1990 due to my fathers influence. Fianna Fil was the most progressive party; it was the party that got things done. They really were the party that had a strong belief in the future direction of the direction. Obviously, I was born into a Fianna Fil family but it wasnt the main reason I got involved. (Robert Troy, 2011)

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6.2.3 Familial Relations in Fianna Fil

Relations members of Fianna Fil?

6.17% 25.93% Yes

69.70%

No

Unsure

Fig 6.3 Members are related to other members in two out of three cases

A large majority, in excess of 69%, said that they were related to members of Fianna Fil. Some of the responses suggested that certain members were related to Fianna Fil members on both sides of their family. Numerous members said that they had relations who canvassed for Fianna Fil politicians and followed on with that tradition.

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Related to Current or Former Public Representatives?

11.11%
Yes 88.99%

No

Fig 6.4 Most members are not related to politicians

The vast majority of respondents, nearly 90%, said that they were not related to any current or former Fianna Fil public representatives.

Leadership View

Thomas Byrne said: while my Dad was a Councillor in Drogheda, he only joined Fianna Fil after I became a TD even though he always on the Fianna Fil side of the political spectrum (Byrne, 2011)

Undoubtedly, my father, grandfather and uncle being Fianna Fil TDs had an influence on me. There was no other party for me to join if I wanted to get involved in politics. (Lenihan, 2011)

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6.2.4 Party Activity

Number of Party Meetings attended in past 12 months?

30.00%
25.00% 20.00% 15.00%

10.00%
5.00% 0.00% 0 1-3 4-7 7-10 10+

Fig 6.5 Number of party meetings attended in the previous 12 months.

Relatively high levels of attendance at party members with nearly 25% attending more than 10 meetings and a further 58% attending between one and ten meetings.

17% of respondents have not attended any Fianna Fil meeting in the past months including Cumainn, Comhairle Ceantair and Comhairle Dil Ceantair.

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Activity levels within Fianna Fil

Very Active 53.33%

Moderately Active

36.00%

Not Active 0%

10.67% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Fig 6.6 Members indicated that they were highly active within the party.

Most respondents responded to say that they were either Very Active (53.33%) or Moderately Active (36.00%). A small but important number said they were Not Active (10.67%)

Would you like to get more involved in the party?

Yes
28.00%
72.00%

No

Fig 6.7 Strong desire to do more and get more active among members

Nearly two thirds of members want to get more involved in the party. Greater than one in four are happy with their activity levels.

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Many indicated a desire to get more involved cited Policy Formation, Campaigning, Northern Development, Community Activism as ways in which they would like to get more involved.

6.2.5 Relationships to Other Parties

If FF ceased to exist, what party would you join?

16.78% Fine Gael 9.40% 61.74% Irish Labour Party Green Party

6.71%
5.37%

Sinn Fin None of the Above

Fig 6.8 Significant opposition to joining other political parties if Fianna Fil ceased to exist.

Over three in five members would not join another political party if Fianna Fil ceased to exist. Support for other political parties is marginal though Fine Gael received one in six members support. Lower level of support for the Irish Labour Party compared to the numbers who responded that they were either Centre Left or Left Wing.

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6.2.5.1 Comparisons to Other Irish Political Parties Wide discrepancies among respondents regarding the differences between Fianna Fil and the three other Irish political parties used in the survey Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Fin. Some of the common themes originating from these responses include: o Sinn Fin are more extreme than Fianna Fil in their economic policies. o Fine Gael is more right wing and conservative while Fianna Fil veers towards the centre. o Labour is controlled by the Trade Unions and clearly a left wing party. o A number of members suggested that the traditional Fianna Fil voter is quite similar to the typical Labour (especially in rural areas) and Sinn Fin voters. (See Appendix E for full details of responses)

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6.2.6 European Political Relationships

Are you aware of what political grouping Fianna Fil is a member of in Europe? No
19.46%

Yes

80.54% Fig 6.9 High levels of awareness of Fianna Fils new Euro Group

High awareness of Fianna Fils European Political Grouping. Over 75% of respondents identified correctly that Fianna Fil is a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party / Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

See Appendix for full details

Do you support Fianna Fil's membership of the ELDR / ALDE groups?

