Godfrey's Gospel: Is our new finance minister really up to the job?

WITHOUT doubt, one of the top jobs in any government is the person who controls the purse strings, in our case the minister for finance. The minister for public expenditure is a close second, but when all is said and done, it is the man who proposed the budget who has the final say.

Last week, Ireland did its usual, when one of the parties in government decided to change the minister for finance, who actually has a background in finance, and appoints a doctor to fill the post.

Michael McGrath, a long-serving TD from Cork, is on his way to Europe as the Irish government’s nominee for a position as an EU commissioner. For the past couple of years, he has been minister for finance and before that was minister for public expenditure.

Like him or not, like Fianna Fáil or not, he was someone who comes from a financial background. He actually has a degree in economics and is a qualified chartered accountant.

No disrespect to his replacement Jack Chambers, but he doesn’t come from a financial background. His education is in law and medicine, so how on earth does that qualify him to be in charge of the nation’s finances.

It doesn’t, but politics is a strange business, where normal rules obviously don’t apply. Can you just imagine being admitted to hospital and being told you need to undergo a serious operation – oh, and by the way, it won’t be a doctor looking after you, but rather, a civil engineer or, worse still, someone who has a degree in politics.

That’s basically what it appears we are doing with our financial future. As I said, no disrespect to Mr Chambers, but just because he did an excellent job as Fianna Fáil chief whip – in other words keeping all the back benchers in line and leading the party through a very successful local election campaign – does that really qualify him for the position of minister for finance?

I pity poor old Dara Calleary. A third-generation politician, with his father Seán and grandfather Phelim previously representing Mayo in the Dáil, he has held several junior government positions, as well as a short stay as a minister. He is a graduate of TCSD and previously worked in a bank and with Chambers Ireland, so he must have thought he had a chance of being promoted this time around. He was - from a junior ministerial role to that of a super-junior, which will allow him to again sit at the cabinet table - but not with the big job, which would have brought him back full and centre after weathering the storm generated by a golf outing, which he didn’t even take part in, but sat for a dinner, at the start of the Covid pandemic.

As I said, a background in one particular field does not seem essential when it comes to politics. Take our minister for justice Helen McEntee, for instance. Her qualifications are in economics, politics and law, with a master’s in journalism. Not trying to demean her academic credentials, but I imagine law isn’t top of the list.

On the other hand, our minister for health Stephen Donnelly has no qualification when it comes to medicine. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering.

Tanaiste Micheál Martin is another fine example of how politics works differently when compared to other careers. He holds an arts degree and H Dip, and prior to becoming a politician, he was a teacher. Taoiseach Simon Harris started off studying property economics before switching to journalism, but three years into that he dropped out to pursue a career in politics.

I’m sure if I went through the educational background of all government ministers and TDs, I would find a wide cross-section of qualifications and some sitting members who have none at all. Does that make them fit to serve the public? Of course. After all, it is us who elect our politicians. We also know that having a piece of paper stating you are qualified in this or that specific field does not guarantee that you are capable of doing the job. Let’s hope Mr Chambers lives up to that refrain.