Fianna Fáil 2021

Where will the Cadets of Destiny

bring the Party?

An analysis of young Fianna Fáil member’s

opinions, beliefs and views on social,

economic and party political issues.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

Masters of Arts in Public Affairs and Political

Communications

by

Donnacha Maguire

Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street

Supervisor: Ms Lisa Marie Cunningham

i

Declaration

I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the

programme of study leading to the award of:

Masters Degree (M.A.) in Public Affairs and Political Communications

is entirely my own work and has not been submitted for assessment for any

academic purpose other than in partial fulfilment for that stated above.

Signed: ___________________________

Date: ____________________________

ii

Abstract

It is clear that the Fianna Fáil organisation is undergoing significant change as

a result of the 2011 General Election. Its membership, how they react to the

trauma of the loss of power and what they want their party to stand for in the

future will play a significant role in the future development and renewal of the

party.

This thesis examines the opinions and views of young members of Fianna Fáil

(less than 40 years) on a range of social, economic and internal party issues.

This is the first time that such an analysis has taken place and follows on from

previous research undertaken by Gallagher and Marsh (2005) on the general

Fine Gael membership.

Political parties need to understand their membership, their wants, desires and

needs, if they are to develop coherent and cogent policies on social and

economic matters. Ensuring that the views of members form part of policy

formation has been neglected in Fianna Fáil since the early 1990’s.

Using data collected from young members of Fianna Fáil, this study explores

questions such the social and economic priorities of members, their opinions

on other political parties and their views on their party’s European political

alignments.

Members are most willing to engage with issues of an ideological basis and

want to be involved in the growth and development of policies and campaigns.

Support for their EU partners, ELDR and ALDE is strong.

Finally, conclusions and thus recommendations for Fianna Fáil will be

distilled from the views, opinions and comments elicited via the primary

research

iii

Table of Contents

Declaration i

Abstract ii

Table of Contents iii

List of Figures vii

Abbreviations viii

Acknowledgements ix

Chapter One – Introduction 1-6

1.1 Context Review 1

1.2 Reasons for Choosing this Topic 3

1.3 Chapter Structure 5

Chapter Two – Literature Review 7-18

2.1 Ideology 7

2.2 Nationalism 8

2.3 Political Parties 8

2.4 Why do people join Political Parties? 9

2.4.1 The Civil Volunteerism Model 10

2.4.2 The Cognitive Engagement Model 10

2.4.3 The Social Capital Model 11

2.4 Membership of Fianna Fáil 12

2.5 Social Issues 12

2.5.1 Abortion 13

2.5.2 Euthanasia 14

2.5.3 Attitudes towards Civil Marriage Equality 15

/ Acceptance of Homosexuality

2.5.4 Civil Divorce 16

2.6 European Political Groupings 17

2.7 Tax and Spending Cuts 18

iv

Chapter Three – Methodology 19-28

3.1 Introduction 19

3.2 Research Objectives 20

3.2.1 Objective One

3.2.2 Objective Two

3.2.3 Objective Three

3.2.4 Objective Four

3.3 Research Design 21

3.4 The Different Approaches to Research 21

3.5 Reliability and Validity 22

3.5.1 Reliability 22

3.5.2 Validity 22

3.6 Triangulation 25

3.7 Primary Qualitative Research 26

3.7.1 Interviews 26

3.8 Primary Quantitative Research 27

3.8.1 Online Survey 28

3.9 Limitations and Delimitations 28

Chapter Four – Social Issues 29-41

4.1 General Overview 29

4.2 Social Issues 29

4.2.1 Civil Marriage Equality 30

4.2.2 Abortion 32

4.2.3 Civil Divorce 34

4.2.4 Euthanasia 35

4.2.5 Legalisation of Cannabis 36

4.3 Analysis of Findings 37

4.3.1 Social Freedoms 37

4.3.2 Civil Marriage Equality 38

4.3.3 Abortion 39

4.3.4 Euthanasia 40

4.3.5 Divorce 41

v

Chapter Five – Economic Issues 42-51

5.1 General Overview 42

5.2 Economic Issues

5.2.1 Trade Unions 43

5.2.2 Tax Burden Reduction 44

5.2.3 Reduction in Spending 45

5.2.4 Reducing the National Deficit 46

5.2.5 Funding of Third Level Education 47

5.3 Analysis of Findings 48

5.3.1 General Overview 48

5.3.2 Reducing the Tax Burden 48

5.3.3 Cutting Expenditure to match falling Tax Revenues 49

5.3.4 The National Deficit 50

5.3.5 How to fund Third Level Education 50

Chapter Six – Party Membership, Activity and 52-64

Relationships to Other Political Parties

6.1 Introduction 52

6.2 Party Membership

6.2.1 Length of Party Membership 53

6.2.2 Reasons for Joining Fianna Fáil 54

6.2.3 Familial Relations in Fianna Fáil 56

6.2.4 Party Activity 58

6.2.5 Relationship to other Political Parties 60

6.2.5.1 Comparisons to other Irish Political Parties 61

6.2.6 European Political Relationships 62

6.3 Analysis of Findings 63

6.3.1 The End of the Civil War 63

6.3.2 What if Fianna Fáil ceased to exist? 63

6.3.3 European Relationships 64

6.3.4 Membership desire to do more 64

vi

Chapter Seven – Conclusions and Recommendations 65-73

7.1 Introduction 65

7.2 Conclusions 66

7.2.1 Research Question One 66

7.2.1.1 Social Positions 66

7.2.1.2 Economic Positions 67

7.2.2 Research Question Two 68

7.2.3 Research Question Three 69

7.2.4 Research Question Four 70

7.3 Recommendations for Fianna Fáil 71

7.3.1 Introduction 71

7.3.2 Recommendation One 71

7.3.3 Recommendation Two 72

7.3.4 Recommendation Three 72

7.4 Further Research Required 73

Bibliography 74-80

a) Books 74

b) Journals 77

c) Speeches 78

d) Manifestos 78

e) Reports 78

f) Websites 78

g) TV Shows 79

Appendices 80-86

Appendix A – Interview Questions 80

Appendix B – Coru is Rialacha Fhianna Fáil 83

Appendix C – Stuttgart Declaration 86

Appendix D – Samples Responses from Members 89

Appendix E – Sample Survey 90

vii

List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Moral Justification: European Values Survey 1981-2008 13

Figure 2.2 Support Levels for Gay Marriage / Civil Marriage Equality in Ireland 15

Figure 3.1 List of Interviews carried out during course of research 26

Figure 4.1

A considerable majority of respondents identified themselves as either Very

Liberal or Moderately Liberal. 29

Figure 4.2 High levels of support for Civil Marriage Equality 30

Figure 4.3 Support levels for abortion 32

Figure 4.4 Very strong support for decision to introduce Civil Divorce 34

Figure 4.5 A majority of members support the introduction of some form of euthanasia. 35

Figure 4.6 Shows strong support for some form of legalisation of cannabis 36

Figure 5.1 Clustering around the centre is a prevailing trend among young members 42

Figure 5.2

Large majority in support of the statement that Trade Unions put their

member's interests first. 43

Figure 5.3 Strong support for reducing the tax burden on citizens 44

Figure 5.4 Opposition to cutting expenditure if taxes are reduced. 45

Figure 5.5 Members are split about the precedence of reducing the National Deficit 46

Figure 5.6 Varied response to different funding options for 3rd Level Education 47

Figure 6.1 Analysis of length of party membership 53

Figure 6.2

Members responded that they joined Fianna Fáil due to agreeing with the

party policies and because their families always supported the party. 54

Figure 6.3 Members are related to other members in two out of three cases 56

Figure 6.4 Most members are not related to politicians. 57

Figure 6.5 Number of party meetings attended in the previous 12 months. 58

Figure 6.6 Members indicated that they were highly active within the party. 59

Figure 6.7 Strong desire to do more and get more active among members. 59

Figure 6.8

Significant opposition to joining other political parties if Fianna Fáil ceased

to exist. 60

Figure 6.9 High levels of awareness of Fianna Fáil’s new Euro Group. 62

Figure 6.10

Very high levels of support for Fianna Fáil’s membership of Liberal

groupings in Europe. 62

viii

Abbreviations

ALDE Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

ELDR European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party

EU European Union

FF Fianna Fáil

FG Fine Gael

Lab Irish Labour Party

UK United Kingdom

ix

Acknowledgements

“There is almost nothing on earth that the people of this country cannot do

better, or as well, as other people, once they apply their minds to it.”

(Sean Lemass)

Thanks to my supervisor, Lisa Marie Cunningham for all her help and

guidance during this project and thank you to all the lecturing staff on the

course who guided us through the past year.

To my friends, political or otherwise, who endured my ramblings about young

people in Fianna Fáil, thanks for keeping me real at all times.

To every member of Fianna Fáil who took part in the survey and to those who

gave up their time to be interviewed, I appreciate your help and assistance.

To those who have given their time freely and willingly to ‘The Party’ over

the past 85 years, may those who follow you live up to your high standards.

To the seventeen other souls in the MAPAPC class, we didn’t always agree

but we never allowed our political differences get in the way of building

friendships.

To Patrick and Elizabeth Maguire, my maternal grandparents, who instilled in

me my passion for politics and my commitment to the Fianna Fáil.

To my family and in particular my parents, PJ and Jenny, who have supported

me in everything I have ever done, thank you for the bottom of my heart. I will

never forget you.

1

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Context Review

Fianna Fáil has been at the forefront of Irish politics since its foundation in

1926 in the La Scala Theatre, Dublin by Civil War, War of Independence and

Easter Rising veterans. (Leahy, 2010: 5) At its foundation, it was „a splinter

group from a minority party.‟ (Martin, 2011c) Its rise to political power in

1932 was not always assured as it followed ten turbulent years in which its

founders lost their quest for a thirty two county Irish Republic, lost a bitter

civil war and seemed destined to be at the margins of Irish political life.

Fianna Fáil was shaped at its onset as a national movement and this national

movement was composed of primarily young men and women in their

twenties, thirties and early forties. These new leaders of Irish Republicanism

made a choice between „revering a tradition which excluded them from

contemporary political participating and accepting Michael Collins original

argument about the Treaty.‟ (Ferriter, 2005: 310)

Significantly, Fianna Fáil veered away from the traditional European

definitions of political ideologies and instead focussed on its Irish Republican

ethos. Importantly, future Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach, Éamon DeValera,

in his address to the inaugural meeting of the party in the La Scala Theatre

said:

„I expect that most of you are Republicans, as I am, not so much

because of any doctrinaire attachment to any special form of

government, but because in the conditions of Ireland, Independence

and the Republic must be in practice one and the same thing.‟

(DeValera, 1926)

2

This lack of an outward attachment to a core ideological belief would stay

with Fianna Fáil for most of its history. In turn, Fianna Fáil had an ability to

shift its policy orientation depending on the mood of the people or the needs of

the party and its leadership. This was similar to other political party‟s during

the 20th Century in Ireland which manifested a distinctive lack of radicalism

between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour.

In discussing the possible merger of Fine Gael and Labour in the 1950‟s,

Labour Leader Brendan Corish suggested that he would be „glad if members

of Fine Gael were in the Labour party. (Ferriter, 2005: 17). Ferriter goes on to

question whether the issue of left, right or centre and how parties saw

themselves were relevant to political debate in Ireland. (ibid.)