No - we should be members of 14.81% 8.89% 76.30%

No
Yes

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% Fig 6.10 Very high levels of support for Fianna Fils membership of Liberal groupings in Europe

Over three quarters of members support Fianna Fil being members of the ELDR and ALDE groups. Those who said No accounted for less than one in four members. Those who said No opted for membership of the European Peoples Party (EPP) or a reformed Union of Europe of Nations (UEN)

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6.3

Analysis of Findings

6.3.1 The End of Civil War Politics? The results of this section of the survey suggest that the membership of Fianna Fil see themselves as the midway point between Fine Gael and Labour and as a more realistic vehicle to achieve Irish Unity than Sinn Fin. The responses that arose with regard to how they viewed the other political parties suggest that the Civil War no longer plays an active role among the membership of Fianna Fil.

No respondent used the Civil War as a way of describing their views of Fine Gael. Instead members used traditional ideological terms such as left / right, liberal / conservative to describe the different parties.

6.3.2 Where to if Fianna Fil ceases to exist? What is clear is that the majority of the respondents and I suspect Fianna Fil members in general, would not join any of the existing Irish political parties. Over 60% chose None of the Above in response to the question: Which political party would you join if Fianna Fil ceased to exist in the morning? Of those who chose a political party (40%), 50% said that they would join Fine Gael and the remainder was split relatively equally between Sinn Fin, Labour and the Green Party.

One could surmise that those who opted for Labour, Sinn Fin and the Green Party are those who identified themselves being on the left wing and those who opted for Fine Gael are those on the right wing. Perhaps the large None of the Above cohort is those liberals who dont feel any affinity towards any

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of the current Irish political parties and if Fianna Fil ceased to exist who be the ones to set up a new liberally based political party?

6.3.3 European Relationships There is strong awareness of the fact that Fianna Fil joined the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and subsequently the Alliance for Liberal and Democrats for Europe grouping in the European Party. A similar proportion of respondents said that they are in favour of Fianna Fil being part of these groupings? What is noticeable is that those oppose membership want Fianna Fil to join the Christian Democratic group, the European Peoples Party. Support for ELDR / ALDE seems to come from the liberal members of the party and also those on the left wing of the party.

6.3.4 Membership Desire to Do More Question 22 which asked members whether they wanted to get more involved in Fianna Fil is very interesting. Over 70% responded that they did and many provided examples of ways in which they would like to get involved. The high figure approaching 70% from people who are already quite active (due to the high numbers of meetings attended) implies to the author that the membership arent being utilised correctly and the skill sets and experiences of the members arent being made use of.

A consistent response was the desire to part of the policy formation process which they see as critical to the future development and growth of the party. Others see themselves focusing on distinct campaigning roles either in Northern Ireland or within their home constituency. Clearly, attending meetings does not satisfy the desires of most young members of the party and new vehicles must be put in place to satisfy the members needs.

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Chapter 7 - Conclusions and Recommendations

7.1

Introduction

This study was undertaken due to a lack of empirical information regarding the views of members of Fianna Fil with regard to a range of various social and economic questions. It follows on from research that was conducted by Gallagher and Marsh (2005) with regards to the members of Fine Gael on a number of similar topics. The author decided to focus on young members of Fianna Fil as they will play a crucial role in the renewal of Fianna Fil over the next decade according to recently elected Leader of Fianna Fil, Michel Martin TD will play a critical, decisive and leading role in the rebirth of the Fianna Fil national movement. (Martin, 2011c)

This research was also undertaken as there has been considerable discussion internally and externally regarding the future direction of the party in terms of both economic and social issues. The author felt that it was appropriate to analyse the views of the young members of Fianna Fil who would be in the vanguard of this renewal.

This chapter outlines the conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis of the primary research in relation to existing literature. It will also suggest recommendations based on this analysis for the party in addition to discussing potential future research opportunities.

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7.2

Conclusions

7.2.1 Research Question One To what extent are young Fianna Fil members divided in terms of ideological positions?

In general, there are significant ideological camps among Fianna Fil members. Like all political parties, certain members have a particular affinity for certain economic and social positions. Fianna Fil is a typical catch all party in terms of its membership. What is not clear is how strongly they manifest themselves and if any issue would be a red line issue.

7.2.1.1

Social Positions

There is considerable commonality between the members of the survey sample with in excess of 60% saying that they were either moderately liberal or very liberal. Very little support was shown for conservative positions on social issues with the exception of abortion and euthanasia.

