Michael Healy-Rae was very vexed this week.
And a lot of people are “very vexed” with him too.
The Minister of State for Danny Healy-Rae, Kerry and Agriculture blew several gaskets in the lead-up to the announcement that Ireland is not backing the massive EU–Mercosur free-trade deal.
Why MHR was so exercised about the possibility of a Coalition U-turn on a commitment to oppose Mercosur is a little confusing in the light of the statement he rushed out as soon as Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed the decision on Thursday.
“The Government has stated its position clearly and it is a position that was never in doubt as far as I am concerned,” he declared.
He didn’t mention the previous day’s ructions at a lengthy online meeting of the Regional Independent Group when his doubts had him urging the group to put out a “red-line issue” statement indicating they could withdraw from Government if Ireland approved the deal.
Some say MHR’s attention-seeking antics in the run-up to Thursday’s official confirmation of the decision were simply a predictable display of grandstanding for his rural base.
But no.
“While others grandstand from the sidelines, we have been working diligently behind the scenes on the issues that really matter, like Mercosur,” he said in a press release on Friday morning. The press release was headed: “Minister Michael Healy-Rae Confirms Ireland will Vote Against Mercosur”.
Unlike those others, he didn’t grandstand from the sidelines. He did it up front and centre.
One of his complaints was that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were not listening to the group on the matter.
“Michael and Danny were in total agreement and they made it quite clear at the meeting: it’s their way or no way,” said one observer. “It went on for hours and there was skin and hair flying when the Healy-Raes were pushing for the red-line statement. Then the WhatsApps were flying after that.”
As the Dáil was not in session, most TDs were not in Leinster House and contributed remotely. One of them appeared to be “up a mountain somewhere with snow behind them”.
The showboating by the junior minister for agriculture (stoutly supported by his brother Danny) has not gone down well with the other members of the Regional Independents, most of whom have strong support in the farming community.
All the members of the group were staunchly opposed to this Mercosur deal.
MHR’s “antics”, as well as remarks by other members of the group, did not go unnoticed by the Taoiseach either.
A Merrion Street insider said: “Some of the Independents got a fair lashing from him (the Taoiseach) when he beamed in from China to talk to them.
“Efforts were ongoing to try and get safeguards that could satisfy Ireland and there was Michael, out on the media talking about how bad he was being treated. It was no way to do business.”
The Healy-Raes’ plan for a red-line ultimatum statement was voted down by the Regional Independents. It would have looked great, framed alongside the one the following day welcoming the decision which was never once doubted by a Healy-Rae.
“A lot of people are vexed with them,” confides our confidant.
Healy-Rae faces prospect of flights without his cap
It’s no wonder Michael Healy-Rae was a bit all over place last week.
He was waiting for a very important announcement from China.
And no. It wasn’t about Mercosur. Sure, didn’t he know how that was going to work out all along?
This was a far more serious matter.
Ryanair boss Micheal O’Leary wouldn’t have helped his mood either with his latest broadside at the Taoiseach over the removal of the passenger cap from Dublin Airport.
Dublin Airport is primed for greater footfall.
Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
In a statement issued by the airline on Tuesday, O’Leary called on Micheál Martin to “scrap the cap” before the end of this month.
Scrap the passenger cap at Dublin Airport?
If that happens, poor MHR won’t be able to darken the doors of Dublin Airport for a flight ever again. He is so attached to his emotional-support cap that he was given a special dispensation from the Oireachtas authorities years ago to bypass the rules and wear his trademark headgear at all times in the Dáil chamber.
The Kerry TD may have been hoping that the Government would never get around to actually legislating for the end of the cap in Ireland’s biggest and busiest airport.
But on Thursday, the Taoiseach broke the bad news.
Speaking from Shanghai as the Year of the Snake nears an end, Micheál Martin confirmed that the cap will be banished from Dublin Airport later this year.
Ryanair reacted swiftly to welcome the move, saying the failure to scrap the cap was “an international embarrassment for Ireland”.
Which was a bit harsh on Deputy Healy-Rae.
O’Leary pouts and shouts and finally gets heard
It’s rather ironic for the passenger-hungry boss of a major airline to be berating somebody for travelling abroad too much.
But that’s what Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary did this week when ramping up the pressure on the Government to remove Dublin Airport’s 32 million passenger cap as soon as possible.
O’Leary says the Taoiseach has been far too busy travelling around the globe and “glad-handing world leaders” to do anything about the cap, despite a promise to scrap it in the Programme for Government.
The Westmeath-based aviation tycoon – he’s such a loss to the diplomatic world – has no time for the Taoiseach. In a recent interview with the Sunday Independent, he declared: “We’re going to go after Micheál Martin because he’s useless.”
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary. Photograph: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Which, in O’Leary’s world, amounts to calling him names.
The Ryanair boss says: “Micheál ‘Marco Polo’ Martin claims his overseas tours deliver jobs – they don’t!”
It is now time for the “Do Nothing Taoiseach” to “stop touring and start delivering”, by scrapping the passenger cap for a start.
This will mean more routes, services and new jobs this summer – and “it might open up even more overseas travel opportunities for ‘Marco Polo’ Martin”.
And even more opportunities for Michael O’Leary to go after Micheál Martin.
Two days after the Ryanair statement, the Taoiseach made his Shanghai announcement about removing the cap.
The bolshie beef farmers win again.
Although, it is quite the compliment to compare a Taoiseach leading trade missions to the Orient with Marco Polo.
The great Venetian merchant and explorer buckles O’Leary’s overdone swash by a mile.
Christmas holidays stretch far in the Dáil
Leinster House is slowly gearing up for action again.
Although, for those misfortunate mortals who returned to work this week (which would be most people), it is hard to understand why our TDs and Senators aren’t back in business in their respective chambers too.
There was an unwelcome revisiting of Covid times with the online meetings held to discuss Mercosur. Fine Gael held a hastily arranged online parliamentary party meeting on the subject on Thursday evening, while the Taoiseach had to participate in various online meetings from China.
Staff and the few politicians back at base weren’t impressed to see the towering Christmas tree in the Leinster House 2000 building still glittering away with all the lights on, while the appearance of turkey and ham on the menu didn’t do much to improve that January feeling.
Opposition to Mercosur felt a little lukewarm
The Dáil reaction to Ireland’s decision not to vote for the Mercosur deal, which was approved by a qualified majority vote after months and years of haggling, should be interesting.
Voices from outside the very successful agriculture/beef industry lobby are only being heard now that the EU deal has been approved, despite Ireland’s opposition.
Will that stance damage Ireland’s credibility on the international stage?
When Mercosur was being discussed, where were the competing voices arguing that the deal could be of huge benefit to a country more reliant on international trade than almost any other place on the globe?
The Government might say otherwise, but there were indications in recent days that it was looking to find an acceptable way not to oppose the agreement.
The beef farmers, who may or may not suffer a negative impact from the agreement, have spectacularly carried the argument.
But while the Government maintained its objections to the deal on the critical vote, it was probably secretly rooting for the other side.
Will this fascination situation be teased out when the Dáil gets back to business?
And could it mean an end to TDs standing up and complaining that the Government doesn’t care for people who live outside the Red Cow roundabout?