The Deep State: Understanding The Permanent Government

We don’t get much democracy in Ireland. Just look at the response to a motion I put down on greedy data centres. Corporations cause higher energy bills for working class people and impact on the environment.

Despite a majority vote in South Dublin County Council to ban new data centres then Minister of State Peter Burke overturned the decision. But central government aren’t the only protection against democracy the establishment have set up - in every council the unelected bureaucrats, headed by an overpaid CEO can overturn decisions too.

In South Dublin County Council the Chief Executive is Colm Ward. In Dublin City Council it’s Richard Shakespeare - who is paid around €200,000 a year to hold supreme power over the council. He can overturn votes by councillors.

When it comes to the Dáil there are even more barriers to democracy. Most people don’t understand the role of the permanent government in shaping government options after a general election.

Every party publishes a wish list called a manifesto. When they win enough votes they sit down with the top civil servants and the manifesto is translated into a programme for government - after it’s been filtered by the permanent government.

After the 2020 election a Sinn Féin delegation met with Martin Fraser, then the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach. He was the most important civil servant in the country. Every manifesto had to pass his inspection.

In 2024 the head of the civil service is John Callinan, who was Martin Fraser’s assistant. He’s paid €215,998 a year to defend the interests of the wealthy and when all the parties have finished their coalition talks they’ll sit down with him and translate their manifestos into policies.

Callinan has worked with five leaders of the Dáil. The politicians come and go but the state bureaucracy remains. He’d previously worked at the Revenue Commisioners and for the EC in Brussels before getting the state’s most powerful job.

This filtering of manifestos means that although politicians have to take account and win the votes of ordinary people during an election they can rest assured the state bureaucracy is there to save the day if any of their policies might upset the rich.

Therefore every government - no matter which parties compose that government - is in coalition with the permanent government. Every government is a partnership with the deep state. And the people never get to vote on that.

It’s beyond the reach of democratic control to make sure that capitalism isn’t threatened. When workers marched in the 1800s to demand the vote the ruling classes gave ground but made sure the protect their power.

The Irish state, set up after the War of Indepedence, was a mirror image of the British state.

No matter who you elect the unelected permanent government heads the civil service, the Guards and the Army. Of course the rich also make there is no economic democracy. Every workplace is a dictatorship overseen by the CEO, the board and an army of managers.

We create the wealth but we don’t get to control it. Billionaires like Denis O’Brien and Larry Goodman watch governments come and go - but their wealth remains. And wealth is power.

What does all this mean for socialist strategy?

Firstly, we need to be honest with people. The idea that a government of centre left parties, armed with policies the permanent government accept, is going to deliver substantial change is a utopian pipe dream.

Kicking out Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would be progress along the path of change but the parties lined up to replace them are weak - Sinn Féin, Labour and the Soc Dems are all to ready to do the bidding of the permanent government.

Sinn Féin spent the last week begging Fianna Fail for talks while Labour are ready to jump into bed with just about anyone except Sinn Féin.

Socialist TDs should, given the opportunity, vote down Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael nominees for Taoiseach. But they should do it from a position of independence, helping to remove the establishment parties while continuing the fight against the hidden establishment.

Real democracy would require a people power rebellion of the working class that built a new state based of workers’ assemblies, workplace democracy and a workers’ parliament where every representative is on the average wage and recallable by voters.

We have to tell the truth about the challenges ahead on the path to change. We will keep marching along that path until the working class controls its own destiny.