Young Fianna Fil members are as liberal as the general Irish population with a few nuanced positions specific to their cohort. The numbers admitting that they were of a liberal position reflects recent trends within Fianna Fil policy i.e. introduction of Civil Partnerships for Gay and Lesbian Couples. Since then, gra Fianna Fil has passed a motion unanimously calling for the introduction of full civil marriage equality. This has manifested itself in the very strong support levels for civil marriage equality from the sample cohort.

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Regarding the issues of abortion and divorce, there are two competing arguments at play the right to life which is still very strong among members if one reads the comments and the liberal idea of personal freedom and choice. The author believes that over time the second argument will begin to win out and if repeated in 10 years, the levels of support for allowing euthanasia and legalising access to abortion services will increase. On other issues such as legalising cannabis and support for divorce, there is widespread support.

7.2.1.2 Economic Positions Without a doubt, the members are split regarding economic policy, however the only light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that they are clustering around the centre. The author found that centre left, centrist and centre right received over 90% support in terms of economic policy. This suggests to the author that members are not that far apart in their views and this is can be used as a way of finding a shared common platform in terms of economic policy.

Problems will arise in the near future regarding certain economic policies of the party especially in light of the lack of agreement with regard to taxation and spending. There is a wide gap between those who see cutting taxes as a priority for the party and those who feel that protecting spending levels is essential.

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7.2.2 Research Question 2 To establish the support levels of Fianna Fils membership of both the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

The awareness among young members of Fianna Fil of its participation in both the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and its European Parliament grouping, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe was quite high, with over 75% saying that they were aware of the partys membership. This is a significant response among the survey sample as Fianna Fil has only been members of these groups since mid 2009 and very little in the way of communicating this to the members has taken place due to the significant crises affecting the party in the interim.

More significantly is the high levels of support for membership of these groups with the same proportion of members answering that they support the partys membership of this group. This is one of the more interesting results of the survey as at the time of the partys admission into these groups, there was vocal opposition from within the ranks of both the grassroots and the partys elected representatives. In particular, Brian Crowley MEP, who was coPresident of the Union of Europe of Nations group which Fianna Fil left to join the ELDR and ALDE said was said to be vociferously opposed to joining a liberal group and members [Fianna Fil] would not stand for it (King, 2011).

Perhaps young members of Fianna Fil are simply being pragmatic when it comes to their European affiliations. Fianna Fil could rely on significant financial support from the ELDR and ALDE during the 2 nd Lisbon Treaty Referendum; something which was never forthcoming from the UEN. In

68

addition, as Honor Mahony, writing on EUObserver.com wrote Irish MEPs are getting respectable after leaving the rag-tag UEN group (EUObserver, 2009)

7.2.3 Research Question 3 To ascertain the activity levels of young members within the organisation and what activities they see themselves getting involved with in the future.

The survey sample results suggest that members are highly active within the organisation. However, it is clear that the majority of those who were surveyed were already active participants within the party and as such this must be taken into account.

It is worth nothing that a significant proportion of respondents, approx. 17% said that they did not attend a party meeting over the previous twelve months. This is either due to a lack of activity within the party in that persons area or that they feel that attending party meetings is not a correct use of their time.

It is clear that there is a desire among the members to become active participants in the policy formation mechanisms of the party. Many respondents outlined their dislike of a top down approach to policy formation from the party leadership and hierarchy.

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7.2.4 Research Question 4 To establish the reasons why members join Fianna Fil and to clarify if their familys political allegiance effect their decision to join? Gallagher and Marsh (2005) outlined a variety of reasons why members joined Fine Gael Purposive, Solidarity and Material. Looking at the responses from the survey, it is clear that the majority of young Fianna Fil members joined on the basis that it was purposive. Fundamentally, they joined as they wanted to see their policies, which the party adhered to, implemented in government. On a smaller level, a number of members outlined their wish to see another political party and their policies stopped from being implemented.

Despite this adherence to policy based decisions, the vast majority of respondents (over two thirds) said that they were related to members of Fianna Fil. This suggests that while members chose to join the party on policy issues, they had a predisposition to joining Fianna Fil due to their familys political allegiances.

