FIANNA FÁIL’s Seán Connick (47) says losing his Wexford Dáil seat was “like a death in the family”.
He speaks of the traumatic transition from being a busy minister of state to unemployment.
The phone did not ring as much and the e-mails declined hugely in number. “One day, there was no call, a big change from taking up to 80 mobile calls daily as a junior minister.”
There was the closure of the local constituency office in New Ross and laying off staff.
“It takes a while to recover. Losing your seat is a very public dressing down. You lose your self-confidence.”
He qualified for €26,000 in severance pay, before tax, so securing employment soon is a priority. He has applied for eight jobs since May, but he has not managed to secure even an interview. In some cases, he has received no response. “I am either overqualified or underqualified.”
First elected to the Dáil in 2007, Connick and his wife, Lourde, committed themselves to politics from 2004 when he secured a seat on Wexford County Council. “For those seven years, our whole life was politics.”
He has worked all his life as a self-employed businessman, but because of the full-time commitment to politics there is no business to go back to.
After losing his Dáil seat, he contested the Seanad election, but a move from the industrial and commercial panel to the agricultural panel, to facilitate party headquarters, proved disastrous. Other candidates in his panel included outgoing Senator Jim Walsh, also from New Ross, a member of the same cumann.
“I did what I thought was in the best interests of the party. Had I stayed in my first choice of panel, I might well have won a seat.”
Connick has been a wheelchair user since a traffic accident in 1977. He was Junior Chamber Ireland’s outstanding young person of Ireland in 1993 and his career in representative politics began six years later when he was elected to New Ross town council.
The high point was his appointment as minister of state for agriculture in March 2010. He took to it with relish and is particularly pleased with his work in the fisheries part of his portfolio. By then the economic storm clouds had engulfed the government and there were dire warnings that Fianna Fáil would suffer electorally.
Connick is very critical of the cabinet’s response to the economic downturn. He recalls suggesting to tánaiste Mary Coughlan and others that a group of ministers form a war cabinet and seek expert opinion to deal with the crisis. There would be regular press conferences outlining what was being done.
While the proposal was well-received, nothing happened. “I thought, at the time, that there was an inertia at cabinet level. I don’t know if it was a case of ministers being shellshocked by the whole thing.”
He says it was similar to watching a car crash about to happen. He remembers the late Brian Lenihan as the only minister who was proactive as the crisis worsened. “He was coping not only with his illness but also the phenomenal pressure of running the Department of Finance at a time of grave economic crisis.”
Connick believes that, by then, some ministers were in power too long. “Two terms is probably the maximum any minister should serve. Otherwise, you become complacent and comfortable.”
There was a lack of ministerial accountability, he says. “As a junior minister, I should have been called in every month to give a report on what I was doing.”
By the time the election came, Fianna Fáil had a “poor scorecard” and the omens were dire. “At times, it was so bad you did not know if somebody would salute you on the street or hit you a box.”
The loss of about 3,000 votes in his New Ross base, as well as the entry of Independent Mick Wallace, who topped the poll with 13,329 first preferences and took a seat, signalled the end of Connick’s Dáil career.
Despite the swing against the party, he polled a respectable 6,675 first preferences and provided a hefty transfer for party colleague John Browne, who retained his seat.
Connick says it will take time for Fianna Fáil to rebuild.
“Micheál Martin is doing his best, but I think it could be another election after the next before the party finds itself in a really strong position again.”
As for himself, a successful hunt for a job might mean less time for politics, although he would love to run for the Dáil again. “I’m still full of energy and passion and it is frustrating not to be involved. The next six months will tell a lot for me.”
Seán Connick Fianna Fáil
Constituency:Wexford
First elected:2007
Dáil service:four years
Current status:Unemployed
