On Ireland’s national day, it is time to move on from the blame game at play since the failure by all political parties outside Aontú and Independent Ireland to secure voter support for the family and care referendum proposals. 

Looking forward to the next national decisions conjures up the local and European elections on June 7, and the general election due within the coming year. As they appraoch, the currents that decided last week’s vote point in one direction: the far right.

This is where you, the readers of The Currency concentrating Ireland’s money and power, come in.

Results analysis so far has been too optimistic

An optimistic reading of the referendum results would focus on mere Government and Oireachtas ineptitude in the process that led from convening a Citizen’s Assembly, to twisting its words when translating them into constitutional amendments, to leaking rather than publishing associated legal advice, to generalised absenteeism on the campaign trail, topped off by disarray in the individual votes of elected representatives.

Optimists will also point to the valid arguments for a No vote in the care referendum put forward by those with a lived experience of caring for a family member, such as independent Senator Tom Clonan.

Some of these factors might explain the general voter apathy expressed in the 44 per cent turnout, and the failure to repeat the grassroots campaigns observed in previous referendums such as those for marriage equality or abortion rights. They might even provide a reason for a proportion of the No vote in the care referendum.

Yet you’re fooling yourself if you believe that a reasoned voter analysis of the campaign was what resulted in a 74 per cent decision to retain constitutional provisions stating that women’s place is in the kitchen rather than at paid work. Despite the low turnout, this “reactionary message”, in the words of the National Women’s Council, was sent by one third of all registered voters. 

There is even less of a rational explanation for the decision by two thirds of those voters who bothered to turn up, or 30 per cent of the adult population, to reject the family amendment. That referendum was an attempt to align the law with the statistical fact that Irish families are no longer necessarily founded on marriage. The amendment was worded to preserve the constitutional protection for “the institution of marriage”.

This is where the optimist view must be left behind.

Uncomfortable truths

An alternative, more realistic reading of the referendums is, first and foremost, uncomfortable for politicians and their parties.

The only No posters visible on any scale (those crowdfunded by independent Senator Sharon Keogan, an active promoter of far-right ideology in the Oireachtas) were singled out by the Referendum Commission for promoting the lie that the care amendment would “force mothers out to work”. They urged the public to “vote No”, ignoring the dual nature of the referendum. And yet those posters drew out more voters than those of all major parties combined calling for a “Yes Yes” vote.

Some elected representatives have argued that they did not need to canvass because votes are now won and lost in the media, especially on social media. If they believe that pushing fact-based, policy-driven arguments on social media has any chance of overcoming the combined forces of rage-based algorithms, paid-for advertising by overseas lobbying groups and Russian troll farms, good luck to them in their re-election campaign.

The political space on social media is, at this point, arguably best left to small teams of professionals that political parties should task with closely monitoring and countering online disinformation. 

Candidates are more likely to win votes in direct interactions in their communities, where one-to-one conversations can develop. From sports matches to agricultural shows and the good old doorstep, this is the space for positive campaigning. This is where politicians can understand the fears and anger that fed into the No votes on March 8, and voters get their point across.

Populist candidates do get this, and they will be out in force on those local occasions. The challenge for politicians is to find new ways of connecting face-to-face with more voters.

The buck doesn’t stop with politicians, however. The March 8 referendums have revealed a wholesale rejection of progressive centrist politics and, in the case of the family amendment, of reality, which is cause for concern for Irish society as a whole.

The prospect of an Oireachtas dominated by independent TDs vociferating against immigrants, climate policy, and wokism instead of running the country is a distinct possibility.

The absence of an established far-right movement in Ireland provides no insulation against the translation of those views into political power – quite the opposite. Recent history has shown that the UK and the US, two English-speaking countries without fascist governments in their past and with a strong two-party system, were quickest to fall under the control of extreme conservatives. 

There may not be a National Rally or Alternative für Ireland organisation ready to seize power in Dublin, but the prospect of an Oireachtas dominated by independent TDs vociferating against immigrants, climate policy, and wokism instead of running the country is a distinct possibility.

Traditional government and opposition parties cannot, alone, stop this from happening in Ireland – especially considering their disastrous record in this month’s referendums. Hence my call to The Currency’s wider readership.

As an employer, do you have a plan to engage meaningfully with an employee when (not if, as it will happen) they use company systems to peddle far-right propaganda? Hot tip: just shutting them up won’t work.

If you’re a decision-maker on the use of a piece of land, is your business plan factoring in the very real cost that not delivering much-needed housing is feeding into votes for anti-EU, anti-foreign investment, protectionist candidates?

If you’re the owner of a small business crippled by rising costs and mounting regulation, can you direct your frustration towards joining a professional organisation, lobbying elected representatives, and studying the proposals of candidates in upcoming elections to make sure they’re offering workable solutions and not just appealing to your anger?

If you think the progression of retrograde ideologies doesn’t affect business, consider their impact on the Guud Day cafe on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, which re-opened this week for the first time since being ransacked during anti-immigrant rioting last November.

If you’re in business and think these are questions for politicians, not for you as you focus on your job growing the Irish economy, look at the economic performance of the UK since the Brexit referendum.

And think again.

Elsewhere this week, Niall tracked multiple proceedings targeting Layer Digital Solutions before the Workplace Relations Commission and the courts. The fintech start-up failed to pay staff in Ireland and Lebanon for several months last year before letting many go abruptly. What has gone wrong?

In a much-discussed column, Stephen analysed the new offshore wind industry strategy published by Minster for Enterprise Simon Coveney, only to find that it was just another layer in the disparate policy that has yet to see any new turbines installed in Irish waters.

While JP McManus was in Cheltenham watching his horses run, I investigated how Novellus, the lending arm of his family office, is funding more and more property deals all over Ireland.

Finally, the Central Bank inquiry into former PTSB chief executive David Guinane’s role in the tracker mortgage scandal heard closing arguments on Friday, and there was more nuance than in initial claims of scapegoating earlier this month. Francesca was watching.