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7.3

Recommendations for Fianna Fil 7.3.1 Introduction

Fianna Fil must make a number of important and strategic decisions over the next 12 months. It must decide how it is going to position itself on the various social and economic axes relative to its main competitors Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Fin. Political Commentator and former Fianna Fail National Youth Officer and Dublin South East General Election candidate, Noel Whelan stated in interview that: There are a couple of spaces left in the Irish political system. One is the Party of the Radical Centre which is slightly right of centre but Im not sure if Fianna Fil can be this type of party due to the members it has or the Reforming Moderately Left of Centre Party which is modern, forward looking, progressive and decisive in its views. (Whelan, 2011)

Based on the findings of the survey and the responses of the interviewees, it is clear that the members favour congregating around the centre of Irish politics with a distinctly liberal social policy. This is something that author would recommend as it.

7.3.2 Recommendation 1 Fianna Fil should become a centrist party economically and move toward the liberal ground in terms of social issues thus being reflective of both its members and the wider population. It puts clear water between it and its political opponents. Fine Gael would be seen as being too right wing and conservative while Labour would be seen as too left wing and hostile to business.

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7.3.3 Recommendation 2 The Fianna Fil organisation needs to utilise the strong good will of its young members who wish to become part of the policy formation process. This can be achieved by establishing a Fianna Fil leaving Research Foundation similar in style and output to the numerous foundations operating in Germany such as the Friedrich Nauman Foundation which is aligned with the Free Democratic Party. (Freidrich Nauman Foundation, 2011) In addition, members must become the driving force in the development of new policies.

7.3.4 Recommendation 3 Despite the many positives of having political allegiances passed down from generation to generation, Fianna Fil needs to work on attracting nonpoliticised members in order to compete on a larger scale. In order to do this, the author recommends that the party build a coherent policy platform centred on the new dynamics at play within the Irish political system.

There also needs to a fundamental break with the past in either terms of policy or attitude, similar to the UK Labour Partys Clause IV moment which changed the minds of many voters with regard to the Labour Partys relationship with the Trade Union movement.

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7.4

Further Research Required

Further research needs to be carried out into a number of different areas that have arisen as a result of this research. This will aid both future students of Public Affairs and Political Communications, Fianna Fil members and activists and party political organisers.

In order to draw a fuller comparison between the leadership of Fianna Fil i.e. its TDs, Senators, MEPs and Councillors and the membership of the party, a quantitative survey of the leadership similar to the one used in this piece of academic research is required.

Research is also required in the area of how the ideological positions of members will affect how the party will market itself at future elections.

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13. Coakley J. and Gallagher M. (2009), Politics in the Republic of Ireland Dublin: Routledge Press 14. Denscombe, M. and Oliver, M., (2010), The Good Research Guide: For small scale Social Research Projects, Berkshire: Open University Press 15. Denzin, N., and Lincoln, Y., (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, London: Sage 16. Dunphy, R. (1995), The Making of Fianna Fil Power in Ireland 1923-1948, Alderley: Clarendon Press 17. Eagleton, T. (1991), Ideology: An Introduction, London: Verso 18. Freeden, M. (1996), Ideologies and Political Theory, New York: Oxford University Press 19. Ferriter, D., (2005), The Transformation of Ireland, 1900-2000, Profile Books: London 20. Gaffney, J (1996), Political Parties and the European Union: London Routledge, 21. Hackney, R. And Hackney Blackwell, A. (2007), The Everything Irish History & Heritage Book, Avon, MA: Adams Media 22. Heywood, A. (2002), Politics: 2nd Edition, Hampshire: Palgrave Foundations 23. Leahy, P. (2010), Showtime: The Inside Story of Fianna Fil in Power, Dublin: Penguin Ireland 24. Less-Marshment, J. (2001), Political Marketing and British Political Parties, Manchester: Manchester University Press 25. Lees-Marshment, J. (2004), The Politcal Marketing Revolution, Manchester: Manchester University Press 26. Letki, Natalia (2003), Explaining Political Participation in EastCentral Europe: Social Capital, Democracy and the Communist Past, Nuffield College: Oxford