The strength of its membership has always been one of Fianna Fáil‟s strongest

assets. With over 65,000 members according to Aidan Ó Gormáin, Director of

Membership Development (Ó Gormáin, 2011), it remains one of the largest

political parties in Ireland. According to Richard Dunphy,

„throughout its history it maintained its grasp of political power in

Ireland due to enthusiasm, determination and work ethic of its

membership located in every parish and townland in the country‟

(Dunphy, 1995: 1995: 33)

Fianna Fáil joined the integrationist, Europhilic European Liberal Democrat

and Reform Party (ELDR) in April 2009 (Fianna Fáil, 2011) after leaving the

Eurosceptic, conservative and overtly right-wing, Union of Europe of Nations

political grouping. As a result, the Fianna Fáil MEP‟s elected at the 2009

European Elections, Liam Aylward MEP (Ireland East), Pat „The Cope‟

Gallagher MEP (Ireland North West) and Brian Crowley MEP (Ireland South)

3

sit with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe (ALDE) in the

European Parliament. Former Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Brian Cowen was quoted

as saying on EUObserver.com that:

„they [the ELDR] works hard to respect the views of smaller countries"

and that the new partnership will "strengthen our voice and that of all

people who believe in a Europe of states working closely together."

(EUObserver, 2009)

1.2 Reasons for Choosing this Topic

General Election 2011 proved a massive shock to the Fianna Fáil organisation.

It‟s dominance of the Irish political system was destroyed and its position as

the natural party of government in Ireland was removed. The party suffered a

reversal in seat numbers in Dáil Éireann never seen before in its history going

from seventy seven members to twenty. Fianna Fáil now has a smaller number

of seats than its predecessor Sinn Féin party (1922-1926) had in the Free State

Dáil.

Since this election, a lot of soul searching has begun within and external to

Fianna Fáil. David Quinn in his column in the Irish Independent on the 1st July

2011 argues that „Fianna Fail appears to have settled on a strategy of

presenting itself as a socially 'progressive' party. Members are rightly thinking

about what it means to be a member of Fianna Fáil and also what Fianna Fáil

stands for as a political party. Former Leader and Taoiseach, Charles J.

Haughey once claimed, at a party Ard Fheis, that Fianna Fáil are „neither

masters of the left, nor slaves of the right but pragmatists of the centre‟.

[Mansergh, 1986: 110]

4

This research sets out to test this hypothesis from Charles J. Haughey by

surveying a significant number of members of Fianna Fáil and also

interviewing a number of people who sought the leadership of Fianna Fáil in

January 2011. In particular, I will survey those members of Fianna Fáil less

than forty years of age on their opinions on a range of social, economic and

party political issues in an effort to see are there are similarities with national

trends and/or contradictions with the views of the Fianna Fáil leadership

candidates.

5

1.3 Chapter Structure

Chapter 1 – Introduction

This chapter introduces the context in which this research will take place.

Reasons for why this topic was chosen and break down of each of the

subsequent chapters in included.

Chapter 2 - Literature Review

This chapter engages in an in-depth review of political parties in general and

why people join them. Here it compares political parties in Ireland to other

political parties in the world. It will focus on current trends in polling figures

with regard to both young people and the general population in Ireland. It

summarises the main political terms in use today with regard to political

ideology and assesses Fianna Fáil‟s and other Irish political parties‟ attempts,

or lack thereof, to conform to these ideologies.

Chapter 3 – Methodology

This chapter sets out the various methodologies employed during this research

It provides the reasoning behind why certain people were asked to take part in

an interview, how people were chosen to take part in an online survey,

describes how and why the interviews took place as they did and how the data

collected was analysed. In addition, the limitations and delimitations will also

be discussed here.

6

Chapters 4, 5, 6 – Research Focus

These three chapters are where the various results are presented. The issues

addressed in each of the three chapters will conform to the questions originally

asked.

Chapter 4 – Political Activity and Relationship to Other Parties,

considers the activity levels of members of Fianna Fáil and how they

view themselves and Fianna Fáil in relation to other political parties in

Ireland. In addition, the European context with be explored by

analysing their support for membership of Fianna Fáil‟s European

political grouping.

Chapter 5 considers the results of the social issues aspects of the online

survey in terms of how closely they mirror research findings for the

general Irish population and young people in particular.

Chapter 6 considers the various results of the economic questions from

the online survey

Chapter 7 – Conclusions and Recommendations

This final chapter summarises the various conclusions that the author has

drawn from the primary and secondary research and makes a number of

recommendations that may be of use in future to Fianna Fáil. In addition, areas

that may require further research will be outlined.

7

Chapter 2 – Literature Review

2.1 Ideology

Many different types of academics from political theorists to historians to

psychologists have attempted to grapple with the notion of ideology. Freeden

(1996:14) stated that contemporary notions regarding ideology are derived

primarily from the „shadow of Marx and Engels‟. Eagleton (1991:1) identifies

a variety of definitions for ideology that are currently in use – „the process of

production of meanings, signs and values in social life‟ or „ideas which help to

legitimise a dominant political power‟ or finally „a body of ideas characteristic

of a particular social group or class‟.

Ian Adam (2001:2) states that most theories of ideology have been partisan

whereby theorists and followers of one political doctrine attempt to portray

other people‟s ideas as ideological. For example, Marx believed that liberalism

was the ideology of the bourgeoisie, i.e. the middle class, „which masked its

exploitation and oppression of other classes‟. In contrast, Marx believed that

his theories were scientific in nature and therefore not ideological.

Ideologies according to Adams (2001:3) are concerned primarily with the

issue of values i.e. „how we ought to treat each other and live together in

society‟. He goes on to state that different ideologies offer different visions of

what a good society should be. Within the Irish context, various political

traditions have since Irish Independence sought to develop their own

distinctive ideologies. Examples of this include the Irish Labour Party

(Democratic Socialism) and Clann na Tamhlann (Agrarian Nationalism)

8

Gaffney (1996) does inform us that Irish politics has been primarily „separated

by a historical nationalist cleavage‟ rather than any division over social class.

Ideologies, according to Malesevic (2002: 49) are viewed as „belief systems

based on fixed and stable elements

2.2 Nationalism

As Gaffney (1996) outlined, Irish politics has been determined primarily by a

nationalist cleavage rather than social cleavages. Coakley & Gallagher (2006:

51) go further and state that „it is clear that as Irish people mobilised

politically in the 19th

Century, the idea of an Irish Nation became a central

political ideal.

The rise of Sinn Féin and the decision of Irish Labour not to contest the 1918

General Election saw Irish Nationalism become the dominant force in political

discourse rather than other socio-political cleavages such as class. Coakley &

Gallagher (ibid) argue that had Ireland gained full independence from the

United Kingdom for the entire island then a radically different Ireland,

politically and socially, could have evolved.

2.3 Political Parties

Edmund Burke (quoted in Sartori, 2002:8) believed that a „Party is a body of

men united, for promoting by their joint endeavours the national interest, upon

some particular principle in which they are all agreed.‟ Political Parties

according to Heywood (2002: 97) are „groups of people that are organised for

the purposes of winning governmental power, by electoral or other means.

9

Collins and Creydon (2001:16) state that „Ireland is similar to the United

States in that the main parties stand principally on their records rather than

their position on an ideological spectrum‟. Furthermore, the partition of

Ireland caused the other major political cleavage; a cultural cleavage between

Gaelic Catholics and Unionist Protestants, to become irrelevant in the Irish

Free State (ibid, 2001:21)

Adshead and Tonge (2009:89) state that there are a number of different types

of political parties that have been identified by political theorists. Cadre

parties (Duverger, 1954) are those that are developed and clearly controlled by

a small or elite group. Mass parties (ibid) typically evolved from those outside

power, adopting a branched membership structure. Catch All (Kircheimer,

1966) parties are those parties to describe those parties that seek to shore up

their traditional support with that from floating voters and interest groups.

2.3 Why do people join political parties?

According to the ISSP Citizenship Survey from 2004, 9% of the Irish

population were members of a political party. However, in the same survey

only 4% indicated that they were former party members. This suggests that

party membership remains constant for most people and that change in party

memberships occurs very little.

Whiteley and Seyd (1998: 113-138) outline three models of political

participation which have been used to explain why individuals join political

parties and become active in political movements.

10

2.3.1 The Civic Voluntarism Model

Verba and Nie suggest that individual‟s ability to engage in party political

activity is primarily determined by an individual‟s resources. Originally, they

determined that „the social status of an individual i.e. his job, education, and

income – determines to a large extent how much he participates‟ (1972:13).

Latterly, Verba et al defined these resources as „time, money and civic skills‟

(1995:271). There are a number of variables outlined in Whitely (2011: 27)

which have been used to as indicators of resources. They included educational

attainment and spare time. As a result, highly educated people with

corresponding high social class or people with spare time due to working part

time are more likely to join and become active in a political party.

2.3.2 The Cognitive Engagement Model

At the centre of this model is a belief that an individual‟s political

participation is „motivated by their ability and willingness to process and

understand information about politics and society. (Clarke et al, 2004; Norris,

2000). Like the Civic Engagement Model, education is at the core of this

model. However, it is viewed in a different way. Here, it is seen as a measure

of a person‟s ability to make sense of the political world. The rapid rise of the

internet, the development of 24-hour TV News stations and a myriad of

politically focused TV and Radio stations has made it easier for people to

become „critical citizens‟. (Norris, 1999: 25)

While not only knowledgeable about politics, such individuals have the ability

to appraise the effectiveness of policies and judge the political records of

candidates or parties. Cognitively engaged citizens could be seen to be close to

11

the Greek conception of a good citizen, who is an informed member of the

polis and who fully participates in the process of government.

2.3.3 The Social Capital Model

This model suggests that trust resulting from interpersonal relations within

voluntary associations are functional for the „civicness‟ of a given community

(Letki, 2003:10). Puttnam defines social capital as „features of social

organization, such as trust, norms and networks that can improve the

efficiency of society by facilitating co-ordinated actions (1993:167).

Coleman (1990) believed that social interactions in a voluntary setting help to

generate „credit slips‟ of obligations and foster reciprocity. Thus, if a person

trusts others and has worked with them well in a voluntary capacity in the

past, they are more likely to join the same political party as that person as a

result (Putnam, 2000)

Clark & Wilson (1961) outlined 3 main reasons why people joined political

parties: Purposive, Solidarity and Material. Gallagher & Marsh (2004: 407) in

their study of the Fine Gael membership described these three reasons as

follows:

Purposive: Those who joined either to get their policies implemented

or on the other hand those who join a party to stop another party

getting into government.

Solidarity: Those who joined for social reasons, to meet new people or

as a result of the influence of family or friends.

Material: Those who joined in the hope of improving career or life

opportunities.

12

Tocqueville (quoted in Bennie, 2004:116)) argues that people form and join

political parties to promote common interests. However, this does not fit in

with contemporary public choice theory which suggests that individuals are

motivated by self interest and utility maximising. If utility-maximising persons

do good for others, it must be in order to gain advantage for themselves‟ (Van

Dyke, 1995:133)

2.4 Membership of Fianna Fáil

Even politicians who for most of their political lives opposed Fianna Fáil had

positive feelings towards the grassroots of Fianna Fáil. One such example was

former Clann na Poblachta Minister for Health Noel Brown who said „All my

life I have enjoyed the company of the rank and file of Fianna Fáil: they are

refreshing, mildly iconoclastic and independent and given any chance at all

would be first class material for a properly developed society „ (Browne,

1986:222)

13

2.5 Social Issues

The European Values Survey is a „large scale, cross-national and longitudinal

survey research programme on basic human values. It provides insights into

the ideas, beliefs, preferences, attitudes, values and opinions of citizens all

over Europe.‟ (www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu). Since 1981, it has been

measuring responses and opinions with regards to various social issues and

their moral justifications.

