{"id":267325,"date":"2026-01-04T21:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/267325\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T21:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:00:11","slug":"new-oireachtas-members-adapt-to-political-life-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/267325\/","title":{"rendered":"new Oireachtas members adapt to political life \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI get abuse all the time,\u201d says Charles Ward. \u201cI was a doorman for 17 years. Words do nothing to me.\u201d A first-time TD for Donegal<\/a>, he brushes off concerns around trolling on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big boy and I understand people\u2019s frustrations. I understand there\u2019s some people out there who have a chip on their shoulder with certain things. So be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Arranmore island native is a bricklayer by profession who also worked as a carer. He references an early lesson that stuck with him: \u201cWhen you have absolutely no experience you need experience to back you.\u201d With that in mind, assistants to former Donegal TD Thomas Pringle now work for him.<\/p>\n

He was mentored by President Catherine Connolly<\/a> and was one of her first backers when she launched her \u00c1ras election campaign.<\/p>\n

He brought her to his house, one of the homes most affected by defective concrete<\/a>. The 100% Redress TD has spoken more than 80 times about the long-running issue affecting 25,000 homes in Donegal and an estimated 100,000 nationally.<\/p>\n

The difference between his early D\u00e1il speeches and now is \u201cnight and day\u201d, he says, adding: \u201cThe confidence grows. You become aware of who you are, what you\u2019re fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

He praises T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris<\/a> as \u201ca really good person\u201d who has visited homes devastated by pyrrhotite. Dealing with Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> is like \u201cfighting (boxer) Floyd Mayweather\u201d, he says. \u201cYou can\u2019t touch him because he\u2019s so defensive and he won\u2019t answer a question and he looks at the clock all the time and watches it run down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jen Cummins, a Social Democrats<\/a> TD for Dublin South-Central, loves the job. \u201cIt\u2019s the best job I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s so, so hard but so brilliant. It\u2019s so varied. No two days look alike.\u201d <\/p>\n

She loves \u201cbeing able to help people\u201d, including those \u201cwho email us for things that are huge to them and they need somebody else to maybe see a path through for them\u201d.<\/p>\n

The formality of being addressed as Deputy took months to get used to. In every previous job, she was called by her first name.<\/p>\n

Cummins briefly served as a Dublin City councillor before becoming a TD. With a background in youth and education services, she was a natural fit to be appointed party spokeswoman on education, as well as further and higher education.<\/p>\n

She thinks TDs could do a better job of explaining why there are so few people in the D\u00e1il during debates. Citing finance questions as an example, she says: \u201cNot everybody is going to be there. It\u2019s only going to be people who have a specific question about that or the spokesperson for that role.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role of a TD means time away from family, which is a challenge for Cummins. It has been \u201cvery difficult to not see my family as often as I did\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have four children, so it can be hard not to be there all the time. And it can be difficult that when I am at home, sometimes I\u2019m so tired because the days are so long.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her children have adapted to what she describes as a \u201chuge adjustment\u201d, but they worry about the potential dangers she could face in a public role. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey see that politicians are targeted often, so they\u2019re worried \u2013 [they wonder] will I be targeted? And they don\u2019t want to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SocialSocial Democrats TD Jen Cummins speaks to the media about the party’s alternative budget as party leader Holly Cairns looks on. Photo: Sam Boal\/Collins Photos <\/p>\n

The respectful nature of proceedings was one of the surprises of the job for Senator Nicole Ryan, a Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> representative from Cork<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see these grand debates and all this shouting and roaring, especially in the D\u00e1il, and you think they\u2019re mortal enemies,\u201d she says. \u201c[But] I\u2019ve met so many fantastic people in there from different parties.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the Seanad, she acknowledges there might be \u201cthe odd ruckus\u201d, but debates \u201care generally respectful\u201d. <\/p>\n

She has also come to terms with social media trolling, saying it is \u201cwater off a duck\u2019s back\u201d now. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be what I\u2019m wearing that day. Predominantly, I think for me as a woman, it\u2019s always on my looks, my appearance, my weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, but brought up in Millstreet, Ryan will sometimes engage if it is a comment about what she has said or a policy. <\/p>\n

Following her brother Alex\u2019s tragic drugs-related death, she says: \u201cPeople said some of the most horrendous things that I\u2019ve ever read. [They made comments] about him, about my mom, about me, our family and without knowing anything.\u201d <\/p>\n

She describes being a Senator as a huge change. Trained as a marine engineer, she subsequently became an addiction counsellor and campaigned extensively about substance abuse.<\/p>\n

She brought in a Bill last year to ensure all pregnancy losses before 23 weeks would be recognised as normal pregnancies. The Government deferred it for 12 months.<\/p>\n