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27. Malesivic, 2002: Ideology, legitimacy and the new state: Yugoslavia, Serbia and Croatia: Routledge 28. Mansergh, M., (1986), Spirit of the Nation: The Collected Speeches of Haughey, Mercier Press: Cork 29. Mauch, J. And Birch, J. (1998), Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation; a handbook for students and faculty (4th Ed.) 30. McDougall, J. and Gorman, M. (2008), Euthanasia, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO 31. Nachmias, C. et al, (1999), Research Methods in the Social Sciences, London: Arnold 32. Norris P. (1999), Critical Citzens, Oxford: Oxford University Press 33. Nugent, N. (2006), The Government and Politics of the European Union, Basingstone: Palgrave MacMillian 34. Phelps R. et al (2005), A guide to research in Music Education, Maryland: Scarecrow Press 35. Priest, S. H., (1996, Doing Media Research: An Introduction, London: Sage 36. Putnam, R. (1993), Making Democracy Work: Civic Tradtions in Modern Italy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 37. Putnam, R. (2000), Bowling Alone, New York, Simon and Schuster 38. Quinn, D., (2011), FF trying to be socially liberal but ends up as Father Trendy, Irish Independent, Dublin 39. Rawls, J. (2005), Political Liberalism, New York: Columbia University Press 40. Robson, C., (1993), Real World Research: A resource for Social Scientists and Practitioners / Researchers, London: Sage 41. Sartori, Giovanni (2002), Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis, Colchester: European Consortium for Political Research

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42. Scheurich, J., (2002), Anti-Racist Scholarship: An advocacy, Albany: State University of New York Press 43. Van Dyke, Vernon (1995), Ideology and Political Choice, London: Chatham House Publishers 44. Verba, S and Nie N (1972), Participation in America, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press 45. Verba, S., Schlozman, K. and Brady, H. (1995), Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism ain American Politics, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 46. Wessells, W., Maurer, A. and Mittag, J. (2003), Fifteen into one? : The European Union and its member states, Manchester: Manchester University Press 47. Whiteley, P. (2011), Is the Party Over? The decline of party activism and membership across the democratic world, Party Politics, Volume 17: SAGE Publications Journals 1. Gallagher M. and Marsh M. (2004), Party Membership in Ireland: The Members of Fine Gael, Party Politics, Volume 1: SAGE Publications 2. Verbakel, E. and Jaspers, E (2010), Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol 74, No. 1, Spring 2010, pp 109-139 A Comparative Study of permissiveness towards euthanasia

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Speeches 1. Haughey, C (1976), Fianna Fil Ard Fheis,26th February 1976 2. Martin, M. (2011), Fianna Fil Election SpeechNavan, 21st February 2011, [Online] [Accessed: 13th August 2011] available:

http://www.michealmartin.ie/news/detail/leading-ireland-and-fiannafail-to-a-better-future/

3. DeValera, E. (1926), Inaugural Meeting of Fianna Fil, [Online], Available: http://www.fiannafail.ie/content/pages/5154, [Accessed: 15th August 2011) Manifestos 1. Fianna Fil (2007), The Next Steps, Dublin 2. Fianna Fil (2011), Real Plan, Better Future, Dublin Reports 1. Department of Finance, Ireland (2010), National Recovery Plan 20112014, Dublin: Stationery Office 2. Department of Health and Children / Crisis Pregnancy Agency (2006), The Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships, Dublin: Department of Health & Children / Crisis Pregnancy Agency 3. European Liberal Democrat and Reform Group (1976), Stuttgart Declaration, Stuttgart

4. Websites 5. European Values Survey (2009), Results, [Online], available: www.europeanvaluessurvey.eu[Accessed 17th August 2011] 6. ELDR (2011), The ELDR Party, [Online], available: http://eldr.eu/en/about-eldr/index.php, [Accessed: 19th August 2011]

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7. EU Observer (2009), News>Headline News, [Online], available: http://euobserver.com/9/27697 [Accessed: 18th August 2011] 8. EUObserver.com (2009), Irish MEPs get Respectable, [Online] available: http://blogs.euobserver.com/mahony/tag/uen/, [Accessed: 3rd August 2011] 9. Fianna Fil (2011), About the ELDR Party [Online], available: http://www.fiannafail.ie/content/pages/5108 [Accessed: 20th August 2011] 10. Friedrich Nauman Foundation (2011), About Us, [Online] available:
http://www.fnf.org.ph/aboutus.htm, [Accessed: 15th August 2011]

11. Irish Independent, Huge majority want cuts before tax hikes, 25 January 2011, [Online} available: http://www.independent.ie/nationalnews/elections/huge-majority-want-cuts-before-tax-hikes2523126.html, accessed 19th July 2011 12. Irish Times (2011), Support for Spending Cuts rather than Tax Increases, [Online] available: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0722/1224301127 644.html, [Accessed 17th August 2011] 13. Irish Times, (2011), Fianna Fil has lost the local knowledge: The Grassroots are not being listened to, 27th August 2011 [Online] available: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/0827/122430304 6802.html [Accessed: 28th August 2011)