Abortion Divorce Euthanasia Homosexuality

Wave 1 1981 1.7 3.21 2.14 3.29

Wave 2 1990 2.36 4.13 2.56 5.08

Wave 3 1999 2.91 4.8 3.31 5.10

Wave 4 2008 3.15 5.23 3.52 5.08 Fig 2.1 - Moral Justification: European Values Survey 1981-2008

Key: 1 = The action could never be justified

10 = The action could always be justified.

2.5.1 Abortion

„When the rest of Europe was adopting liberal measures, Ireland held a

firm stance against contraception, abortion and divorce.‟

(Hackney and Hackney Blackwell, 2007: 277)

Abortion in Ireland has been illegal since the founding of the Republic. The

illegality of abortion is derived from the Offences against the Person Act,

1961 which Ireland shares with the United Kingdom from since before

Independence.

In February 2011, the Irish Pro Life Campaign announced the results of their

latest opinion poll on the issue of abortion in Ireland. Carried out by the Red C

14

polling company, it argued that 68% of people supported the constitutional

protection of the unborn. (Pro Life Campaign, February 2011)

The Irish Family Planning Association publishing opinion poll results in early

2010 that suggested that 78% of Irish people supported access to abortion

services in Ireland if the pregnancy endangered the health of the woman or if

the pregnancy was the result of sexual abuse, rape or incest. (IFPA, March

2010).

In 1997, the Irish Times in conjunction with MRBI carried out a poll which

found that 77% of Irish people believed that abortion should be permitted in

the State in limited circumstances. (Irish Times / MRBI, 1997)

2.5.2 Euthanasia

Euthanasia is defined, according to the Merriam – Webster Dictionary and

quoted in McDougall et al (2008:1) as „easy death or mercy killing‟ whereas

suicide is defined as „the act of killing oneself‟ (ibid). Polling of Irish people‟s

views on euthanasia or assisted suicide has only taken place in Ireland over the

past fifteen years.

According to European Values Survey (1999) and World Values Survey

(2000), Ireland ranks 3rd

lowest in terms of public support for euthanasia with

only 21% of respondents in favour of it. Ireland is joined in the bottom three

with Malta and Turkey. De Graaf (2007) argues that this is due to high levels

of people who identify as being religious. Verbakel and Jaspers (2010: 109)

argue that countries that have predominantly Protestant populations are more

in favour of legalising euthanasia than majority Catholic countries.

15

Irish people‟s views on euthanasia, according to recent polling figures, have

changed considerably. Since 2005, when only three out of ten people approved

of euthanasia (Irish Times, June 2005), the numbers in favour of legalising

euthanasia or assisted suicide has increased to 57% (Irish Times, Sept 2010)

2.5.3 Attitudes towards Civil Marriage Equality / Acceptance of

Homosexuality

Ireland has significantly higher levels of acceptance of homosexuality in

comparison to other Catholic and Orthodox countries. Over 80% of people felt

gay men and lesbians should be free to live their lives as they wish. (ESS

Survey, 2008). In addition, 91% sad that they would not think any less of a

person if they were gay. (Irish Times / Behaviours & Attitudes, 2010)

Fig 2.2 Support Levels for Gay Marriage / Civil Marriage Equality in Ireland

Fianna Fáil as a political party advocated in its 2007 Election Manifesto

(Fianna Fáil, 2007: 26) that it would introduce Civil Partnerships for Gay and

Lesbian couples, falling short of full civil marriage equality. During the 2011

General Election, Fianna Fáil said that „it does not propose any constitutional

change in respect of article 41.3.1 relating to the issue of marriage‟ (Fianna

Fáil, 2011: 47) which meant that civil marriage could not be introduced.

51%

65% 62% 67%

61%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

GLEN /Landsdown

Research 2006

Sunday Tribune/ Millward

Brown

MarriageEquality /

LandsdownResearch 2009

Irish Times /Behaviours &

Attitudes 2010

IrishIndependent /

Millward Brown

16

Since General Election 2011, there have been some moves within Fianna Fáil

on the issue of civil marriage equality. Both Senators Averil Power and

Thomas Byrne have, during Seanad Eireann debates, advocated that the party

needs to readdress its position with Senator Power going as far as to say „I am

committed to full marriage equality and it [civil partnership] does not

represent true equality to me either‟ (Seanad Éireann, 7 July 2011)

2.5.4 Civil Divorce

Civil Divorce was introduced into Ireland in 1995 following the passing of a

referendum to amend Bunreacht na hÉireann in order to allow for the state

dissolution of marriages. The referendum succeeded on a very narrow margin,

50.25% - 49.75% after a very bitter and difficult campaign. (Coakley &

Gallagher, 2009: 62)

Fianna Fáil as a political party campaigned in favour of introducing divorce;

however a number of TD‟s and Senators campaigned openly against divorce

and in contravention of the decision of the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis.

Recently, Fianna Fáil candidate in the 2009 Dublin Central By-Election, Cllr.

Maurice Ahern, a brother of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern stated in a

candidate‟s debate on Tonight with Vincent Browne that if there was a new

referendum on divorce he would vote against it „as a matter of conscience‟

(TV3, 2009)

17

2.6 European Political Groupings

The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party was founded in 1993

(Wessells et al, 2003: p380) and is committed to “translating the principle of

freedom into politics, economics and all other areas of our societies.” (ELDR,

2011) The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is a

“strongly pro-European integrationist centrist group. It is comprised primarily

of parties of the Centre and of the Right but also includes certain Leftist

elements” (Nugent, 2006: 264)

The ELDR, as an organisation, is bound by the Stuttgart Declaration, an

agreement between the founding members of the organisation. It must also be

accepted by all political parties who wish to join the party. Article 5 of the

Declaration states:

“The European Union must be founded on the common conviction that

the freedom of the individual, equal opportunities for all and the free

competition of ideas and parties are indispensable elements of a

democratic society.”

(ELDR, 1976: 1)

2.7 Tax Rises and Spending Cuts

A recent Irish Times / Ipsos mrbi opinion poll from July 2011 has shown that

there is considerable support for reducing government spending ahead of

increasing taxes. 62% felt that spending should be cut while only 20%

supported an increase in tax rates. (Irish Times, 2011) Fianna Fáil, as part of

Budget 2011, advocated a ratio of 2:1 in terms of spending cuts to tax rises as

18

per the National Recovery Plan announced in November 2011. (Department of

Finance, 2010)

19

Chapter 3 – Methodology

3.1 Introduction

Within this chapter, the objectives of the study will be presented and the

methods, either primary or secondary research will be outlined. The basis by

which the research design, data collection and how the data was analysed will

also discussed. The author will also discuss any problems that arose during the

research stages and will evaluate what limitations or delimitations of the

research were evident.

„Research is a systematic investigation to find answers to a problem‟„

(Burns, 2000: 3)

„What do I need to know and why?‟ should be the question that researchers

should ask themselves as they set out to investigate a certain topic. According

to Bell (2005: 12) this is a much more pertinent question than the generally

used „Which methodology?‟ Blaxter et al argues that „different kinds of

research approached produce different kinds of knowledge about the

phenomena under study. (2008: 58)

Due to the multi-faceted nature of this study, which focuses on young

members of Fianna Fáil, an effort to cross-check data findings and make use

of more than one method of data collection must be made. Triangulation as

this is known is cited by Bell as the one of the best means to do this (2010:

116).

Researchers upon their introduction to methodology are generally introduced

to the common paradigms of quantitative and qualitative. Blaxter et al (2008:

20

59) writes that „quantitative and qualitative paradigms offer us a basic

framework for dividing up knowledge camps.‟ This holds true within this area

of research.

3.2 Research Objectives

The four main objectives of this study are as follows:

3.2.1 Objective One

To what extent are young Fianna Fáil members divided in terms of

ideological positions?

3.2.2 Objective Two

To establish the support levels of Fianna Fáil‟s membership of both the

European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the Alliance of

Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

3.2.3 Objective Three

To ascertain the activity levels of young members within the

organisation and what activities they see themselves getting involved

with in the future.

3.2.4 Objective Four

To establish the reasons why members join Fianna Fáil and to clarify if

their family‟s political allegiance effect their decision to join?

21

3.3 Research Design

Miles and Huberman (1994: 41) outlined four types of design for integrating

both qualitative and quantitative approaches:

Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used in parallel.

Continuous observation in the field provides a basis on which the

several waves in a survey are related or from which the waves are

derived and shaped.

Use of a qualitative method such as semi structured interviews and

then followed by a questionnaire study. Both results are then assessed

in parallel.

A complimentary field study adds depth to the results of an initial

survey and is followed by an experimental intervention in the field for

testing of the results.

For this study, the third approach was utilised i.e. semi structured interviews

followed up by a questionnaire as it was deemed more appropriate by the

author as the interviews would enable to the author to draft more focused

questions for the survey.

3.4 The Different Approaches to Research

Due to the nature of this research which attempted to look at both precise

measurements of trends of facts and people‟s opinions, the author decided that

both quantitative and qualitative methods should be employed. Both these

forms of research have their own merits and drawbacks.

22

3.5 Reliability and Validity

For this research to be of a proper basis so as to be useful to other researchers,

the principles of reliability and validity must be followed. This is important in

particular as the author is utilising quantitative research.

3.5.1 Reliability

Reliability has different meanings depending on whether the research being

carried out is quantitative or qualitative. Within quantitative research it means

„dependability, consistency and replicability over time, over instruments and

over groups of respondents.‟ (Cohen et al, 2007: 146). In order for this

research to be reliable, it must demonstrate that if it were to be carried out on a

similar group of respondents, then similar results would be found.

Within the field of qualitative research, the meaning of reliability changes to

„credibility, neutrality and dependability. (ibid: 148). In essence, the author

must ensure that his or her role within the collection of qualitative research

does not impact upon the responses elicited from the respondents.

3.5.2 Validity

Validity is „the degree to which the conclusions drawn by the researcher come

from the study results and are not from chance or from erroneous sources‟

(Boudah, 2011: 64) The author carrying out this research needs to ensure that

any conclusions reached are based on research and results and not from their

own opinions or other invalid sources.

23

3.6 Triangulation

„The use of more than one method or source of data in the study of a

social phenomenon so that findings may be cross-checked‟

(Bryman, 2008: 700)

The author felt that it was necessary to triangulate the various data sources

with each other allowing him to check if the surveys, interviews and

documentary reviews corroborated each other.

Priest classified triangulation as :

„Using substantially different methods to study the same problem i.e.

using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches.‟

(Priest, 1996: 254)

This was felt necessary due to the limited amount of contemporary research

into this area of research i.e. young members within Fianna Fáil and their

opinions / beliefs on social and economic issues. Using a combined method

approach allows the author to control any authorial bias [an active member of

Fianna Fáil] and limit its effect on the study‟s reliability and validity.

Nachmias et al (1999: 206) argues that triangulation within research is

essential as it allows researchers and investigators to „minimise the degree of

specificity of certain methods [of data collection] to particular bodies of

knowledge‟.

24

3.7 Primary Qualitative Research

3.7.1 Interviews

Interviews have, for a long period of time, being used as a method of

collecting important qualitative date for research purposes. Academic

literature contains both arguments in favour of and in opposition to the use of

personal interviews. Nachmias et al (1999: 237,238) states that some of the

advantages include:

Flexibility

An interview allows great flexibility in the questioning process thus

eliciting better and more informed responses.

Control

An interview can ensure that the respondents answer certain questions

before they answer subsequent questions.

Response Rate

A personal interview results in a higher response rate than mail

questionnaires. Also, it allows those who lower reading and writing

levels to take part in the research.

In addition, according to Robson (1993: 229), interviews offer up the

possibility of modifying one‟s lines of enquiry allowing the interviewer to

follow up on interesting responses.

25

Some academics point to some failings of interviews and argue that these

should be borne in mind when designing your research. Nachmias et al (1999:

238) puts forward three disadvantages to interviews:

Higher Cost

There are high costs involved in facilitating interviews. This can form

a considerable barrier.

