Many of the irritations which have surfaced on Fianna Fáil's backbenches in recent weeks are not unique to this generation of politicians, argues Noel Whelan. However, the life of a 21st century Government backbencher is one which involves particular insecurities and frustrations.
It is significant that all bar one of those who signed the letter mooting the now abandoned proposal for an inaugural meeting of "Backbenchers United" are Fianna Fáil deputies who were elected for the first time since 1997. Indeed, more than half of them have only been in Dáil Éireann since 2002.
Getting elected to Dáil Éireann is now a much more intense and professional project. Most of the new Fianna Fáil TDs elected in 1997 and 2002 were selected at early conventions and were campaigning on a full-time basis for 18 months before the election itself.
When the initial jubilation of becoming a Dáil deputy subsided, some of them found it difficult to settle down to the quieter pace of parliamentary life, the drudgery of planting deeper roots in their political base, and the constraints of being physically confined to the Leinster House campus for three days most weeks.
Like their predecessors, today's backbenchers resent having to take the flak in their constituencies for controversial ministerial proposals but contend with the added annoyance that, more often than not, they first hear about Government initiatives on morning radio rather than at party meetings.
Reflecting as they do the population generally, TDs are now more qualified, more educated, and more accomplished before coming into politics than previous generations of backbenchers. They are more likely to be full-time politicians. This all makes them more impatient for advancement which can be particularly frustrating given the uncertainties and inconsistencies of Bertie Ahern's promotions policy.
They inevitably measure their own ability against those currently at Cabinet or Minister of State rank and draw unfavourable comparisons - justifiably in some instances.
Just as they have become more competent and more ambitious, changes at local and national level have rendered Government backbenchers less powerful. Despite the improved committee system, Dáil Éireann is now more controlled and constrained by the executive than ever. Questioning of Ministers or their decisions by Government backbenchers is resented and the longer Ministers are in office, the more they resent it.
In addition, backbenchers have been stripped of much of their local power by the abolition of the dual mandate. Being a member of the county or city council gave TDs real local executive oversight and a greater capacity to get things done for constituents.
For some, the loss of their place on local authorities has compounded the earlier abolition of the health boards.
On a micro level, changes in the Dáil's weekly diary have had knock-on consequences for internal communication within Fianna Fáil's parliamentary party. Leaders' question time is now held on Wednesday mornings and, as a result, the weekly Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, which had traditionally been held at about 11am on Wednesday, has been moved to Tuesday evenings.
Coming as it now does at the end of a day which many TDs have spent travelling up from the country, the meeting is attracting less interest and smaller attendances.
More importantly, a range of informal opportunities for exchanges with Ministers, which used to occur over coffee or lunch on Wednesdays, have disappeared.
Those occasions when Ministers came into the Dáil chamber for votes used to be another important opportunity for internal parliamentary party communication. Trooping through the Tá or Níl gates gave backbenchers a chance to nab Ministers without having to penetrate the usual shield of private office staff and advisers. However, now most Dáil votes are conducted using push-button technology in assigned seats and, as a result, those Ministers who so choose can continue to make themselves unavailable.
The fact that both the Departments of Health and Justice are currently held by Progressive Democrat Ministers has also reduced the capacity of Fianna Fáil backbenchers to deliver or to create the impression of delivering for their constituencies in these crucial policy areas.
Of course, electoral concerns are also shaping current events within the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party. With an election less than a year away, incumbent TDs are busy marshalling the administrative, financial and human resources they will need for their re-election campaigns. They are already putting more literature through doors, making more effort to raise their profiles in the local media, and pursuing departments and Ministers with even greater tenacity for long-promised grants or local initiatives. What is making the sense of frustration for backbenchers particularly acute at this stage of the electoral cycle is the recognition that they themselves and their campaign teams can only exert a partial influence upon their re-election prospects.
The reality staring them in the face is that the outcome of the next election in the constituencies will be shaped, more than ever, by national issues and, in particular, by the standing of the current Government.
Fianna Fáil backbenchers know that, in the short-term at least, things will continue to be difficult for their party. Knocked back by opinion polls results and knocked sideways by the pace of events, the Government is winded and it will be the summer recess before it gets a chance to catch its breath. The additional seats bonus which good vote management has delivered to Fianna Fáil in recent elections will be wiped out if the party's first preference vote falls to the extent which current opinion polls are suggesting. In such a scenario, backbenchers know it is their seats which will be in most peril.
In all the circumstances it is surprising that Fianna Fáil's backbenchers have not got boisterous sooner. With typical political skill, Bertie Ahern has this week managed to assuage their irritations. His backbenchers will now be hoping he can be as skilful at assuaging those of the electorate in the months to come. The one thing these politicians fear more than being ignored as backbenchers is being forgotten as former TDs.