Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
The politics of the left must be at the heart of government, Labour’s Dublin North Central TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin tells eolas.
How and why did you become involved in politics?
My family have always been very politically aware without being supporters of any particular political party. I would have grown up with stories of my grandparents’ involvement in the Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War, so I was always conscious of how important politics can be in people’s lives.
My upbringing was a Catholic one in a very positive sense and we were always encouraged to care for others less fortunate than ourselves. That dynamic would be obvious when watching political debates as a child, the yearning for justice, the advocacy for the underdog and the belief in the advancement of equality.
In March 2000 I got a teaching job in a girls’ primary school in Sheriff Street in Dublin’s north inner city, and although originally planning to leave the school that summer, I fell in love with that community and with the wonderful children. However, as time passed I became increasingly uncomfortable when comparing the opportunities for the girls in my class to the resources that were available to me growing up in Malahide. I became frustrated with the forces outside the classroom that were impacting on the children’s ability to fulfil their educational potential.
Children do not live in schools, and so basic community infrastructure such as housing, pre-school care, library services and access to extra tuition was essential to their chances of success. I wanted to talk about educational disadvantage outside of the staff room, and I wanted to join a political party that would be sympathetic to my views but would have the ambition to enter government and make the necessary changes. In November 2002 I joined the Labour Party, in May 2003 I was selected to run in the local elections, and in June 2004 I was elected to Dublin City Council.
Why are children and children’s rights important to society?
Childhood is sacred. Our experiences as children shape our entire lives: our hopes, our ambitions, our insecurities, our values, our strengths and our weaknesses. The impact of the forces around the child in the earliest years cannot be over-stated. However, this has never been reflected in governmental policy in terms of allocation of resources.
Most teachers can identify from the first days of junior infants the children who are more likely to succeed and those who will struggle. Parents need support and society needs to encourage. However, we must make determinations as to when the safety of the child is being compromised in the family home.
Children have a right to their childhood. They are under constant attack from corporate interests who wish to commercialise and even sexualise them as early as possible to benefit profit margins. Children are naturally honest, trusting and positive, therefore we need to listen to children more and to encourage those instincts into later life.
This year is crucial one in the history of Ireland’s attitude to children with the publication of the Children First legislation and the expected children’s rights referendum at the end of this year.
We have a shameful past as a country in our treatment of our children. 2012 can be the year we turn a corner.
Please outline what you hope to achieve for your constituency and for the country by the end of your current term.
I want my constituents to feel proud of where they live; to leave their houses in the morning and to think positively of their street, their estate and their community. That requires a lot of work locally to ensure that people have opportunities to communicate and to share experiences. That local pride can manifest itself by involvement in sporting clubs or community organisations, but it can be as simple as supporting local events or attending residents meetings.
The concerns of my constituency are the same as those of the country: unemployment, mortgage arrears, struggling with bills etc. We need to stick tightly to the vision of where we will be when this recession ends. Every crisis offers a fantastic opportunity for a country to re-assess its values, its ambitions and what lies in its soul.
At the end of my current term, I want to have improved communication locally, and improved the standard and breadth of debate nationally. I want to have improved the lot of those who struggle to achieve their potential in education, for whatever reason.
How relevant is Labour in today’s society (implementing austerity) compared to when it was formed 100 years ago?
Unfortunately it comes down to basic mathematics. Even if there had never been a banking crisis, we would still have to correct the huge budget deficit caused by reckless election-driven management of our economy over the past decade and a half.
Our responsibility is not merely to the worker, but to those who depend on the services of that worker, particularly in the public service, and to those who unfortunately have no work.
In that sense we have had major successes in reversing the cut in the minimum wage, re-introducing joint labour committee legislation and removing 330,000 low-paid workers from the universal social charge.
It is the constant debate within the Labour Party as to the values or otherwise of coalition. But the politics of the left do not belong on the sidelines – they must be mainstream and in the heart of government. The greatest change can be affected from within.
Trade unions defend the interests of their members, and that is their mandate. The role of the Labour Party is to defend the interests of the weakest in our country. Often our goals co-incide and when they do, we work well together.
How do you like to spend your spare time?
Politics is a strange profession, as even getting a haircut becomes a constituency issue. Unfortunately I don’t get a lot of spare time so I look forward to spending time with my wife Áine and switching off. I help to coach a ladies football side in my local GAA club Scoil Uí Chonaill and I genuinely enjoy it. Time spent with extended family is also prioritised but politics is never really very far away.