Interviewer Bias

Interviewers may give off verbal or non verbal cues regarding their

opinion on an issue which could contaminate any responses.

Lack of Anonymity

Respondents may feel threatened or intimidated by the interviewer if a

sensitive topic is being discusses. This would not happen in a paper

survey.

In addition, Denscombe (2010: 203) argues that interviews traditionally

provide non standard responses which can inhibit data analysis.

„Much of traditional interviewing concentrates on the language of neutrality

and the techniques to achieve it.‟ (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005: 696). Scheurich

(2002) has argued that the interviewer is a person „historically and

contextually located, carrying unavoidable conscious and unconscious

motives, desires, feelings and biases‟. The author, a member and long standing

activist within Fianna Fáil, needs to be aware of this issue when conducting

interviews.

26

Due to the nature of the people being interviewed, the author felt it more

appropriate to use an unstructured form of interview. Fontana and Frey as

quoted in Denzin & Lincoln state that „unstructured interviews can provide

greater breadth than other types given its qualitative nature‟ (Denzin &

Lincoln, 2005: 705)

Since this area of research is very particular to the Fianna Fáil organisation,

much of the primary qualitative research was based on interviews with a

number of individuals within Fianna Fáil or linked to Fianna Fáil. The

interviews focused on a) their own experiences of being in Fianna Fáil as a

young person, b) their views on the future development of Fianna Fáil and c)

their core beliefs and opinions.

Name Profession / Position Date

Micheál Martin TD Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil 19th

April 2011

Eamon Ó Cuiv TD Deputy Leader, Fianna Fáil 27th

March 2011

Brian Lenihan TD RIP Former Deputy Leader, Fianna Fáil 13th

April 2011

Robert Troy TD Newly Elected Teachta Dála 6th

April 2011

Senator Thomas Byrne Former Teachta Dála, now Senator 25th

August 2011

Noel Whelan Political Commentator 20th

April 2011

Aidan Ó Gormáin Director, Membership Development

Fianna Fáil

April 2011

Conor King Policy Co-Ordinator, Ógra Fianna

Fáil

29th

May 2011

Fig 3.1 – List of Interviews carried out during course of research

In addition, Fianna Fáil Vice President, Mary Hanafin was invited to take part

in an interview but unfortunately, scheduling did not permit this to take place.

27

3.8 Primary Quantitative Research

In order to measure the views, opinion and positions of young Fianna Fáil

members, a quantitative aspect to the research was utilised. In order to reach

as many young members of Fianna Fáil and in light of the fact that a large

scale gathering of these members is not due to take place until November

2011, the author decided that an online survey tool would be used to collect

data from respondents. www.kwiksurveys.com was used as it allowed for an

unlimited number of questions and it was free to use. Survey responses were

collected between 1st May 2011 and 31

st July 2011 using the above website.

The Fianna Fáil National Youth Officer issued an email invitation to a group

of Ógra activists i.e. those holding a position on an Ógra office board

numbering 156 people. In order to target those in the 27-39 age bracket, a call

for interest was placed in a number of internal Fianna Fáil forums limited

strictly to card carrying members. The link to the survey was never placed, at

any stage, on a public forum in case contamination from non Fianna Fáil

respondents took place.

Questions relating to basic demographics and information regarding their

connections to the Fianna Fáil organisation were placed at the beginning in

order to make respondents more comfortable and to reduce concern about

taking part.

28

3.8.1 Online Survey

Due to the large official membership of Fianna Fáil which at the end of March

2011 stood at 65,700 (Ó Gorman, 2011: Interview) and the fact that Dates of

Birth are not required in a membership application, the researcher felt it

necessary to limit the number of survey responses to between 100 and 200.

This fits in well with current thinking as Denscombe (2010: 24) recommends

that small scale survey research should include between 30 and 250

respondents.

3.9 Limitations and Delimitations

Limitations, according to Phelps (2005: 63) represent circumspections

imposed on a researcher by external circumstances. Mauch & Birch (1998:

105) states that a „limitation is a factor that may or will affect the study, but is

not under the control of the researcher, a delimitation differs, principally, in

that it is controlled by the researcher. For example, documents may be

unavailable or particular interview subjects may not be in a position to take

part.

Within this survey, access to people should not be an issue due to the author‟s

role within the party. However, some issues may be still too sensitive to talk

about, especially in light of the recent general election results.

29

Chapter 4 - Social Issues

Question ten to fourteen looked at views on a range of social issues such as

abortion, civil marriage equality, divorce, euthanasia and the legalisation and

regulation of cannabis.

4.1 General Overview

Fig 4.1 - A considerable majority of respondents identified themselves as either Very

Liberal or Moderately Liberal.

This graph shows that over 61% of the members of Fianna Fáil

under 40 years of age surveyed identify as either Very Liberal or

Moderately Liberal.

A relatively small proportion identified as being Conservative; less

than 17%.

Very low numbers were unsure about their positon.

There is a sizable proportion of the respondents who class

themselves as Centrist on social issues; nearly 21%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

17.53%

43.51%

20.78%

12.99%

3.90% 1.30%

Social Freedoms Spectrum

30

Very few of the members of the Fianna Fáil PP interviewed were willing to

use the above terminology to define their position with the exception of Brian

Lenihan TD who said that „In my youth, I would have classed myself as a

liberal. I mean I would have always questioned the status quo‟ (Lenihan,

2011). During the interviews, Michael Martin, Robert Troy and Eamonn Ó

Cuív (2011) responded that „republicanism‟ was the philosophy that defined

themselves the most as politicians. In addition, Eamonn Ó Cuív added that he

felt that „secular‟ was a word he was more comfortable with than liberal as „it

had too many negative connotations within Irish public discourse‟. (Ó Cuív,

2011)

4.2.1 Civil Marriage Equality

A very large majority of respondents said that they either strongly agreed or

agreed with the question that „All Citizens in a Republic should be entitled to

avail of a Civil Marriage‟ - nearly three quarters. This mirrors and in fact, goes

further than the recent polling figures on people‟s views on marriage equality

which fluctuates between 60-70% in support. (See Fig 4.2.1)

Fig 4.2 – High levels of support for Civil Marriage Equality

46.75%

37.66%

8.44% 4.55% 2.60%

Civil Marriage Equality

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

31

There was some concern arising out of the interviews about the terminology

used to define marriage equality. Eamon Ó Cuív (2011) felt that there should

be a „complete separation of church and state union‟ and a new term be

devised for all those engaging in a state recognised relationship. He went on

to say that:

„As a republican, in the traditional sense of the word, we must have a

complete and unequivocal barrier between state based contracts and

those conducted within faith communities.‟

(Ó Cuiv, 2011)

Fianna Fáil Leader, Michael Martin TD felt that „Gay Marriage isn‟t as big a

deal for people as some people would have us believe‟ yet he was unequivocal

in his support for the recently enacted Civil Partnership Act 2011. (Martin,

2011a)

„Fianna Fail has been the most progressive parties historically in terms

of rights for Gay and Lesbian couples. Personally marriage is a

sacrament of a church and if the church wants to allow gay and lesbian

couples engage in that sacrament, that is their choice. I don‟t see any

massive differences between Marriage and Civil Partnership.‟

(Troy, 2011)

„The Civil Partnership has struck a very fair balance and if you look at

other European countries, what we adopted is the norm. The Civil

Partnership provisions should be tested for a period before we look at

introducing marriage equality. I know that younger members and

voters are significantly more in favour of this but I wonder would you

get the same high approval numbers from people with children.‟

(Lenihan, 2011)

32

4.2.2 Abortion

Fig 4.3 – Support levels for abortion

Despite Fianna Fáil‟s portrayal as a conservative political party, the results

obtained by the author from the survey regarding the issue of abortion were

surprising. A plurality of respondents 44.8% felt that Ireland‟s abortion laws

should not be relaxed with 37.7% in favour of some form of relaxation. Those

who were in favour of keeping the abortion laws as they are were very clear in

their views about why they felt this way. One male, in the 31-40 age group,

from the Meath East constituency said:

„the right to life of the unborn is sacrosanct and goes to the very

essence of the republican ideals I hold- Human Life is sacred from

conception to the grave-it is what real equality is all about‟

Another male, aged 16-20 from Cork South Central who said voted to relax

the current laws felt that an abortion should only take place if:

„The mother‟s life is in danger or if she has been the victim of a rape‟

A female respondent, aged 21-30 from Donegal North East voted yes to relax

the current rules under the following conditions:

37.66% 44.81%

17.53%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

Yes No Unsure

Should Ireland's abortion laws be relaxed?

33

„when a woman is the victim of rape or in the case where it would be

deemed cruel to let the child be born... strongly opposes laws being

relaxed to such an extent where abortion is used as a means of

contraception‟

The author noted that there is a high level of those answering with Unsure;

approx. 17% which may indicate that there is a lot of soul searching being

undertaken by those in this cohort i.e. their views may not have fully formed

either way.

Leadership View

All interviewees from the Parliamentary Party and Conor King, Director of

Policy at Ógra Fianna Fáil all said they remain committed to stopping the

introduction of abortion in Ireland. Robert Troy TD, a 29 year old first time

member of Dáil Éireann, said that he believed he could „never see abortion on

demand introduced into Ireland, and especially by Fianna Fáil‟ (Troy, 2011)

The score achieved for those who are not in favour of relaxing Ireland‟s

abortion laws was significantly lower than the polling figures compiled by the

Irish Pro Life Campaign / Red C (February 2011) which showed that 68% of

people supported the constitutional protection of the unborn. As per some of

the comments from respondents above, perhaps there is doubt within people

over protecting the unborn and respecting the health and well being of the

mother. This may cause differences in the polling figures.

34

4.2.3 Civil Divorce

Fig 4.4- Very strong support for decision to introduce Civil Divorce

Over 80% of respondents indicated that the introduction of Civil

Divorce in Ireland in 1995 was a positive step for the country.

Negligible opposition to this statement was reported with between 4%

and 5% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

Relatively high levels supported the unsure option. Nearly 15% said

that felt unsure as to whether it was a positive or negative step for

Ireland.

Leadership View

„Divorce was a very contentious for us in Fianna Fáil in 1995. It was a

major issue at the Ard Fheis preceding the referendum but I supported

it at the time because it was the right thing to do legally and socially‟

(Lenihan, 2011)

42.86%

37.66%

14.94%

3.90% 0.65%

Support for Civil Divorce

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

35

4.2.4 Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide

Fig 4.5 – A majority of members support the introduction of some form of euthanasia

A plurality in opposition to the introduction of Euthanasia / Assisted

Suicide with 48.05% saying no to the question.

Equal support was given to both the yes response and to the unsure

response.

Majority in favour of some form of euthanasia being introduced but a

strong divide between young members.

Leadership View

In the course of his interview, Conor King, Policy Director with Ógra Fianna

Fáil said:

„Euthanasia, assisted suicide or whatever you want to call it is a tough

question for many in Fianna Fáil and among young people in Fianna

Fáil. On the one hand we have a strong pro life element within the

party who would strongly object and on the other hand, we are seeing a

growing liberal / personal freedoms tendency. It is an issue, quite like

abortion, that no one in Fianna Fáil would want to engage with if they

can avoid doing so‟

(King, 2011)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Yes

No

Unsure

25.97%

48.05%

25.97%

Support for introduction of Euthanasia

36

4.2.5 Legalisation of Cannabis

Fig 4.6 – Shows strong support for some form of legalisation of cannabis

Total support in favour of legalisation, including both positive options

i.e. Yes and Yes – For Medical Purposes Only is in excess of 60%

Yes – For Medical Purposes Only receives the strongest support of the

all the options with 38.96% followed by No on 33.12% followed by

Yes on 22.73% and Unsure on 5.19%.

