As we approach Budget 2025, a well-known adage seems apt: more money than sense. A bewildering surplus of €25 billion is now in the hands of the State, though a clear strategy on how to appropriately use these funds is lacking.
Ireland, despite its considerable wealth, is afflicted by a significant and unmanageable ideological shortfall. As per claims in pre-budget discussions over the recent weekend, a minor disagreement has presented itself as an “ideological clash” between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, quite akin to two balding men quarrelling over a single comb.
In the dawn of the 21st century, Ireland consciously stepped back from its ideological moorings. The old national self-perceptions were worn out and shabby, thus got stashed away in the attic of shared identity – not completely forgotten, yet largely unseen.
At this point, the State’s ideological framework had completed its tenure. Back in its prime, it was a powerful amalgam of nationalism and Catholicism, crafted from the depths of Irish history, molded through resilience in the face of centuries of subjugation and disgrace.
Even with the State’s numerous blunders, this merger of religious and national identities held its emotional appeal. Amid a society persistently torn by mass departure, this ideology offered the comforting illusions of stability and assurance. It was conveniently transportable, providing solace in the ethnic neighbourhoods of Birmingham or Brooklyn just as it did in Ballina or Ballydehob.
This ideology had an uncanny talent for obscuring contradictions. Rejection would mean exiling oneself from the country. Expressed dislike could potentially result in confinement in an industrial school, a Magdalene laundry, a mother and baby home or even a mental institution.
Opposition to this ideology started building up, particularly from the 1960s. Nonetheless, it persevered resolutely. Underpinning it was a strategic alliance between Fianna Fáil and the Catholic Church, a combination that ensured victory till the end of the 20th century.
Subsequently, events disintegrated at an astonishing speed, in part as a tardy response to enduring societal transformations: urban growth, worldwide integration and a massive increase in education were invariably going to erode its base. This was further influenced by internal immigration combined with the peace process, both of which made it pertinent to cultivate a more varied concept of Irish identity.
However, much of the impetus for this change was negative. It was powered by disgust. The dominion of the institutional church and the supremacy of Fianna Fáil were both casualties of unchecked authority leading to their own corruption.
Without a mutual language of belonging or a joint understanding of pivotal values, a diverse society such as Ireland’s can degenerate into divisive tribal identities and native prejudice. What unfolded around the turn of the century was their inability to conceal their corruption. Larger social changes that had transpired earlier shattered the bonds of loyalty – once loyalty was lost, so was silence. While most Irish people were horrified by what lay beneath.
While I do not intend to equate the oppression experienced in Ireland to what was suffered under Soviet rule in central and eastern Europe, there is one plausible similarity – in both instances, a comprehensive ideology crumbled under the strain of its own corruptions, inconsistencies and ridiculousness. This collapse led to a hole in society.
For the first ten years of the present century in Ireland, this void was filled with ecstatic consumerism. We witnessed our own variant of the end of history where all religious restrictions were removed, the Troubles were no more and we could leverage on the future as it unfolded endlessly as a prospect of happiness.
The endless happiness led to heartbreak, resulting in a strange resurgence of a type of secular religiosity: Catholic guilt, shorn of Catholicism. “We all partied.” We were collectively responsible for the wrongdoings of our banks and property speculators. Our lauded allies in Europe swiftly passed on the tools for our self-inflicted punishment to demonstrate our remorse.
So what ensued after this? Two ideologies collapsed in quick succession – Catholic nationalism and pleasure-seeking capitalism. The replacement is a whimsical Irish take on technical governance and practical reasoning – a form of technocracy lacking technical skill and a pragmatism that isn’t actually very practical.
The collapse of banking structures saw the creation of a more centralised and autocratic governance system which manifests as a command-based approach with negligible control. Large scale projects are frequently accompanied by disastrous execution, with the housing crisis and the national children’s hospital debacle as glaring instances.
Devoid of any true purpose or ethical framework, the State has been reduced to being a perpetual crisis management entity, constantly overextending itself to keep up with an agile society and an economy that are progressing beyond its capabilities.
This trend is due to its lack of a cohesive narrative. Though we have seen it weave numerous tales about itself; ranging from an idyllic post-independent island, a martyred nation scarred by partition, a spiritual guiding light for a world ensnared by materialism, a dazzling capitalist paradise, and finally the repentant reckless spender hoping to demonstrate its resolution towards transformation, all of which have left both itself and us weary.
The absence of a functional ideology leaves a vacuum which is promptly filled by several dysfunctional ideologies. In a pluralistic society like Ireland, there exists the risk of it descending into tribal allegiances and instinctive backlash when there lacks a shared dialect of affiliation or mutual understanding of essential values.
We are at this point beneficiaries of a windfall, however, the golden opportunity seems to have left us stunned and disoriented. At this juncture, our administrative system has lost its favourite escape clause – “If only we had the funds…”. It has now reached a place where its long standing patterns of fatalism, excuses, passing on responsibility and accusing others, are no longer useful or valid. But it remains uncertain of how to adjust without them. Hence, this budget is probably going to bring about an early festive treat – sadly devoid of any wisdom or guiding principles.