'You know what I want,' Charles Haughey famously said to Tony Gregory in 1982. 'What do you want'? Noel Whelanexamines what Bertie Ahern might do for the Dublin Independent TD this time around
The question of what to do about Tony Gregory will be on Bertie Ahern's mind as he considers how to get to the figure of 83 votes needed for a working Dáil majority. There are a number of complications which present themselves for Ahern in dealing with Gregory.
The primary complicating factor is that both Gregory and Ahern represent the same constituency. Ahern's task is not as simple therefore as doing another version of the "Gregory Deal" which Charles Haughey negotiated in 1982.
It would be politically untenable, even absurd, for an Ahern-led government to be seen to deliver a shopping list of specific projects for the Taoiseach's own constituency at Gregory's behest. If Ahern is to deliver such initiatives then he would do so because he himself represents that area and not because he is dependent on the vote of another of the constituency's TDs. It cannot and will not happen that way.
As an astute dealmaker, Ahern will know, however, that Gregory will need something he can trumpet as his own achievement in return for his support. If this cannot be a specific list of deliveries for Dublin Central then it has to be some wider political accomplishment. If Ahern is to secure a commitment of support from Gregory which would be sustainable over five years then he will have to be innovative in his approach.
One of the options which is worth exploring further is that of involving Gregory directly in the government - if not as a minister in the cabinet itself then at least as a minister of state.
There are precedents for this type of scenario. In 1948 the legendary James Dillon, then an Independent member of the Dáil , was appointed Minister for Agriculture in the first inter-party government. That government was led by John A. Costelloe of Fine Gael and was made up of no fewer than five political parties while also enjoying the support of a group of seven diverse Independents. Dillon was then a former member of Fine Gael. He had resigned from the party during the second World War because he disagreed with the party's support for neutrality. However, during the complex negotiations for the formation of the inter-party government Dillon played the leading part for the independents and it was in this context that he joined the cabinet.
In circumstances where potentially Ahern would have already given over one position in the next cabinet to Mary Harney - although she heads up a bloc of only two deputies - it would be difficult for Ahern to give away another cabinet position to an Independent.
However, there are other possible positions within government but not necessarily within the cabinet to which Gregory would be appropriate and where he could make an impact. The most obvious of these is the minister of state position which is currently held, as it happens, by the Taoiseach's brother Noel Ahern. The post has a long title - Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (with responsibility for Housing and Urban Renewal) and at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (with special responsibility for the Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs). Essentially, the job includes responsibility for urban renewal and for the National Drugs Strategy, both of which are policy areas close to Gregory's heart. As a politician, Gregory has standing and credentials on the issue and a track record. There would be merit in giving him the opportunity to actually tackle at a policy level, rather than just talk about, the drugs problem.
Gregory is now 60 years of age. He specifically rebutted suggestions over the weekend that this might be his last Dáil term but he must be at a stage in life where the prospect of utilising the machinery and resources of government to do something about the issues which matter to him most would be attractive. This minister of state job would include delegated responsibility for drugs policy and initiatives and could include the right to attend cabinet when these issues need to be discussed.
Being a minister of state also brings with it some of the trappings of office including additional constituency staff, an adviser and even a driver - all of which would make it easier to manage his constituency base.
In return for this opportunity, Gregory could be expected to sign up to support a five-year programme for government. The dynamic of bringing Gregory within the tent of government, albeit just outside the inner sanctum, would also make it more likely that a deal could be done with Finian McGrath. All of this would put the last small building block in place for a relatively stable Ahern-led government.