Leadership View

„I do not support the legalisation of cannabis. It has been legalised in

certain restricted ways for medical purposes but I don‟t think we need

to go any further‟

(Michael Martin, 2011a)

22.73%

33.12% 38.96%

5.19%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Yes No For MedicalPurposes Only

Unsure

Should Cannabis be legalised?

37

4.3 Analysis of Findings

Young members of Fianna Fáil are generally as liberal of the general

population with respect to many of the social issues researched in this

dissertation.

4.3.1 Social Freedoms

Those identifying as Moderately Liberal or Very Liberal added up to over

60% of the survey sample suggesting that this ideology is the dominant

ideology among young members of the party. When looking at this result one

needs to refer back to Adams (2001: 3) who suggests that ideologies are

concerned with the issue of values whereby i.e. „how we ought to treat each

other and live together in society‟. If this is the case and we accept this

proposition, young Fianna Fáil members believe in the primacy of the

individual and the rights and responsibilities that go with personal freedoms.

The option to identify oneself as a republican was omitted from the possible

answers in other to force participants to think about their ideology in more

traditional, non-Irish terms. This was done so that we could see past the

„historical nationalist cleavage‟ identified by Gaffney (1996).

38

4.3.2 Civil Marriage Equality

The support levels for Civil Marriage Equality as shown in the results of the

online survey surpass the levels of support within the general Irish population

which only averages 66% over the past 10 years.

The high levels of support among young members of Fianna Fáil is in contrast

to the official stated position of the party where is does not support any change

to article 41.3.1 of Bunreacht na hÉireann which deals with the issue of

marriage. (Fianna Fáil, 2011)

While young people tend to be more liberal than older people (Rawls, 2005:

p48), it is interesting to see that young Fianna Fáil members are more liberal

than the general Irish population and in particular the stated Fianna Fáil

position on this issue. Another point of note is the support levels for Civil

Marriage Equality across the various ideological divides.

Only approx. 7% of respondents opposed the idea of civil marriage equality

yet 17% of respondents identified as being either moderately conservative or

very conservative. Perhaps there is a current of libertarianism running through

young members of Fianna Fáil. Libertarianism is:

„a species of (classical) liberalism, an advocacy of individual liberty,

free markets and limited government rooted in a commitment to self

ownership, inprescriptible rights and the moral autonomy of the

individual‟

(Boaz, 1998: ix)

39

Another area that has arisen is the high levels of support for civil marriage

equality among male respondents. Three quarters of the survey sample were

male and as such would have a statistically important influence on the final

results of the survey. In the Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relations

(ISSHR) survey from 2006, 57% of men aged 18-24 said that homosexuality

was never wrong compared to 77% of women in the same age group. For

those in the 25-34 age group, the figures were 59% for men and 68% for

women. (Department of Health & Children / Crisis Pregnancy Agency, 2006:

103). These attitudes do not seem to have been an important factor.

4.3.3 Abortion

Many surveys which ask questions about the issue of abortion and or access to

abortion can become skewed due to the relative biases of the people asking the

questions or paying for the survey to be carried out. This can be manifested in

the type of question asked or the phrasing / terminology used. For example,

the Irish Pro Life campaign asked the following question in its 2011 survey

carried out by Red C Polling:

„Are you in favour of , or opposed to, the constitutional protection for

the unborn that prohibits abortion but allows the continuation of the

existing practice of intervention to save a mother‟s life in accordance

with Irish medical ethics?

Whereas the Irish Family Planning Association asked the following question:

„Do you support access to abortion in Ireland if the pregnancy

endangers a woman‟s health or if the pregnancy is the result of sexual

abuse, rape or incest?‟

40

Both these questions fundamentally ask the same question with the addition of

a caveat in terms of sexual abuse, rape or incest on the part of the Irish Family

Planning Association.

Young Fianna Fáil members were more inclined to be supportive of abortion

laws in Ireland being relaxed. Opposition to this was far less than expected

based on anecdotal evidence. Again the issue of gender is something that must

be taken into account when looking at these figures.

The ISSHR survey (2006) again shows that there are significant differences in

terms of opposition / support to opposition that break down along gender

issues. This research shows us that younger women (<35) think that abortion

is never wrong than men in a comparable age grouping. However, this does

not explain the low levels of opposition to relaxation of abortion laws among

young Fianna Fáil members as three quarters are male and as such should be

more hostile to abortion.

4.3.4 Euthanasia

The issue of Euthanasia is a difficult one for many young Fianna Fáil

members. In order to come to a conclusion, they must reconcile their

liberalism viz-a-vis personal freedoms and individualism and the latent pro-

life stream that runs through the majority of Irish people. As a result, the

results obtained from the online survey are hard to comprehend. While there is

still a plurality (48.05%) in opposition to euthanasia or assisted suicide, 26%

are in favour of it while 26% were unsure. In times to come, what way the

26% who are unsure will play a crucial role in the position Fianna Fáil takes

on this issue.

41

The results obtained from the online survey suggest that young Fianna Fáil

members less willing to be in support of euthanasia compared to the Irish

population in general who in a September 2010 poll in the Irish Times were

57% in favour of introducing euthanasia / assisted suicide. The responses

from the interviews with those in a leadership position within the party seem

more in tune with the opinions of the general Irish population; perhaps

indicative of their age and likelihood of having families.

4.3.5 Civil Divorce

Very high levels of support for civil divorce and its introduction in 1995

among young members of Fianna Fáil. Many of the survey sample, in

particular those in the 16-20 and 21-30 age groups would have grown up with

divorce a reality. They would have been oblivious to the strong opposition at

the time to divorce from particular sectors of society.

42

Chapter 5 - Economic Issues

5.1 General Overview

Fig 5.1 - Clustering around the centre is a prevailing trend among young members.

Relatively equal levels of support for Centre Left, Centrist and Centre

Right.

Limited support for extremes such as Left Wing (<3%) and Right

Wing (< 8%)

Members are clustering around the centre.

Leadership View

Micheál Martin, in his first speech as Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil (Leader) on the

26th January 2011 stated:

„At its most creative and effective we have always been committed to a

middle-way which believes that a commitment to both economic

growth and social progress can and must go hand-in-hand. The empty

slogans of the ideologues of left and right have never and will never

deliver for the people of this modern democracy.‟

(Martin, 2011b)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Left Wing Centre Left Centrist CentreRight

Right Wing Unsure

1.95%

27.27% 24.03%

32.47%

7.79% 6.49%

Economic Spectrum

43

5.2.1 Trade Unions

Fig 5.2 – Large majority in support of the statement that Trade Unions put their

member’s interests first.

Nearly half of all those surveyed strongly agreed that Trade Unions put

the interests of their members ahead of the interests of the Irish people

with a further 33% agreeing with it.

Less than 8% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement with a

further 11% staying neutral on this issue.

Leadership View

„The strength and power of the trade union movement has actually

declined especially in the private industry...It‟s not the case that Trade

Unions became too strong; it‟s more the situation that the Social

Partnership Model became unfit for purpose.‟

(Martin, 2011a)

0.00%

50.00%47.71%

32.68%

11.11% 5.23%

3.27%

Trade Unions put the interests of their members ahead of the interests of the Irish

People

44

Former Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD said:

„I should hope that they put the interests of their members first. That‟s

why their members pay their dues on a weekly or monthly basis. Trade

Unions are like every other interest group – doing their best for their

particular sector of society.

(Lenihan, 2011)

Recently elected first time TD, Robert Troy TD said:

„Unions have an important role to play in the work place but I think

that government must step back from the very close relationship with

unions and ensure that agreements such as Social Partnership never

become a weight around the neck of the tax payers‟

(Troy, 2011)

5.2.2 Tax Burden Reduction

Fig 5.3 – Strong support for reducing the tax burden on citizens

Nearly two in three (60%) felt that the Government should as a priority

aim to reduce the tax burden on citizens.

22% disagreed with a further 3% strongly disagreeing with this

proposition.

Nearly 16% were neutral or on this issue.

18.95%

40.52%

15.69% 21.57%

3.27% 0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

Lowering the Tax Burden is something all governments should aim to do

45

Leadership View

Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Senator Thomas

Byrne says:

„I think people can get quite fixated on the tax levels applied to people.

We just have to look at the Tea Party in the United States. Yes of

course we should try to reduce the tax burden but not at the expense of

the services we ought to provide to our citizens.‟

(Byrne, 2011)

Conor King adds:

„So long as young people see their taxes being wasted, there will

always be a desire to see their tax burden reduced. However, if that

waste is cut out, I think more and more would be happy to pay their

taxes‟

(King, 2011)

5.2.3 Reductions in Spending

Fig 5.4 – Opposition to cutting expenditure if taxes are reduced.

Significant opposition, nearly 60% to reducing spending in order to

offset a reduction in the Tax Burden.

One third of respondents opposed to cutting expenditure.

33.99%

58.17%

7.84%

Reduction in spending as a result of reducing Tax Burden

Yes

No

Unsure

46

5.2.4 Reducing the National Deficit

Fig 5.5 - Members are split about the precedence of reducing the National

Deficit

Members are evenly split on this issue.

41% oppose this idea while nearly 44 % support it.

One in six members is neutral on this issue.

11.11%

32.68%

15.03%

39.87%

1.31%

Reducing the National Deficit should take precedence

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

47

5.2.5 Funding of Third Level Education

Fig 5.6 - Varied response to different funding options for 3rd

Level Education

A scattered response to this question with no leading response.

There is hostility towards maintaining the status quo or using the tax

system to pay for 3rd

Level Education.

The return of Fees based on a means test leads the way with support of

one third of respondents.

Leadership Views

Conor King is quoted as saying:

„Ogra Fianna Fáil members recently voted on this issue and the

final results was in favour of a Graduate Tax to pay for 3rd

Level Education. Ógra is not homogenous in terms of this issue

and there has been considerable debate on this topic.‟

(King, 2011)

33.33%

18.30%

30.07%

7.84%

10.46%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Means Tested Fees

Graduate Tax

Government Loans toStudents

Maintain the StatusQuo

Government shouldpay for it via the Tax…

3rd Level Education Funding

48

5.3 Analysis of Findings

5.3.1 General Overview

Former Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil, Charles Haughey said in

his 1976 Ard Fheis speech that „we [Fianna Fáil] are neither Masters of

the Left nor Slaves of the Right but Pragmatists of the Centre‟

(Haughey, 1976). This summation of Fianna Fáil economic policy still

holds very true in 2011 especially in light of the results of Question 8

of the survey which shows that the young members of Fianna Fáil are

clustering around the centre with support relatively evenly split

between Centre Left, Centrist and Centre Right (with a slight bias

towards Centre Right). This is probably unique among Irish political

parties where for example Sinn Féin members are predominantly left

wing as are Labour members with Fine Gael members mostly right

wing.

5.3.2 Reducing the Tax Burden

There is considerable support among young members for the

proposition that reducing the tax burden on citizens should be a

priority for those in government. Three in Five respondents responded

saying that they either strongly agreed or agreed with this statement.

One in four opposed this by responding with either disagrees or

strongly disagrees. Again, this could be an indication of a growing

libertarian streak i.e. smaller government with a reduced tax burden on

49

citizens as a result within younger members of the party. This is quite

similar to the Tea Party movement within the United States Republican

Party.

Interesting this is a continuation of Fianna Fáil policy over the past 14

years which saw a continual reduction in tax rates and increases in tax

credits to reduce the burden on tax payers. Perhaps, members are only

supporting what they have gotten used to. It would be interesting to

repeat this question in 10 years time to see if opinions have changed.