The Bill is a source of immense pride for Ryan. \u201cI never imagined myself being able to get to that point where I\u2019ve written legislation and it\u2019s being brought in and debated. It was an \u2018oh my God, I\u2019ve actually done this\u2019 moment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Speaking in the Seanad \u201cwas daunting at the start\u201d, but no longer. Ms Ryan has spoken about her own miscarriage<\/a> and being a child in a family home affected by domestic violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Albert Dolan\u2019s first speech to the D\u00e1il as a TD was a highlight he has not eclipsed in the intervening year. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had the incredible privilege of nominating Miche\u00e1l Martin for Taoiseach,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the country will ever forget the chaos of those two days trying to elect the Taoiseach,\u201d added the Galway East representative, referring to a bitter row over speaking rights in the D\u00e1il.<\/p>\n

Dolan became Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a>\u2019s youngest TD when he was elected at 26. Asked about the everyday aspects of the job, he says he posts a lot on social media, \u201cso I definitely will attract more abuse\u201d.<\/p>\n

He is \u201cfairly good\u201d at ignoring it. \u201cI\u2019m too busy to be worried about what someone else is thinking about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For one so young, Dolan already has significant experience in politics after being elected as a councillor aged 20. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really surprised me about Leinster House compared to Galway County Council is the sheer volume of people you now represent,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

While working as a councillor, he was also employed as a chartered accountant in the family firm in Loughrea, Co Galway \u2013 a job with \u201cgreat structure\u201d. <\/p>\n

He points out that the role of a TD comes with great autonomy, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s completely up to yourself how you structure your day.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"FiannaFianna F\u00e1il’s Albert Dolan was elected to the D\u00e1il aged 26. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins Photos <\/p>\n

He has been on two trips as a TD. One was a two-day event hosted by the Irish embassy in Paris and the other saw him travel as a representative of the Enterprise Committee to Billund in Denmark, the home and headquarters of Lego.<\/p>\n

\u201cLego was one of the only online spaces that received an exemption from the Australian ban on social media for under 16s because they have a protection in place so that every single post that is put up online by a child is checked and verified,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Fine Gael\u2019s Paula Butterly had experience of political life as a councillor, but she doubts if \u201canything prepares you for walking through the doors of Leinster House\u201d. <\/p>\n

The Louth TD has been vocal on women\u2019s issues, pushing for more places in refuges and stronger sentencing for domestic violence offenders. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a councillor, all you can really do is feed that back to your TD and feed it up the line,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing a TD and also sitting on the Oireachtas Justice Committee meant I was one step closer to pushing those issues a little bit further.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a farming background, she moved home in 2016 after 22 years living in Italy.<\/p>\n

In the D\u00e1il, \u201cit\u2019s a far slower pace than in any other working environment I\u2019ve been in\u201d, she admits.<\/p>\n

At committee meetings, \u201cyou tend to leave your party politics at the door and you scrutinise what\u2019s in front of you and really work to find a better outcome\u201d.<\/p>\n

Labour\u2019s Eoghan Kenny was the youngest TD in the D\u00e1il when he was elected aged 24. He admits to being fond of personal interaction.<\/p>\n

The Cork North-Central TD is his party\u2019s education spokesman. He says many people contact him through social media rather than by email or phone. But \u201cyou can\u2019t beat the face-to-face interaction\u201d.<\/p>\n

Becoming a TD, he adds, has \u201cbeen a whirlwind but it\u2019s been fantastic \u2013 I love the job”.<\/p>\n

There are, however, frustrations to contend with. This can include State agencies not knowing answers to questions when appearing before the Public Accounts Committee in relation to governance and financial management issues.<\/p>\n

Kenny cites Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), by way of example, following \u201cthe largest fish kill in my hometown<\/a> and in the State\u201d in the River Blackwater. <\/p>\n

He was \u201creally baffled\u201d by IFI, insisting it was \u201cso stark\u201d to \u201csee a State body like that coming in and providing us with such outright absolutely awful answers\u201d.<\/p>\n

He believes that while the opposition\u2019s job is to hold Government to account, \u201cyou have to be able to engage with Ministers, to try and get work done\u201d.<\/p>\n

Politicians \u201chave made careers out of populism and protesting but I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s the way to go about things if you want to deliver services, or infrastructure to the community\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI get abuse all the time,\u201d says Charles Ward. \u201cI was a doorman for 17 years. Words do…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,4771,553,6,19,17,9171,11,12,15,16,5,47,18578,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-267325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-fianna-fail","14":"tag-fine-gael","15":"tag-headlines","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-labour-party","19":"tag-latest-news","20":"tag-latestnews","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-sinn-fein","25":"tag-social-democrats","26":"tag-top-stories","27":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115838846444748376","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}