TV Shows TV3 (2009), Tonight with Vincent Browne, 19th May [Online] available: http://www.tv3.ie/shows.php?request=tonightwithvincentbrowne, [Accessed: 14th July 2011

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APPENDIX B

Interview Questions for Michel Martin TD, Uachtarin Fhianna Fil 1. Why should a 23 year old graduate join Fianna Fil? 2. Why do you think young people joined Fianna Fil in the past? 3. As a former member and Cathaoirleach of gra Fianna Fil, do you think that the typical gra FF member has changed since your own time in gra? 4. In your first speech as Fianna Fil leader, you outlined that you felt that Fianna Fil needed to remain as a centrist political party; do you think there is a wide spectrum of ideological philosophy in FF and is it different for young members. 5. What is the fundamental difference between Fianna Fil and other political parties? 6. Is there any party in Ireland with the exception of Fianna Fil that you could see yourself being a member of? 7. Many commentators have said that political parties in Ireland are clustering around the centre; what is your plan for Fianna Fil to stand out from the crowd and will this appeal to young people in the party and to voters? 8. Do you think that there are any ideological divisions within Fianna Fil? If there are, what keeps these groups in Fianna Fil? 9. Why did you join Fianna Fil? 10. Has Fianna Fil lost the capacity to be radical? 11. Is it time for Fianna Fil to elect its leader through a ballot of all eligible party members? 12. The issue of Gay Marriage has been discussed a lot over the past number of years and especially in light of the passing of the Civil Partnership Act, could you see a time when Fianna Fil would support it especially in light of gra Fianna Fil voting unanimously in favour of it in November 2009? 13. Abortion is a topic of hot debate in Ireland and evokes strong passion on both sides of the debate. Does it need to go to the people again via a referendum? 14. Are Trade Unions in Ireland too powerful? 15. Do Fianna Fil members need a raison dtre similar to the passion to end partition that was found in the early years of its history?

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Questions for Brian Lenihan TD and Eamon Cuv TD

1. You sought the leadership of Fianna Fil? In what direction, would you have brought the party? 2. Obviously you come from a political family, but what attracted you as a young man to Fianna Fil? 3. Why do you think young people joined Fianna Fil in the past? 4. Do you think there are any ideological camps within Fianna Fil and if so, which one would you fit into? 5. Would you prefer to see Fianna Fil becoming more ideologically homogenous? 6. What do you think is the difference between Fianna Fil and other political parties in the state? 7. What policy positions do you think Fianna Fil needs to adopt in order to attract a 23 year old graduating from university this summer? 8. Is the era of Fianna Fil being a national movement over? If so, what niche or segment of the electorate should the party aim to attract? 9. Does Fianna Fil need to take a short term hit in terms of radicalising its policies in order to survive in the long term 10. Next Sunday is the Fianna Fil 1916 Easter Commemoration. Are events like this still relevant to younger generations who have no connection to the events of this time? 11. Do you think Fianna Fil should contest elections in the North of Ireland? 12. Should the members of Fianna Fil have a say in who leads the party? 13. Gay Marriage: Can you see a day when Fianna Fil would, as a party, support its introduction? 14. Abortion, as we say in recent EU referenda is still a hot issue for many people in Ireland. Would you be in favour of changing in the current Fianna Fil policy? 15. Are trade unions too powerful in Ireland?

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Questions for Noel Whelan, Political Commentator

Questions about young Fianna Fil members

1. Why did you join Fianna Fil? 2. Why do you think people joined Fianna Fil and have the reasons to join changed? 3. You joined Fianna Fil at a young age and then became the gra Youth Officer and have interacted with young FF members since then: has there been a change in the membership in terms of what they believe in or oppose? 4. What is a typical Fianna Fil member?

Questions about Fianna Fil strategy

5. Post General Election 2011: how do you see the political landscape? Is it still shifting? 6. Who are the biggest threats to Fianna Fils survival? 7. What can Fianna Fil do to reposition themselves in order to attract support? 8. The young members of Fianna Fil will play a major role in any future revival of the party what does the leadership need to do to get them on board?