Those who opposed this viewpoint, roughly one in four, could be

considered to be the same people who responded to say that they were

either left wing or centre left in philosophy. It seems that members are

following through on their ideological positions on narrower topics.

5.3.3 Cutting Expenditure to match falling Tax Revenues

It seems that despite a strong desire among young members of Fianna

Fáil to reduce the tax burden on citizens, there isn‟t as strong an

appetite to cut spending to match falling tax revenues. Over 60% said

that they would not want to see this happen. What this means is that if

we cannot cut expenditure to close the gap then taxes must rise.

This is in stark contrast to an Irish Independent / Millward Brown

Landsdown poll from the recent General Election that showed that

65% of voters wanted to see spending cuts before tax rises. What is

causing this will need further investigation but I would assume that

there is a latent social justice element inbuilt within members of Fianna

50

Fáil originating from the old adage ascribed to Sean Lemass „There is

no need for a Labour Party in Ireland, we have Fianna Fáil‟.

5.3.4 The National Deficit

There seems to be a lack of consensus among members regarding the

need to cut the national deficit. Just over 40% support it being made a

priority while approximately the same number opposes this being the

case. This is interesting as during the preceding two years Fianna Fáil

ministers and leaders were quite clear in their assertion that cutting the

deficit as soon as possible was Ireland‟s best hope of getting out of

recession. This may signify the disconnect that many in Fianna Fáil

especially those who commented on various sections of the survey and

said they felt that the „members weren‟t listened to.‟

5.3.5 How to fund Third Level Education

How society funds third level education is an issue that arises every

number of years. Over recent years, due to worsening economic

conditions, the spectre of reintroducing fees has appeared on the

horizon. Fianna Fáil, who originally opposed the scrapping of fees by

the Rainbow Government in the mid 1990‟s has since then, supported

the Free Fees Scheme. However, some have begun to question the cost

to the exchequer and ultimately to the tax payer for this scheme.

When polled, members were quite hostile to maintaining the status quo

in terms of how we fund third level education with less than one in

twelve supporting this. 10% of members feel that the Government

should pay for 3rd

level education via the tax system which would

cause issues as this would undoubtedly require an increase in taxes.

51

The Graduate tax proposal whereby students would, upon graduation,

pay an extra 1-2% in their taxes to cover the costs of attending college

or university gets the support of less than one in five members.

Over 60% support either government backed loans to students to pay

for their college education, similar to the system in place in the United

Kingdom or means tested fees. There is no consensus among members

on this issue and it may take a lot of toing and froing to reach one

52

Chapter 6 - Party Membership, Activity and Relationship to Other

Political Parties

6.1 Introduction

With over 60,000 members, Fianna Fail is one of the largest voluntary

organisations in the country. Its membership has been seen as one its strengths

and one of the main reasons why it has been able to maintain its stranglehold

on political power in Ireland.

Since General Election 2011, there has been considerable anger amongst the

membership of the party regarding how they are treated by the leadership of

the party. In an article written by Harry McGee for the Irish Times, former TD

for Dublin South East, Chris Andrews said that:

„he believes that a few decisions by headquarters to impose candidates

and to ignore the views of local organisations speeded up the

disintegration of Fianna Fáil‟

(Irish Times, 2011)

53

6.2.1 Length of Party Membership

Fig 6.1 – Analysis of length of party membership

Low number of respondents said they joined less than 12 months ago.

Over 70% of respondents said they joined the party over four years

ago.

The largest proportion of respondents (36.42%) said they joined the

party between four and eight years.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Party Membership Length

9.26%

19.75%

36.42%

10.49%

24.07% 10 years +

8-10 years

4-8 years

1-3 Years

< 12 Months

54

6.2.2 Reasons for joining Fianna Fáil

Fig 6.2 – Members responded that they joined Fianna Fáil due to agreeing with the party

policies and because their families always supported the party.

A strong majority of members (55.56%) said that they joined Fianna

Fáil as they agreed with the party‟s policies.

A significant proportion of respondents (27.16%) who outlined that

they joined Fianna Fáil primarily because their family had always

supported Fianna Fáil.

Limited support for the other two options of „Wanting to stop another

political party from gaining power‟ (4.32%) or „Wanting to make new

friends‟ (1.23%)

A number of respondents who clicked „Other‟ gave „disaffection with

another political party‟ as a reason for joining Fianna Fáil.

Significantly, these members moved to Fianna Fáil from both the

Green Party and Sinn Féin.

A member from Northern Ireland said he felt that „there was a lack of

choice in political parties in the North and that Fianna Fáil was the

only party on the island that could truly fulfil my political goals.‟

A male member, aged 31-40 from Donegal said that „I examined all

the parties and felt that Fianna Fáil was closest to my political / social

perspective‟

27.16%

1.23%

55.56%

4.32%

11.73%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%

My Family always supported Fianna Fáil

Wanted to make new friends

Agreed with their Policies

Wanted to stop another political party…

Other

Reasons for Joining Fianna Fáil

55

Leadership View

Fianna Fáil Leader outlined that there are a number of ways people can get

involved in Fianna Fáil.

„Clearly quite a large number joined the party due to family members

such as their parents or grandparents were members. Others joined

because their family would have been seen as a Fianna Fáil family or

their friends with existing party members‟

(Martin, 2011a)

„I joined the party in 1975 aged 16 and at that stage the dominant

political influence on me was family. It was obvious to me that I

should join Fianna Fáil‟

(Lenihan, 2011)

„I originally got involved, at 10 years of age, in the Presidential

Election of 1990 due to my father‟s influence. Fianna Fáil was the

most progressive party; it was the party that got things done. They

really were the party that had a strong belief in the future direction of

the direction. Obviously, I was born into a Fianna Fáil family but it

wasn‟t the main reason I got involved.‟

(Robert Troy, 2011)

56

6.2.3 Familial Relations in Fianna Fáil

Fig 6.3 – Members are related to other members in two out of three cases

A large majority, in excess of 69%, said that they were related to

members of Fianna Fáil.

Some of the responses suggested that certain members were related

to Fianna Fáil members on both sides of their family.

Numerous members said that they had relations who canvassed for

Fianna Fáil politicians and followed on with that tradition.

69.70%

25.93%

6.17%

Relations members of Fianna Fáil?

Yes

No

Unsure

57

Fig 6.4– Most members are not related to politicians

The vast majority of respondents, nearly 90%, said that they were

not related to any current or former Fianna Fáil public

representatives.

Leadership View

Thomas Byrne said:

„while my Dad was a Councillor in Drogheda, he only joined Fianna

Fáil after I became a TD even though he always on the Fianna Fáil

side of the political spectrum‟

(Byrne, 2011)

„Undoubtedly, my father, grandfather and uncle being Fianna Fáil

TD‟s had an influence on me. There was no other party for me to join

if I wanted to get involved in politics.‟

(Lenihan, 2011)

11.11%

88.99%

Related to Current or Former Public Representatives?

Yes

No

58

6.2.4 Party Activity

Fig 6.5 – Number of party meetings attended in the previous 12 months.

Relatively high levels of attendance at party members with nearly 25%

attending more than 10 meetings and a further 58% attending between

one and ten meetings.

17% of respondents have not attended any Fianna Fáil meeting in the

past months including Cumainn, Comhairle Ceantair and Comhairle

Dáil Ceantair.

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

0 1-3 4-7 7-10 10+

Number of Party Meetings attended in past 12 months?

59

Fig 6.6 – Members indicated that they were highly active within the party.

Most respondents responded to say that they were either Very Active

(53.33%) or Moderately Active (36.00%).

A small but important number said they were Not Active (10.67%)

Fig 6.7 – Strong desire to do more and get more active among members

Nearly two thirds of members want to get more involved in the party.

Greater than one in four are happy with their activity levels.

10.67%

36.00%

53.33%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Not Active

Moderately Active

Very Active

Activity levels within Fianna Fáil

72.00%

28.00%

Would you like to get more involved in the party?

Yes No

60

Many indicated a desire to get more involved cited „Policy Formation‟,

„Campaigning‟, „Northern Development‟,‟ Community Activism‟ as

ways in which they would like to get more involved.

6.2.5 Relationships to Other Parties

Fig 6.8 – Significant opposition to joining other political parties if Fianna Fáil ceased to

exist.

Over three in five members would not join another political party if

Fianna Fáil ceased to exist.

Support for other political parties is marginal though Fine Gael

received one in six members support.

Lower level of support for the Irish Labour Party compared to the

numbers who responded that they were either Centre Left or Left

Wing.

16.78%

9.40%

6.71%

5.37%

61.74%

If FF ceased to exist, what party would you join?

Fine Gael

Irish Labour Party

Green Party

Sinn Féin

None of the Above

61

6.2.5.1 Comparisons to Other Irish Political Parties

Wide discrepancies among respondents regarding the differences

between Fianna Fáil and the three other Irish political parties used in

the survey – Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin.

Some of the common themes originating from these responses include:

o Sinn Féin are more extreme than Fianna Fáil in their economic

policies.

o Fine Gael is more right wing and conservative while Fianna

Fáil veers towards the centre.

o Labour is controlled by the Trade Unions and clearly a left

wing party.

o A number of members suggested that the traditional Fianna Fáil

voter is quite similar to the typical Labour (especially in rural

areas) and Sinn Féin voters.

(See Appendix E for full details of responses)

62

6.2.6 European Political Relationships

Fig 6.9 – High levels of awareness of Fianna Fáil’s new Euro Group

High awareness of Fianna Fáil‟s European Political Grouping.

Over 75% of respondents identified correctly that Fianna Fáil is a

member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party /

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

See Appendix for full details

Fig 6.10 – Very high levels of support for Fianna Fáil’s membership of Liberal groupings

in Europe

Over three quarters of members support Fianna Fáil being members of

the ELDR and ALDE groups.

Those who said No accounted for less than one in four members.

Those who said No opted for membership of the European People‟s

Party (EPP) or a reformed Union of Europe of Nations (UEN)

19.46%

80.54%

Are you aware of what political grouping Fianna Fáil is a member

of in Europe? No

Yes

76.30%

8.89%

14.81%

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

Yes

No

No - we should be members of

Do you support Fianna Fáil's membership of the ELDR / ALDE groups?

63

6.3 Analysis of Findings

6.3.1 The End of Civil War Politics?

The results of this section of the survey suggest that the membership of Fianna

Fáil see themselves as the midway point between Fine Gael and Labour and as

a more realistic vehicle to achieve Irish Unity than Sinn Féin. The responses

that arose with regard to how they viewed the other political parties suggest

that the Civil War no longer plays an active role among the membership of

Fianna Fáil.

No respondent used the Civil War as a way of describing their views of Fine

Gael. Instead members used traditional ideological terms such as left / right,

liberal / conservative to describe the different parties.

6.3.2 Where to if Fianna Fáil ceases to exist?

What is clear is that the majority of the respondents and I suspect Fianna Fáil

members in general, would not join any of the existing Irish political parties.

Over 60% chose „None of the Above‟ in response to the question: ‘Which

political party would you join if Fianna Fáil ceased to exist in the morning?’

Of those who chose a political party (40%), 50% said that they would join

Fine Gael and the remainder was split relatively equally between Sinn Féin,

Labour and the Green Party.

One could surmise that those who opted for Labour, Sinn Féin and the Green

Party are those who identified themselves being on the left wing and those

who opted for Fine Gael are those on the right wing. Perhaps the large „None

of the Above‟ cohort is those liberals who don‟t feel any affinity towards any

64

of the current Irish political parties and if Fianna Fáil ceased to exist who be

the ones to set up a new liberally based political party?

