WIP

On June 20, 2007 Pat Carey TD was appointed the position of Minister of State at the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, with special responsibility for the National Drug Strategy and Community Affairs. Following the appointment of Brian Cowen as Taoiseach in May 2008, he was assigned the position of Minister of State at the Department of An Taoiseach, with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip and for Active Citizenship.

 

The first time when I was appointed I was given the job Minister for drugs and community affairs and I was delighted because I’d been involved all my life in that kind of activity and so it came easy to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it for the ten months I was in it. And then, I remember getting a phone call from the Taoiseach (Brian Cowen) and he said he’d like if I would join the government. Sometimes you get what you wish for; I got very nervous. I had no idea what job he (an Taoiseach) was going to offer me. There was lots of speculation that I’d be offered something, but when it actually comes- I don’t know if it happens to other people- but I was certainly like, “am I able for this?” Everybody who he (an Taoiseach) appoints were all in the Sycamore room (located in Government Buildings) and when I was called in, he said “I’d like you to be Chief Whip and takeover the job of active citizenship”. So yeah, I was delighted. It was something that I hadn’t thought about, to be honest. I thought the Chief Whip’s job was for somebody else. I’m enjoying it and it’s a huge challenge.

 

It’s basically managing the programme of legislation for the government; I sit at the cabinet table. One of the principle jobs I have is to make sure that the government wins votes. It’s very much a management job, you have to work very closely with all Ministers and indeed you work very closely with the opposition as well because contrary to what people think, it’s not all ‘argy-bargy’ (conflict). I have a responsibility for law reform as well, which is difficult enough.

Teaching, I was a primary school teacher in Finglas (Dublin North), I started teaching when I was 19. I was involved in youth work and community work in Finglas by accident and I really enjoyed that, I loved teaching too. I suppose at 22 I was doing so many things, I was doing youth work; I was doing my degree in University College Dublin (UCD) by night. I was also working in educational research. I was interested in educational issues and I spent six years doing educational research into attainment levels and questions about disadvantage. So I had three careers and the community work took on a life of its own and became part of my life and that’s how I ended up where I am at the moment.

 

Yes, but I got into politics by accident; my family wouldn’t have been interested in politics. I was looking for facilities for young people, trying to get better housing, fairer rents. Because I was so involved in youth work, I got involved in the National Youth Council and organisations like that, so I was a regular panellist on programmes about abusive drugs and alcohol. This was back in the mid 70’s and early 80’s. I ran, with the now very famous Joe Duffy, summer projects in places like Ballymun and Finglas. So that’s how I came to where I am at the moment.

Apart from my Mother, a primary school teacher that’s now 92 years old, who taught me. I opened extensions in the school that I went to last week (mid May) in Kerry and she was there. She was an absolutely inspirational person, worked way above and beyond her call of duty, worked extra hours without pay and used to work on Saturdays. She was a brilliant teacher, a great mind and probably sowed the seed of teaching in me.

 

I value the right to a good education from early on in life and a respectable education system that benefits all. I also value the role and potential of young people in our society and the positive difference they make when they participate and engage.

 

Stay in college as long as you possibly can. When I started off, the Leaving Cert. was the passport to a good job. It’s now got to a stage where a Masters is the passport to a good job. Think outside the box; I was in Boston for the St. Patrick’s Day ceremony on the behalf of the government and there were a number of Irish students studying in MIT and Harvard. There’s really great hope. I think your generation have a great opportunity of moving onto the next stage of industrial development.

We have a generation of young people who sailed through college and sailed into work without difficulty and they didn’t have to worry about whether they’d get a job. It appears to me they were more concerned about how many career moves they could make in the quickest time possible. In some respects I’d say they were spoiled and some people might say they got things very very easily. I think the next generation of young leaders are going to have to look at how to get over difficulties that aren’t easy. Every generation surmounts, they just have to make an effort to do it.

 

Economic recovery, economic development and to have a more equitable and more evenly distributed wealth system. I think the next generation should aim for what we aim for, full employment. Make sure that there’s a very good and well respected education system in place, above all else. If I was starting all over again I would put a huge emphasis on early education and childcare. That’s where I believe the real progress is made, in the first five years. You can pour enormous amounts of money into PhDs and research labs, but if you don’t have the grounding early on, too many people won’t be able to participate at that level and will fall through ‘the net’.

 

Like the Green Party’s motto says, “think globally, act locally”. So you bring that down to your own area and personal responsibility and you look at your own talents, see what you can do as an individual. Rather than being a society that closes itself behind doors and doesn’t engage, just get out there and be active. Participate in whatever level you can. Go and join your trade union, get involved in your residents’ association, all of those. Don’t be a hurler on the ditch.