Protocol May 18, 2016
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
I thought this from Noel Whelan last week in the IT was worth thinking about:
Enda Kenny ultimately got through to Shane Ross and told him he was being made Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. So excited was Ross by this news that he told several media representatives about it on his way to Government Buildings. In so doing he breached long-established protocol whereby the announcement of the names of those who are to be nominated for appointment as Ministers is reserved for the Taoiseach himself and is made in the Dáil chamber.
And:
Ross’s protocol error is not of itself a big deal. It was symptomatic, however, of the shambolic manner in which the new Government was put together last week.
It says something also about how Ross, although he has spent several decades in the Oireachtas, is shockingly uninformed about the workings and mores of government itself.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
I would say the only people who care about this are Leinster House insiders who like to think they’re auditioning for parts in The West Wing.
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The lack of protocol yes, but there’s a deeper point about lack of knowledge about the institutional approaches even amongst those who’ve been in them for decades.
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I hope he doesn’t repeat that mistake with something more important, like a detail from the budget.
Well… maybe I hope he does (because then he’d have to resign).
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Isn’t the protocol for that to be keel-hauled at dawn, or am I mixing up my protocols? It’s so hard to get it straight in your head.
It was the state opening of Parliament in the UK today, not exactly easy to take all that arcane nonsense seriously, protocol or not.
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True, the owning of parliament is massively overdone and also has some problematic aspects but there is a certain logic in having the Taoiseach announce ministerial positions rather than a free for all.
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Haha, Freudian slip there re owning of parliament, ‘opening’ though it may not be so wrong.
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There definitely is a logic to a head of government announcing the members of their cabinet, however I don’t think it’s so important that it deserves much, indeed any, after-thought if an overly exuberant new minister outs themselves early.
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the point is Kenny may have still be arranging his cabinet and could have had to make changes
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that breach of protocol wasn’t a mistake but
Alison O’Connor
@alisonoconn
Utterly refreshing to hear a minister say after wk in the job he still hasn’t a clue – how could it b otherwise? @Shane_RossTD #marian
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When one works for a corpse all protocol is indefinitely suspended.
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