6.3.3 European Relationships

There is strong awareness of the fact that Fianna Fáil joined the European

Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and subsequently the Alliance for Liberal

and Democrats for Europe grouping in the European Party. A similar

proportion of respondents said that they are in favour of Fianna Fáil being part

of these groupings? What is noticeable is that those oppose membership want

Fianna Fáil to join the Christian Democratic group, the European Peoples

Party. Support for ELDR / ALDE seems to come from the liberal members of

the party and also those on the left wing of the party.

6.3.4 Membership Desire to Do More

Question 22 which asked members whether they wanted to get more involved

in Fianna Fáil is very interesting. Over 70% responded that they did and many

provided examples of ways in which they would like to get involved. The high

figure approaching 70% from people who are already quite active (due to the

high numbers of meetings attended) implies to the author that the membership

aren‟t being utilised correctly and the skill sets and experiences of the

members aren‟t being made use of.

A consistent response was the desire to part of the policy formation process

which they see as critical to the future development and growth of the party.

Others see themselves focusing on distinct campaigning roles either in

Northern Ireland or within their home constituency. Clearly, attending

meetings does not satisfy the desires of most young members of the party and

new vehicles must be put in place to satisfy the member‟s needs.

65

Chapter 7 - Conclusions and Recommendations

7.1 Introduction

This study was undertaken due to a lack of empirical information regarding

the views of members of Fianna Fáil with regard to a range of various social

and economic questions. It follows on from research that was conducted by

Gallagher and Marsh (2005) with regards to the members of Fine Gael on a

number of similar topics. The author decided to focus on young members of

Fianna Fáil as they will play a crucial role in the renewal of Fianna Fáil over

the next decade according to recently elected Leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheál

Martin TD will play a „critical, decisive and leading role in the rebirth of the

Fianna Fáil national movement.‟ (Martin, 2011c)

This research was also undertaken as there has been considerable discussion

internally and externally regarding the future direction of the party in terms of

both economic and social issues. The author felt that it was appropriate to

analyse the views of the young members of Fianna Fáil who would be in the

vanguard of this renewal.

This chapter outlines the conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis of

the primary research in relation to existing literature. It will also suggest

recommendations based on this analysis for the party in addition to discussing

potential future research opportunities.

66

7.2 Conclusions

7.2.1 Research Question One

To what extent are young Fianna Fáil members divided in terms of

ideological positions?

In general, there are significant ideological camps among Fianna Fáil

members. Like all political parties, certain members have a particular affinity

for certain economic and social positions. Fianna Fáil is a typical „catch all‟

party in terms of its membership. What is not clear is how strongly they

manifest themselves and if any issue would be a „red line issue‟.

7.2.1.1 Social Positions

There is considerable commonality between the members of the survey sample

with in excess of 60% saying that they were either moderately liberal or very

liberal. Very little support was shown for conservative positions on social

issues with the exception of abortion and euthanasia.

Young Fianna Fáil members are as liberal as the general Irish population with

a few nuanced positions specific to their cohort. The numbers admitting that

they were of a liberal position reflects recent trends within Fianna Fáil policy

i.e. introduction of Civil Partnerships for Gay and Lesbian Couples. Since

then, Ógra Fianna Fáil has passed a motion unanimously calling for the

introduction of full civil marriage equality. This has manifested itself in the

very strong support levels for civil marriage equality from the sample cohort.

67

Regarding the issues of abortion and divorce, there are two competing

arguments at play – the right to life which is still very strong among members

if one reads the comments and the liberal idea of personal freedom and choice.

The author believes that over time the second argument will begin to win out

and if repeated in 10 years, the levels of support for allowing euthanasia and

legalising access to abortion services will increase. On other issues such as

legalising cannabis and support for divorce, there is widespread support.

7.2.1.2 Economic Positions

Without a doubt, the members are split regarding economic policy, however

the only light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that they are clustering around

the centre. The author found that centre left, centrist and centre right received

over 90% support in terms of economic policy. This suggests to the author that

members are not that far apart in their views and this is can be used as a way

of finding a shared common platform in terms of economic policy.

Problems will arise in the near future regarding certain economic policies of

the party especially in light of the lack of agreement with regard to taxation

and spending. There is a wide gap between those who see cutting taxes as a

priority for the party and those who feel that protecting spending levels is

essential.

68

7.2.2 Research Question 2

To establish the support levels of Fianna Fáil’s membership of both

the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the Alliance

of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

The awareness among young members of Fianna Fáil of its participation in

both the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and its European

Parliament grouping, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe was

quite high, with over 75% saying that they were aware of the party‟s

membership. This is a significant response among the survey sample as Fianna

Fáil has only been members of these groups since mid 2009 and very little in

the way of communicating this to the members has taken place due to the

significant crises affecting the party in the interim.

More significantly is the high levels of support for membership of these

groups with the same proportion of members answering that they support the

party‟s membership of this group. This is one of the more interesting results of

the survey as at the time of the party‟s admission into these groups, there was

vocal opposition from within the ranks of both the grassroots and the party‟s

elected representatives. In particular, Brian Crowley MEP, who was co-

President of the Union of Europe of Nations group which Fianna Fáil left to

join the ELDR and ALDE said was said to be „vociferously opposed to joining

a liberal group and members [Fianna Fáil] would not stand for it‟ (King,

2011).

Perhaps young members of Fianna Fáil are simply being pragmatic when it

comes to their European affiliations. Fianna Fáil could rely on significant

financial support from the ELDR and ALDE during the 2nd

Lisbon Treaty

Referendum; something which was never forthcoming from the UEN. In

69

addition, as Honor Mahony, writing on EUObserver.com wrote „Irish MEP‟s

are getting respectable after leaving the rag-tag UEN group‟ (EUObserver,

2009)

7.2.3 Research Question 3

To ascertain the activity levels of young members within the

organisation and what activities they see themselves getting involved

with in the future.

The survey sample results suggest that members are highly active within the

organisation. However, it is clear that the majority of those who were surveyed

were already active participants within the party and as such this must be

taken into account.

It is worth nothing that a significant proportion of respondents, approx. 17%

said that they did not attend a party meeting over the previous twelve months.

This is either due to a lack of activity within the party in that person‟s area or

that they feel that attending party meetings is not a correct use of their time.

It is clear that there is a desire among the members to become active

participants in the policy formation mechanisms of the party. Many

respondents outlined their dislike of a „top down‟ approach to policy

formation from the party leadership and hierarchy.

70

7.2.4 Research Question 4

To establish the reasons why members join Fianna Fáil and to

clarify if their family’s political allegiance effect their decision to

join?

Gallagher and Marsh (2005) outlined a variety of reasons why members joined

Fine Gael – Purposive, Solidarity and Material. Looking at the responses from

the survey, it is clear that the majority of young Fianna Fáil members joined

on the basis that it was purposive. Fundamentally, they joined as they wanted

to see their policies, which the party adhered to, implemented in government.

On a smaller level, a number of members outlined their wish to see another

political party and their policies stopped from being implemented.

Despite this adherence to policy based decisions, the vast majority of

respondents (over two thirds) said that they were related to members of Fianna

Fáil. This suggests that while members chose to join the party on policy

issues, they had a predisposition to joining Fianna Fáil due to their family‟s

political allegiances.

71

7.3 Recommendations for Fianna Fáil

7.3.1 Introduction

Fianna Fáil must make a number of important and strategic decisions over the

next 12 months. It must decide how it is going to position itself on the various

social and economic axes relative to its main competitors Fine Gael, Labour

and Sinn Féin. Political Commentator and former Fianna Fail National Youth

Officer and Dublin South East General Election candidate, Noel Whelan

stated in interview that:

„There are a couple of spaces left in the Irish political system. One is

the Party of the Radical Centre which is slightly right of centre but I‟m

not sure if Fianna Fáil can be this type of party due to the members it

has or the Reforming Moderately Left of Centre Party which is

modern, forward looking, progressive and decisive in its views.‟

(Whelan, 2011)

Based on the findings of the survey and the responses of the interviewees, it is

clear that the members favour congregating around the centre of Irish politics

with a distinctly liberal social policy. This is something that author would

recommend as it.

7.3.2 Recommendation 1

Fianna Fáil should become a centrist party economically and move toward the

liberal ground in terms of social issues thus being reflective of both its

members and the wider population. It puts clear water between it and its

political opponents. Fine Gael would be seen as being too right wing and

conservative while Labour would be seen as too left wing and hostile to

business.

72

7.3.3 Recommendation 2

The Fianna Fáil organisation needs to utilise the strong good will of its young

members who wish to become part of the policy formation process. This can

be achieved by establishing a Fianna Fáil leaving Research Foundation similar

in style and output to the numerous foundations operating in Germany such as

the Friedrich Nauman Foundation which is aligned with the Free Democratic

Party. (Freidrich Nauman Foundation, 2011) In addition, members must

become the driving force in the development of new policies.

7.3.4 Recommendation 3

Despite the many positives of having political allegiances passed down from

generation to generation, Fianna Fáil needs to work on attracting non-

politicised members in order to compete on a larger scale. In order to do this,

the author recommends that the party build a coherent policy platform centred

on the new dynamics at play within the Irish political system.

There also needs to a fundamental break with the past in either terms of policy

or attitude, similar to the UK Labour Party‟s Clause IV moment which

changed the minds of many voters with regard to the Labour Party‟s

relationship with the Trade Union movement.

73

7.4 Further Research Required

Further research needs to be carried out into a number of different areas that

have arisen as a result of this research. This will aid both future students of

Public Affairs and Political Communications, Fianna Fáil members and

activists and party political organisers.

In order to draw a fuller comparison between the leadership of Fianna Fáil i.e.

its TD‟s, Senators, MEP‟s and Councillors and the membership of the party, a

quantitative survey of the leadership similar to the one used in this piece of

academic research is required.

Research is also required in the area of how the ideological positions of

members will affect how the party will market itself at future elections.

74

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80

APPENDIX B

Interview Questions for Micheál Martin TD, Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil

1. Why should a 23 year old graduate join Fianna Fáil?

2. Why do you think young people joined Fianna Fáil in the past?

3. As a former member and Cathaoirleach of Ógra Fianna Fáil, do you

think that the typical Ógra FF member has changed since your own

time in Ógra?

4. In your first speech as Fianna Fáil leader, you outlined that you felt

that Fianna Fáil needed to remain as a centrist political party; do you

think there is a wide spectrum of ideological philosophy in FF and is it

different for young members.

5. What is the fundamental difference between Fianna Fáil and other

political parties?

6. Is there any party in Ireland with the exception of Fianna Fáil that you

could see yourself being a member of?

7. Many commentators have said that political parties in Ireland are

clustering around the centre; what is your plan for Fianna Fáil to stand

out from the crowd and will this appeal to young people in the party

and to voters?

8. Do you think that there are any ideological divisions within Fianna

Fáil? If there are, what keeps these groups in Fianna Fáil?

9. Why did you join Fianna Fáil?

10. Has Fianna Fáil lost the capacity to be radical?

11. Is it time for Fianna Fáil to elect its leader through a ballot of all

eligible party members?

12. The issue of Gay Marriage has been discussed a lot over the past

number of years and especially in light of the passing of the Civil

Partnership Act, could you see a time when Fianna Fáil would support

it especially in light of Ógra Fianna Fáil voting unanimously in favour

of it in November 2009?

13. Abortion is a topic of hot debate in Ireland and evokes strong passion

on both sides of the debate. Does it need to go to the people again via a

referendum?

14. Are Trade Unions in Ireland too powerful?

15. Do Fianna Fáil members need a raison d‟être similar to the passion to

end partition that was found in the early years of its history?

81

Questions for Brian Lenihan TD and Eamon Ó Cuív TD

1. You sought the leadership of Fianna Fáil? In what direction, would you

have brought the party?