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APPENDIX C

COR FHIANNA FIL 1. Is Gluaiseacht Nisinta Fianna Fil a chuireann roimpi fin: (i) Aontacht na hireann agus a mhuintir a aimsi faoi shochin agus tr chomhaont. (ii) Saol sonrach nisinta a thagann le traidisiin agus idil ilghnitheacha mhuintir na hireann a fhorbairt mar chuid de chultr nos leithne na hEorpa, agus chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn mar theanga bheo na ndaoine. (iii) Saoirse creidimh, saoirse shibhialta, comhchearta agus comhdheiseanna a rth do mhuintir uile na hireann. (iv) Acmhainn agus maoin na tre a fhorbairt go barr a maitheasa, ach ts ite a thabhairt do riachtanais agus do leas mhuintir uile na hireann chun an oiread fostaochta inmharthana agus is fidir a chur ar fil, bunaithe ar spiorad na fiontraochta, na finmhuinne agus na comhphirtochta sisialta a choth (v) Dlra agus oidhreacht na hireann a chaomhn agus cothromaocht a chinnti idir na bailte agus an tuath agus idir na rigiin, agus an oiread teaghlach is m is fidir a choinneil i mbun talmhaochta. (vi) An teaghlach a choth, freagracht shisialta nos leithne a chur chun cinn agus tac le riail an dl ar mhaithe le leas agus le sbhilteacht an phobail. (vii) Stdas na hireann a choth mar Stt ceannasach agus mar ln-chomhalta den Aontas Eorpach agus de na Nisiin Aontaithe agus an tsochin, an d-

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armil agus crsa forbartha a chur chun cinn tr pholasa eachtrach neamhsplech traidisinta na hireann. (viii) Dlthe agus Institiid an Stit a athchiri chun go mbeids nos eifeachta, nos daonna agus nos carthana agus gur fearr a fhreagrids do riachtanais an tsaornaigh. 2. Is mar Fhianna Fil, An Pirt Poblachtach, a eagrfar an Ghluaiseacht agus sin a thabharfar uirthi de rir na rialacha at ceangailte leis seo. 3. Is t comhaltas Fhianna Fil ar fil do gach duine a mbeirtear in irinn, at de thuistoch n garthuistocht ireannach n daoine a bhfuil gnthchna agus cna dleathach orthu in irinn agus a ghlacann le Cr agus Rialacha Fhianna Fil.

CONSTITUTION OF FIANNA FIL 1. Fianna Fil is a National Movement. Its aims are:(i) To secure in peace and agreement the unity of Ireland and its people. (ii) To develop a distinctive national life in accordance with the diverse traditions and ideals of the Irish people as part of a broader European culture, and to restore and promote the Irish language as a living language of the people. (iii) To guarantee religious and civil liberty, and equal rights, equal treatment and equal opportunities for all the people of Ireland. (iv) To develop the resources and wealth of Ireland to their full potential, while making them subservient to the needs and welfare of all the people of Ireland, so as to provide the maximum sustainable employment, based on fostering a spirit of enterprise and self-reliance and on social partnership.

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(v) To protect the natural environment and heritage of Ireland and to ensure a balance between town and country and between the regions, and to maintain as many families as practicable on the land. (vi) To promote the family, and a wider sense of social responsibility, and to uphold the rule of law in the interest of the welfare and safety of the public. (vii) To maintain the status of Ireland as a sovereign State, as a full member of the European Union and the United Nations, contributing to peace, disarmament and development on the basis of Irelands independent foreign policy tradition. (viii) To reform the laws and institutions of State, to make them efficient, humane, caring and responsive to the needs of the citizen. 2. The Movement shall be organised and known as Fianna Fil, The Republican Party, in accordance with the Rules annexed hereto. 3. Membership of Fianna Fil is open to all persons of Irish birth, parentage, grand-parentage or persons ordinarily and legally resident in Ireland who accept the Constitution and Rules of Fianna Fil;

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APPENDIX D

Stuttgart Declaration Adopted on 26 March 1976 The democratic parties in the European Community based on liberal principles

resolved to protect and to promote the rights and freedoms of the individual, desiring to make possible for all citizens of Europe a decent life in a free society, believing that peace, freedom and prosperity in Europe can best be assured if the European Community progresses towards a European Union, welcoming the decision to hold the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1978, have therefore decided to establish a federation of the liberal parties in the European Community, based on the following platform: 1. The supreme task of the European Union must be to guarantee human, civil and political rights on the European level. We therefore call for:

a bill of human rights and fundamental freedoms, directly applicable throughout the European Community, to be drawn up by the first directly elected European Parliament, the right of every citizen to appeal to the European Court of Justice when his civil rights are impaired by decisions of the Community institutions, the abolition of remaining administrative restrictions within the European Community on the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital.

