Hypocrisy special: bankers, gardaí and Europe

I've been sick over the last two weeks. Not an earth-shattering experience for the nation, but one that gave me the opportunity to reflect acerbically at a distance about the perpetual double-standards of our political system and the cynicism about politics that is produced thereby.

If you're an employee of one of the big banks and you're caught with your fingers in the till, you'll lose your job and your pension entitlements, and probably face criminal prosecution. But if you're a top banking executive who has developed a plan to make 2000 staff redundant but are caught inappropriately accessing adult websites on the company computer, you'll get a payment of €2.3million, plus a €400,000 pension top-up, plus a €269,000 payment for interim expenses. The staff being made redundant will be lucky to hit double figures in their redundancy packages.

And if you're a garda whose nationalist distaste for the RUC led you to turn a blind eye to republican activities, you lose your job and your pension and get a jail sentence. But if you're a senior garda named in the Morris report as sharing the blame for the cover-up and frame-up scandal in Donegal, you will be allowed to resign on full pension – in some cases a pension that has been increased as a result of a promotion that came through after charges were made against you.

Yes, there's one rule for those on the top, and another for those underneath. And when all the huffing and puffing about the Morris report is over, or the enquiries into the banking system finished, obscene salaries like the €1.9m paid annually to Bank of Ireland Chief Executive, Brian Goggin, will continue to be paid (financed partly by the 2,100 staff who will lose their jobs); and garda whistleblowers will continue to be sidelined while the guilty earn promotion and enhanced pensions. And why? Because Bertie Ahern has full confidence in the Garda Síochána.

And don't forget that the one man more than any other who doggedly pursued the McBrearty case in the Dáil, then Fine Gael justice spokesperson, Jim Higgins, lost his seat by 87 votes following a Fianna Fáil inspired whispering campaign that he was "anti-guards", a big factor for Fine Gael's traditional law and order base. There's a lesson there for all politicians.

So they all safely say the same thing, and their squabbles are only personality gripes about career prospects. And the impact on politics is obvious. What's the point of voting if they're all the same and all pursue the same policies?

So isn't it ironic that on the very weekend that the people of France voted down the European Constitution, with its federal super-state pretensions and its binding commitment to liberal free-market economics, the Irish Labour party should reconstitute itself as a junior associate of Fine Gael and endorse the by-now defeated euro constitution, after a debate that lasted a whole four minutes, by something like ten to one.

I must admit, though, that the news from France gave my health a bit of a boost, and by the time the Dutch had turned the setback into a rout, I was beginning to feel quite chipper. It's a real pleasure listening to those who have lied to us so consistently over many years squirming over what to do now with their European "project".

And it's worth noting that the Dutch turnout in the referendum was twice that of the European elections. Worth noting too that this was the very first time (and I suspect the last) that the Dutch had a referendum on a European Treaty. Perhaps they felt this way all along.

Meanwhile in what passes for the real world here in Ireland, Fine Gael is getting down to the business of copper-fastening the gains made in Tralee the other week. They are developing a joint strategy for candidate selection for the next election, which takes account of Labour's potential contribution to the joint victory.

The interesting point though is that there is no discernible difference between the thirty seats targeted now and the thirty seats that Fine Gael was targeting six months ago. And some of those seats are either currently held by Labour or ones that Labour might have a good chance of winning. Still, it's reassuring for Labour activists to know that Fine Gael is taking their potential contribution into account.

Meanwhile Fine Gael is actually taking a hard-nosed approach, being willing even to ditch established members of their own party if they don't pass muster. And I suspect that Labour's interests don't rank quite so high as Pat Rabbitte seems to believe.

Pre-election pact or not, perhaps Labour might pause to ponder the implications of the scandals of our social and political system, and give expression to the disgust which increasing numbers of voters are feeling.

And this time, if we vote no, perhaps our leaders might respect our decision.

Eoin Ó Murchú is the Eagraí Polaitíochta of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. He is writing here in a personal capacity.