2. Obviously you come from a political family, but what attracted you as

a young man to Fianna Fáil?

3. Why do you think young people joined Fianna Fáil in the past?

4. Do you think there are any ideological camps within Fianna Fáil and if

so, which one would you fit into?

5. Would you prefer to see Fianna Fáil becoming more ideologically

homogenous?

6. What do you think is the difference between Fianna Fáil and other

political parties in the state?

7. What policy positions do you think Fianna Fáil needs to adopt in order

to attract a 23 year old graduating from university this summer?

8. Is the era of Fianna Fáil being a national movement over? If so, what

niche or segment of the electorate should the party aim to attract?

9. Does Fianna Fáil need to take a short term hit in terms of radicalising

its policies in order to survive in the long term

10. Next Sunday is the Fianna Fáil 1916 Easter Commemoration. Are

events like this still relevant to younger generations who have no

connection to the events of this time?

11. Do you think Fianna Fáil should contest elections in the North of

Ireland?

12. Should the members of Fianna Fáil have a say in who leads the party?

13. Gay Marriage: Can you see a day when Fianna Fáil would, as a party,

support its introduction?

14. Abortion, as we say in recent EU referenda is still a hot issue for many

people in Ireland. Would you be in favour of changing in the current

Fianna Fáil policy?

15. Are trade unions too powerful in Ireland?

82

Questions for Noel Whelan, Political Commentator

Questions about young Fianna Fáil members

1. Why did you join Fianna Fáil?

2. Why do you think people joined Fianna Fáil and have the reasons to

join changed?

3. You joined Fianna Fáil at a young age and then became the Ógra

Youth Officer and have interacted with young FF members since then:

has there been a change in the membership in terms of what they

believe in or oppose?

4. What is a typical Fianna Fáil member?

Questions about Fianna Fáil strategy

5. Post General Election 2011: how do you see the political landscape? Is

it still shifting?

6. Who are the biggest threats to Fianna Fáil‟s survival?

7. What can Fianna Fáil do to reposition themselves in order to attract

support?

8. The young members of Fianna Fáil will play a major role in any future

revival of the party – what does the leadership need to do to get them

on board?

83

APPENDIX C

CORÚ FHIANNA FÁIL

1. Is Gluaiseacht Náisiúnta í Fianna Fáil a chuireann roimpi féin:

(i) Aontacht na hÉireann agus a mhuintir a aimsiú faoi shíocháin agus trí

chomhaontú.

(ii) Saol sonrach náisiúnta a thagann le traidisiúin agus idéil ilghnéitheacha

mhuintir na hÉireann a fhorbairt mar chuid de chultúr níos leithne na hEorpa,

agus chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn mar theanga bheo na ndaoine.

(iii) Saoirse creidimh, saoirse shibhialta, comhchearta agus comhdheiseanna a

ráthú do mhuintir uile na hÉireann.

(iv) Acmhainní agus maoin na tíre a fhorbairt go barr a maitheasa, ach tús áite

a thabhairt do riachtanais agus do leas mhuintir uile na hÉireann chun an

oiread fostaíochta inmharthana agus is féidir a chur ar fáil, bunaithe ar spiorad

na fiontraíochta, na féinmhuiníne agus na comhpháirtíochta sóisialta a chothú

(v) Dúlra agus oidhreacht na hÉireann a chaomhnú agus cothromaíocht a

chinntiú idir na bailte agus an tuath agus idir na réigiúin, agus an oiread

teaghlach is mó is féidir a choinneáil i mbun talmhaíochta.

(vi) An teaghlach a chothú, freagracht shóisialta níos leithne a chur chun cinn

agus tacú le riail an dlí ar mhaithe le leas agus le sábháilteacht an phobail.

(vii) Stádas na hÉireann a chothú mar Stát ceannasach agus mar lán-chomhalta

den Aontas Eorpach agus de na Náisiúin Aontaithe agus an tsíocháin, an dí-

84

armáil agus cúrsaí forbartha a chur chun cinn trí pholasaí eachtrach

neamhspleách traidisiúnta na hÉireann.

(viii) Dlíthe agus Institiúidí an Stáit a athchóiriú chun go mbeidís níos

eifeachtaí, níos daonnaí agus níos carthanaí agus gur fearr a fhreagróidís do

riachtanais an tsaoránaigh.

2. Is mar Fhianna Fáil, An Páirtí Poblachtach, a eagrófar an Ghluaiseacht agus

sin a thabharfar uirthi de réir na rialacha atá ceangailte leis seo.

3. Is tá comhaltas Fhianna Fáil ar fáil do gach duine a mbeirtear in Éirinn, atá

de thuistíoch nó garthuistíocht Éireannach nó daoine a bhfuil gnáthchónaí agus

cónaí dleathach orthu in Éirinn agus a ghlacann le Córú agus Rialacha Fhianna

Fáil.

CONSTITUTION OF FIANNA FÁIL

1. Fianna Fáil is a National Movement. Its aims are:-

(i) To secure in peace and agreement the unity of Ireland and its people.

(ii) To develop a distinctive national life in accordance with the diverse

traditions and ideals of the Irish people as part of a broader European culture,

and to restore and promote the Irish language as a living language of the

people.

(iii) To guarantee religious and civil liberty, and equal rights, equal treatment

and equal opportunities for all the people of Ireland.

(iv) To develop the resources and wealth of Ireland to their full potential,

while making them subservient to the needs and welfare of all the people of

Ireland, so as to provide the maximum sustainable employment, based on

fostering a spirit of enterprise and self-reliance and on social partnership.

85

(v) To protect the natural environment and heritage of Ireland and to ensure a

balance between town and country and between the regions, and to maintain

as many families as practicable on the land.

(vi) To promote the family, and a wider sense of social responsibility, and to

uphold the rule of law in the interest of the welfare and safety of the public.

(vii) To maintain the status of Ireland as a sovereign State, as a full member of

the European Union and the United Nations, contributing to peace,

disarmament and development on the basis of Ireland‟s independent foreign

policy tradition.

(viii) To reform the laws and institutions of State, to make them efficient,

humane, caring and responsive to the needs of the citizen.

2. The Movement shall be organised and known as Fianna Fáil, The

Republican Party, in accordance with the Rules annexed hereto.

3. Membership of Fianna Fáil is open to all persons of Irish birth, parentage,

grand-parentage or persons ordinarily and legally resident in Ireland who

accept the Constitution and Rules of Fianna Fáil;

86

APPENDIX D

Stuttgart Declaration

Adopted on 26 March 1976

The democratic parties in the European Community based on liberal

principles

resolved to protect and to promote the rights and freedoms of the

individual,

desiring to make possible for all citizens of Europe a decent life in a

free society,

believing that peace, freedom and prosperity in Europe can best be

assured if the European Community progresses towards a European

Union,

welcoming the decision to hold the first direct elections to the

European Parliament in 1978, have therefore decided to establish a

federation of the liberal parties in the European Community, based on

the following platform:

1. The supreme task of the European Union must be to guarantee human,

civil and political rights on the European level.

We therefore call for:

a bill of human rights and fundamental freedoms, directly applicable

throughout the European Community, to be drawn up by the first

directly elected European Parliament,

the right of every citizen to appeal to the European Court of Justice

when his civil rights are impaired by decisions of the Community

institutions,

the abolition of remaining administrative restrictions within the

European Community on the free movement of persons, goods,

services and capital.

87

2. The European Union needs a free democratic constitution based on the

principles of division of powers, majority voting and protection of

minorities.

We therefore call for:

increased powers and legislative responsibilities for the European

Parliament in all questions within the competence of the European

Community, including political cooperation,

election of the European Parliament according to the principles of

proportional representation,

accountability of the European Commission to the European

Parliament and the Council of Ministers,

an endeavour on the part of the Council to increasingly take decisions

by majority vote,

protection of the legitimate interests of the regions and minorities in

the Member States of the European Community in such a way as to

ensure that the diversity of Europe is preserved,

the greatest possible recourse to the Economic and Social Committee

and to the Standing Committee on Employment, with a particular view

to securing at the level of the Community the participation of workers

in the management, control and profits of undertakings.

3. The European Union must assure steady and balanced economic

growth, thus creating for its citizens the conditions for effective social

protection in the vissicitudes of life. This can no longer be done at

national level.

We therefore call for:

the Member States and the institutions of the European Community to

make practical progress along the road towards economic and

monetary union, for example through an ever greater harmonization of

their economic and financial policies and their currencies, including

the creation of a joint central bank, and by increasingly holding their

resources in common,

promotion of free competition within a free market system and its

protection from abuse by monopolies and cartels, as well as from the

excessive influence of public entreprise, by allowing private firms all

the room necessary to form themselves into genuine instruments of

democracy and progress in the context of a coordinated economy, with

a view to ensuring optimal economic growth and sufficient resources

to provide effective help for the socially disadvantaged,

88

the redistribution of wealth both by use of the Social Fund to reduce

inequality between individuals and the Regional Development Fund to

reduce iequalities between Regions,

development of the Common Agricultural Policy in ways which both

benefit consumers and encourage efficient farming,

further progress towards common environmental and energy policies.

4. The European Union needs a common foreign policy covering both the

external relations of the European Community and the European

Political Cooperation and designed to serve the freedom and security of

Europe and peace in the world, side by side with our partners in the

Atlantic Alliance, notably the United States, and in the United Nations.

We therefore call for:

the development of the closest possible ties also with the Western

European countries which are not members of the European

Community,

the further expansion along the lines of the Lomé Convention of

cooperation between the European Community and the Third World in

the context of a balanced development of the world economy,

active participation by the Member States of the European Community

in all efforts to establish stability and peace in the Mediterranean

region and in the Middle East,

the European Community to speak with one voice particularly in its

relations with the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

5. The European Union must be founded on the common conviction that

the freedom of the individual, equal opportunities for all and the free

competition of ideas and parties are indispensable elements of a

democratic society.

We therefore:

welcome the accession to or association with the European Community

and in future the European Union of every European State whose

constitution and policy is in conformity with these principles,

are willing to cooperate within the European Community with all

political groups which are ready without reservation to accept and

defend the fundamental values of liberal democracy.

89

APPENDIX E – Sample Responses from Members

Fine Gael Labour Sinn Féin

Historical and ideological

differences, more secular

attitude in Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil less influenced

by trade unions or SF

splinter groups. Believes

economic and social

progress can go hand in

hand

Fianna Fáil

advocates

Constitutional

Nationalism,

opposed to militant

nationalism

Not a whole lot let's be

honest.

Much more liberal in their

views on equality

(something FF should really

take a look at)Oh and we

have policies.

They give a voice to

their younger

members.

Traditional differences

Political Reform

Health Care Policy

A simple view would be; FF

would 'traditionally' have

been seen as a centre left

party in relation to economic

policy - we were the Peoples

Party - FG was the party of

the professional classes etc... Social Policy Taxation Policy

Moderately more liberal.

Other than that very little

difference. We are probably

more corrupt.

FF is not in thrall to the

unions in the same way as

Labour.

Not economically

illiterate like SF.

Not murderers.

Fianna Fáil is at its heart

more left of centre than fine

Gael. FG is more orientated

towards wealthier people

and those with conservative

Christian viewpoints. Also

at the heart of Fianna fail

ideology is the idea of a

united Ireland. This is not an

important issue for FG.

Fianna Fail, especially Ógra,

is more progressive.

Labour is more left than

Fianna Fail. it seems to be

in the pockets of ICTU.

Sinn Féin is very

left wing. it has

connections

sympathies to

paramilitary groups.

These connections

and sympathies still

linger. It‟s

economic policies

are too left wing.

and it seems to be

Europhobic