Minor point on the below but O’Dea was not a government TD in 2015
“The record is particularly relevant because O’Dea was the first member of government to speak upon the introduction of the bill for its final reading in the Dáil.“
Excellent piece, have wondered about how these debates took place but never got around to checking. Always presumed the GRA just breezed through, especially in light of that Thomson-Denton report (presume you're familiar with it), but that seems to be wrong
FF and FG are in office but not in power. They comply with all leftist agendas from transgenderism to climate change BS. FF/FG’s only agenda is to get re-elected and remain in office all the time making sure they do not offend any sensibilities in RTE , The Irish Times or that toilet roll the Independent.
"What happened between 2015 and today that caused the change?" My answer:
Non-progressive politicians tend to take a hell of a long time to wake up to Woke. Sixty plus years in some cases. This has been true right across the Western world. They consistently fail to grasp the one-way Progressive ratchet that is 'Democratic' Liberalism. Two things:
1) it affords one-track-minded malcontents (like trans activists) massively more influence than normal people who've got a life.
2) it allows its (taxpayer funded) institutions of 'higher learning' to quietly become petri-dishes for such malcontents to feed their poison into impressionable young graduates who then spread it through all our supposedly 'apolitical' institutions of civil society.
A rather pessimistic answer to your question - I realise.
Perhaps a compromise is needed. Separate prisons for those of us who are neither male nor female. Likewise: restrooms, sports leagues, schools, locker rooms, churches, etc. Medical facilities too; I would not like to unknowingly be treated by a doctor who actually believed that men can become women.
Any attempt to understand the dynamics behind decision making in the Oireachtas needs to take in to account the political monoculture that exists in Ireland today. There is a uniformity among opinion makers and those in a position of influence here that is extraordinary for a Western democracy.
It's the UK if the UK's media and political life contained only Corbynistas or the US if every public voice was a doctrinaire Democrat. It is going to be hard for anyone outside Ireland to accept or even comprehend this could be the case in a democracy with elections every 5 years but it is.
Our massive Corporate Tax take - money to burn that doesn't come from taxpayers pockets - is probably the main reason we are in this situation.
The effect this monoculture has on decision making is to reduce things to the dynamics that prevail among a bunch of teenage girls. Being first to be on trend is the currency they deal in. Asking for a rational defence of a position is as irrelevant as asking for a rational defence of a new popular hairstyle. Asking the question only signals how out of the loop you are and how far you are from being someone who matters.
There is one other factor feeding in to Dail decison making worth noting which is that for the first time in our history becoming Taoiseach or leading an institution in Ireland is not the pinnacle of a career - it's a resume padder that lets you land the seriously important job in Eurppe. The effect is to turn each party in to a support system for the party leader as he builds the case for himself in Brussels.
There is no longer an internal debate in the party because the Europe pleasing outcome is already setled. Willie O'Dea's job is to look after himself in what's left of the party which mostly comes down to enthusiastically obeying the whip. And hence the staunch and passionate defence of the GRA.
But I’m surprised at the attacks that could be very well avoided with a little attention to infrastructure.
The open-shower locker room scene? So outdated. It was uncomfortable before, it’s uncomfortable now, and it’s entirely F unnecessary at this point. Separate shower stalls with locking doors are fine. Showering at home? Also fine. Nobody needs to see everyone else naked.
Take the prison shower model out of the picture, and the objection goes away.
Minor point on the below but O’Dea was not a government TD in 2015
“The record is particularly relevant because O’Dea was the first member of government to speak upon the introduction of the bill for its final reading in the Dáil.“
Great piece.
Good analysis. The social/cultural dynamics of how this happened are fascinating.
Excellent piece, have wondered about how these debates took place but never got around to checking. Always presumed the GRA just breezed through, especially in light of that Thomson-Denton report (presume you're familiar with it), but that seems to be wrong
FF and FG are in office but not in power. They comply with all leftist agendas from transgenderism to climate change BS. FF/FG’s only agenda is to get re-elected and remain in office all the time making sure they do not offend any sensibilities in RTE , The Irish Times or that toilet roll the Independent.
Very depressing.
"What happened between 2015 and today that caused the change?" My answer:
Non-progressive politicians tend to take a hell of a long time to wake up to Woke. Sixty plus years in some cases. This has been true right across the Western world. They consistently fail to grasp the one-way Progressive ratchet that is 'Democratic' Liberalism. Two things:
1) it affords one-track-minded malcontents (like trans activists) massively more influence than normal people who've got a life.
2) it allows its (taxpayer funded) institutions of 'higher learning' to quietly become petri-dishes for such malcontents to feed their poison into impressionable young graduates who then spread it through all our supposedly 'apolitical' institutions of civil society.
A rather pessimistic answer to your question - I realise.
Conor, you have really brought your A game the last few essays. What percentage of Gen-X Dubliners endorse transgenderism, do you think?
Perhaps a compromise is needed. Separate prisons for those of us who are neither male nor female. Likewise: restrooms, sports leagues, schools, locker rooms, churches, etc. Medical facilities too; I would not like to unknowingly be treated by a doctor who actually believed that men can become women.
Any attempt to understand the dynamics behind decision making in the Oireachtas needs to take in to account the political monoculture that exists in Ireland today. There is a uniformity among opinion makers and those in a position of influence here that is extraordinary for a Western democracy.
It's the UK if the UK's media and political life contained only Corbynistas or the US if every public voice was a doctrinaire Democrat. It is going to be hard for anyone outside Ireland to accept or even comprehend this could be the case in a democracy with elections every 5 years but it is.
Our massive Corporate Tax take - money to burn that doesn't come from taxpayers pockets - is probably the main reason we are in this situation.
The effect this monoculture has on decision making is to reduce things to the dynamics that prevail among a bunch of teenage girls. Being first to be on trend is the currency they deal in. Asking for a rational defence of a position is as irrelevant as asking for a rational defence of a new popular hairstyle. Asking the question only signals how out of the loop you are and how far you are from being someone who matters.
I tried to describe it further here. https://joblog.substack.com/p/its-like-the-countrys-being-run-by
There is one other factor feeding in to Dail decison making worth noting which is that for the first time in our history becoming Taoiseach or leading an institution in Ireland is not the pinnacle of a career - it's a resume padder that lets you land the seriously important job in Eurppe. The effect is to turn each party in to a support system for the party leader as he builds the case for himself in Brussels.
There is no longer an internal debate in the party because the Europe pleasing outcome is already setled. Willie O'Dea's job is to look after himself in what's left of the party which mostly comes down to enthusiastically obeying the whip. And hence the staunch and passionate defence of the GRA.
I’m not from Ireland.
But I’m surprised at the attacks that could be very well avoided with a little attention to infrastructure.
The open-shower locker room scene? So outdated. It was uncomfortable before, it’s uncomfortable now, and it’s entirely F unnecessary at this point. Separate shower stalls with locking doors are fine. Showering at home? Also fine. Nobody needs to see everyone else naked.
Take the prison shower model out of the picture, and the objection goes away.