O’Rourke to “stand and fight” for her Dáil seat

Many of Fianna Fáil's biggest names bowed out of politics, with startling abruptness, in recent months. Brian Cowen. Bertie Ahern. Batt O'Keeffe. Noel Dempsey. Dermot Ahern. All former pillars of the party. All gone. With wind and rain pummelling canvassers over the past week, the TDs who chose retirement presumably weren't regretting the decision. However, the party's biggest name in Westmeath is continuing to brave the elements, and the public, in a bid to retain her Dáil seat. “I decided to stand and fight rather than take the loot and run,†said Deputy Mary O'Rourke. “That didn't appeal to me. Even when I was told the amount that I would be getting, I said ‘No, I prefer to stand and fight'. So, time will tell, but that's the decision I took.†The Athlone TD's election literature describes her as “straight talking.†It's a trait she demonstrated during an interview with the Westmeath Independent at her home in Arcadia on Monday. She discussed her plans if she is re-elected, gave views on the cause and impact of the recession, and voiced concern that a crowded field could leave Athlone without a TD after the election. Deputy O'Rourke also addressed whispers that, if elected, she could decide to retire before the Dáil term ends with her son, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, stepping in to contest the vacancy. “That's what I'd call a silly story,†she said. “If I am lucky enough, and if the electorate are generous enough to return me, I intend to serve out my time. We're all in the hand of God - you, me and everyone else. But I have no notion of giving up before my time, if my health continues the way it is. For that I can only thank God. And my genes, I guess.†The country's fortunes have deteriorated rapidly since the last general election in 2007. The problems people are now voicing on the doorsteps are “more acute,†said the TD. “There's unemployment. Emigration. A lack of access to services such as further education and training for people. All of those things. But unemployment remains very stubbornly high for people who genuinely want to work, particularly young people.†In his first press conference as Fianna Fáil leader, Michael Martin said he was “sorry for the mistakes we have made as a party.†When asked what mistakes Fianna Fáil made, Deputy O'Rourke replied: “We spent too much and taxed too little. That's what he said, and I would agree with that. Maybe we just went too fast. Maybe we should have taken it handier. And also the building boom… it was great while it was booming, but it boomed too long and too loud.†Were there things which could have been done, or should have been done, to prevent the economic downturn? “Well we couldn't have prevented the global meltdown because that was beyond our scope,†she replied. “But here in Ireland, I think, yes. We have new people at the Regulator and the Central Bank, in Matthew Elderfield and Patrick Honohan, but perhaps the previous incumbents dozed a bit at their perch.†Despite the unemployment figures, she felt the worst of the recession has not been seen locally. “I think Westmeath – both Mullingar and Athlone – have not seen the ravages. We have a lot of unemployment but because the towns are bigger they have managed to forge ahead. We're very lucky to have the IT here in Athlone. It's been a source not just of great employment and student enrolment but also ideas, research facilities, and links with other countries.†Despite the recent deterioration in Fianna Fáil's popularity, Deputy O'Rourke said she had a “wonderful†campaign team and her canvass to date has been civil. “I very rarely go to a house in which I don't know the people or they don't know me. I suppose I'm going to meet them the next day in Dunnes Stores or at the Church or the hairdresser's or on the street. So I think the electorate are being polite. I do like civility and politeness. That's what I'm giving and that's what I'm getting.†Though she is noted for her directness, and for not always toeing the party line on an issue, Deputy O'Rourke has consistently sided with Fianna Fáil when votes were called in the Dáil. “That's because I signed a pledge to be a member of Fianna Fáil,†she said. “That is my party. You sign a pledge and if you don't want to stay with the party you leave the party.†The recent achievements she was most proud of included the opening of Athlone IT's new engineering building, and the development of the rural transport scheme. “I was very involved in the pursuit of funding for the AIT Engineering block. When I was a Minister, in the spring of 2002, I set up the rural transport scheme, which is huge now. I'm very proud of its success because it was my own idea – it didn't come from the Department. I've watched it blossom and grow and I think it's a wonderful thing. “At national level I set up the Luas. Over a five-year period I conceived it, got the money for it, started it, and before I left office it was running. Whenever I'm at a traffic lights in Dublin, I always feel a sense of satisfaction and I say ‘there's my Luas.' Tom McGurk used to call me ‘Momma Luas.' But that's not much good down in Mount Temple or Tubberclair, whereas the rural transport scheme is.†The local TD also recently chaired a cross-party Oireachtas committee which agreed wording for a referendum on a constitutional amendment to protect the rights of the child. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny suggested that, if his party is in Government, the referendum could be held on the same date as the Presidential election in October. Deputy O'Rourke said if the constitutional amendment is carried it will mean “for the first time in a case that's affecting them, the voice of the child will be heard. It will be through a moderator, obviously, but it will be heard. And that was one of my big aims. If the wording which I steered to its conclusion helps to bring about better protection, and better rights, for children then I will have done some good in my political life.†Candidates such as Senator Nicky McFadden, Cllr Kevin ‘Boxer' Moran, Cllr Paul Hogan, and others, are campaigning to take Deputy O'Rourke's place as a sitting TD from Athlone. She said: “Anyone who puts him or herself before the electorate is to be admired for their pluck and determination and tenacity.†But she felt the crowded field could split the vote to the extent that no Athlone TD is elected. “Of course that's a risk. If I may say, immodestly, I think the town has benefited from having a TD. I don't want to see a situation where there won't be a TD in the town. Athlone is big enough, and forward-looking enough, to warrant having somebody who'll keep a watch out for it at national level and at local level. I think it would be a bad day for Athlone were there to be no TD.†Why should people vote for her, as opposed to the others? “Well, I am experienced. I think I'm straightforward, I speak straightforwardly. I think I'm able to hold my own in national debate and in local debate. I think I'm always able to look out for my constituency in the national debates.†She said that if she was re-elected her priorities would include attracting investment for Athlone from international firms, supporting Athlone IT and local schools, developing an internship scheme which would see employers taking on young graduates, and maintaining funding for St Vincent's Hospital. In her view, the most important issue in this election is honesty. “The time is long gone for big promises. It is much more relevant now that we be straightforward and honest with the electorate, and they in turn with us,†she said. Asked for a prediction on the election nationally, she replied: “Obviously we're going to suffer losses. I don't know to what extent. There are a lot of people saying to pollsters, ‘I won't vote for Fianna Fáil again' because it's fashionable to say that now, but I think some of them may well decide that they may do so.†A coalition Government between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, was, she felt, a possibility after February 25. “I think it could happen. I come from a mixed political background myself, and I wouldn't have any difficulty with it,†she said.