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2. The European Union needs a free democratic constitution based on the principles of division of powers, majority voting and protection of minorities. We therefore call for:

increased powers and legislative responsibilities for the European Parliament in all questions within the competence of the European Community, including political cooperation, election of the European Parliament according to the principles of proportional representation, accountability of the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, an endeavour on the part of the Council to increasingly take decisions by majority vote, protection of the legitimate interests of the regions and minorities in the Member States of the European Community in such a way as to ensure that the diversity of Europe is preserved, the greatest possible recourse to the Economic and Social Committee and to the Standing Committee on Employment, with a particular view to securing at the level of the Community the participation of workers in the management, control and profits of undertakings.

3. The European Union must assure steady and balanced economic growth, thus creating for its citizens the conditions for effective social protection in the vissicitudes of life. This can no longer be done at national level. We therefore call for:

the Member States and the institutions of the European Community to make practical progress along the road towards economic and monetary union, for example through an ever greater harmonization of their economic and financial policies and their currencies, including the creation of a joint central bank, and by increasingly holding their resources in common, promotion of free competition within a free market system and its protection from abuse by monopolies and cartels, as well as from the excessive influence of public entreprise, by allowing private firms all the room necessary to form themselves into genuine instruments of democracy and progress in the context of a coordinated economy, with a view to ensuring optimal economic growth and sufficient resources to provide effective help for the socially disadvantaged,

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the redistribution of wealth both by use of the Social Fund to reduce inequality between individuals and the Regional Development Fund to reduce iequalities between Regions, development of the Common Agricultural Policy in ways which both benefit consumers and encourage efficient farming, further progress towards common environmental and energy policies. 4. The European Union needs a common foreign policy covering both the external relations of the European Community and the European Political Cooperation and designed to serve the freedom and security of Europe and peace in the world, side by side with our partners in the Atlantic Alliance, notably the United States, and in the United Nations. We therefore call for:

the development of the closest possible ties also with the Western European countries which are not members of the European Community, the further expansion along the lines of the Lom Convention of cooperation between the European Community and the Third World in the context of a balanced development of the world economy, active participation by the Member States of the European Community in all efforts to establish stability and peace in the Mediterranean region and in the Middle East, the European Community to speak with one voice particularly in its relations with the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. 5. The European Union must be founded on the common conviction that the freedom of the individual, equal opportunities for all and the free competition of ideas and parties are indispensable elements of a democratic society. We therefore:

welcome the accession to or association with the European Community and in future the European Union of every European State whose constitution and policy is in conformity with these principles, are willing to cooperate within the European Community with all political groups which are ready without reservation to accept and defend the fundamental values of liberal democracy.

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APPENDIX E Sample Responses from Members

Fine Gael Labour Fianna Fil less influenced by trade unions or SF splinter groups. Believes economic and social progress can go hand in hand Much more liberal in their views on equality (something FF should really take a look at)Oh and we have policies. Sinn Fin Fianna Fil advocates Constitutional Nationalism, opposed to militant nationalism

Historical and ideological differences, more secular attitude in Fianna Fil

Not a whole lot let's be honest. Traditional differences Political Reform Health Care Policy A simple view would be; FF would 'traditionally' have been seen as a centre left party in relation to economic policy - we were the Peoples Party - FG was the party of the professional classes etc... Moderately more liberal. Other than that very little difference. We are probably more corrupt. Fianna Fil is at its heart more left of centre than fine Gael. FG is more orientated towards wealthier people and those with conservative Christian viewpoints. Also at the heart of Fianna fail ideology is the idea of a united Ireland. This is not an important issue for FG. Fianna Fail, especially gra, is more progressive.

They give a voice to their younger members.

Social Policy FF is not in thrall to the unions in the same way as Labour.

Taxation Policy Not economically illiterate like SF. Not murderers. Sinn Fin is very left wing. it has connections sympathies to paramilitary groups. These connections and sympathies still linger. Its economic policies are too left wing. and it seems to be Europhobic

Labour is more left than Fianna Fail. it seems to be in the pockets of ICTU.

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