Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
People living in illegal cabins - including family forced to dismantle home - tell their stories
Five-year-old boy dies after being hit by car in Laois
150 rounds of drinks ordered at the Dáil's bars on the day TDs failed to elect a new Taoiseach
Opinion
Malcolm Byrne I worry we are entering a Trumpian era of divided politics in Ireland
The Fianna Fáil senator says recent events have convinced him that political discourse has changed and that a place for considered compromise must now be found in Irish politics.
THE RECENT US elections highlighted how polarised American politics has become. There is not just disagreement between Republicans and Democrats but a visceral dislike of representatives from the ‘other side’.
Much of this them and us approach has been fuelled by social media, with the tech giants doing little to address the growing division as it keeps them at the centre of debate and their advertising revenue flowing.
In a battle of the tweets and memes, there is little scope for evidence-based policy discussion or reflective debate. Donald Trump’s greatest legacy may be that he has helped reduce political engagement to 280 characters.
But we shouldn’t fool ourselves that the politics of polarisation and lowest common denominator debate is exclusive to the United States.
Trumpian politics here?
The events of the last week have convinced me that we are entering a Trumpian era of divided politics in Ireland.
There were two opportunistic debates in the Houses of the Oireachtas this week. One was called by Sinn Féin about Leo Varadkar sharing the proposed GP contract with a friend; the other called by Fine Gael about Sinn Féin using UK legislation to avoid being answerable for a political donation from an unusual source of over €4.5m.
Both of these questions are serious issues – they go to the heart of how our democracy functions. The actions need to be addressed. But the debates, for the most part, were not about the substantive issues that they raised.
This was an opportunity for battlelines to be drawn and the rehearsed lines and soundbites to be delivered – and more importantly, for the armies of unquestioning social media loyalists to go to war.
It would suit both parties to clear everyone else out of the way and prepare for a head-to-head, divisive confrontation on the political battlefield in the years ahead.
The no-confidence motion
Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews made clear in a tweet that the purpose of their no-confidence motion was not about the issue at hand but rather about making Fianna Fáil TDs feel uncomfortable supporting Leo Varadkar.
For parties in the political centre, including Fianna Fáil, this does make life difficult. As a party that believes in political compromise and appealing to those with different shades of opinion, operating in an increasingly black and white world poses challenges.
In the era of the short attention span, a nuanced policy position based on a “Shared Island” cannot compete with Sinn Féin slogans around a “Border Poll Now” nor can concepts around structured investment in public services compete with Fine Gael lines of “we will cut your taxes”.
It cannot be denied either that Fianna Fáil’s social media has not been at the races. We are a traditional broadsheet newspaper party competing with TikTok-savvy political operations.
But this discussion must be about more than just channels of political communication. It has to be about the nature of political debate in Ireland.
There is a dismissive attitude in Ireland to the idea that our society and politics could ever get as divisive as that in the United States. But growing evidence suggests otherwise.
I would hazard that there are very few people in Ireland who could name every judge on our Supreme Court. I’d even be willing to bet that the majority of the population would struggle to name a single member, besides the one who has been in the news a lot this week.
This is in contrast to the United States where not alone are judges known but their political views well studied and debated in the media and online. That could never happen here?
No opposing views allowed?
During the formation of the government earlier this year, there was speculation that the Green Party was to suggest one of their members who is a barrister as Attorney General. The story was untrue but it did not prevent a social media storm of anger because the individual had apparently voted against the repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
The suggestion that we could have an Attorney General who may have been pro-life riled sections of the Irish twitterati and also some in public life. Green TD Neasa Hourigan stated that “as an active Repeal campaigner, this would not be an acceptable appointment to me.”
I do not know the barrister concerned, but in the appointment of an Attorney General, I expect that the primary requirement is that they have sufficient legal expertise to advise the government.
Their personal views must not cloud their professional opinion – they cannot be the pro-life Attorney General, but it should not be a bar if they are an Attorney General who happens also to be pro-life (or pro-choice for that matter).
Where historically, we had shared public spaces for debate, there is increasingly a tendency to retreat into echo chambers. For those in politics, an individual is labelled as being from a particular camp and hence is assumed to have a particular set of views.
Politics is supposed to be about compromise. It is about bringing different approaches and ideas together and getting agreement that best serves our society as a whole. It has to be about persuasion, about convincing others of the merits of your argument while at the same time being willing to move to achieve a greater goal.
Compromise vs tech-fuelled noise
The Good Friday Agreement and the Peace Process. The European Union. These are political compromises that offer more hope than the alternatives of war, division and tribes at each others’ throats. As ours is a democracy with proportional representation, it is a much fairer system of reflecting the public mood than a winner takes all approach.
No political party won a majority in February’s election yet there are some of the electorates who believe that their vote represents either the majority position or the only acceptable vote and they do not believe that the opinions of other voters hold the same weight as theirs.
The rise of the #notmytaoiseach hashtag was deeply concerning. If Mary Lou MacDonald were ever to form a government, having built a coalition and obtained a majority in our elected national parliament, I would recognise her as the leader of this country and wish her well in the role.
That does not mean that I would not interrogate and challenge her policies or actions, but I would not question her legitimacy in the office.
Technology is transforming our lives, mostly in positive ways, but I fear that in public discourse, it is ushering us into an era where we are more comfortable in the bubble of those with whom we share the same views and cheering when one of our “people” attack those in another bubble.
Recognition is given to the one who “stands up” to the other side, while scorn is reserved for those who believe in working toward a consensus. It will be interesting to read the comments section on this piece to see how many have actually engaged in the arguments as opposed to trotting out the same old personalised attacks.
A clever tweet is not a substitute for an evidence-based and well-researched policy paper or opinion piece. As a society, we have little concept of digital citizenship, including of how we should behave online (it should differ little to real life where we should seek to understand those with alternative views and engage in respectful debate).
The traditional media are subject to high levels of regulation and journalistic standards, particularly around the political debate, but social media has few standards (even self-regulation is minimal).
Much journalism is increasingly behind paywalls, while you can get any opinion you want online. Collectively, we need to ensure that we can restore safe public spaces, including online, where ideas are debated and political engagement leading to solutions can be encouraged.
There is a part to be played by policymakers in regulation, but each of us (and I include myself) must reflect on what we can do to help achieve this objective. If we don’t, the very nature of our democracy is under threat.
We also need to celebrate the diversity of political opinion in Irish society and encourage co-operation between those of different viewpoints. ‘Crossing the aisle’ should be commended, not greeted with cries of treachery.
It will not be healthy if Irish political debate is reduced to a well-scripted bare-knuckle battle between Fine Gael and Sinn Féin.
Malcolm Byrne is a Fianna Fáil Senator.
Advertisement
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
64 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
People living in illegal cabins - including family forced to dismantle home - tell their stories
2 hrs ago
3.6k
18
Roads
Five-year-old boy dies after being hit by car in Laois
4 hrs ago
8.5k
6
Leinster House
150 rounds of drinks ordered at the Dáil's bars on the day TDs failed to elect a new Taoiseach
20 hrs ago
39.5k
186
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 152 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 104 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 136 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 77 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 37 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 33 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 86 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 68 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 50 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 64 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say