So Pat Rabbitte has gone.

That is a pity. He was one of the few in Leinster House with a quick mind and a sense of humour.

There will be the usual speculation as to who is to take over from Pat. Will it make a difference?

Sarah Carey over at GUBU suggests what we need is a new political party. How right she is.

Our choices at the moment ..

Fianna Fail – think they have a God given right to govern. Their policies are driven by vested interests and a greed for power. Corrupt as hell.

Fine Gael – Too scared of Fianna Fail and afraid to speak up. Their policies are almost the same as Fianna Fail anyway.

Labour – Again, they follow the mainstream line of policies with some differences, but they are too small to make a difference.

Progressive Democrats – Hah! They crawled so far up the arses of Fianna Fail that they vanished.

The Greens – see under Progressive Democrats.

The Irish political system is like a building. It is built on good foundations, but it is being built in the wrong way. If a wall is out of alignment, all the parties argue about is where exactly the next brick should be laid. What we need is a party that is not afraid to tear down that wall and start again.

Just as one example, one of the main agendas in the last election was the health system [or lack of]. All the parties fought over was public versus private. They can’t seem to see that there is nothing inherently wrong with our hospital system, apart from lack of funding. Billions are being poured in, but that money is all being absorbed by the sponge called the HSE. So tear down the HSE. It isn’t working. Rebuild a leaner more efficient HSE. The health system is being run by accountants and not the health professionals.

What we need is a party that is not afraid to question the current policies and systems, and that is not afraid to rebuild these systems if they are not working. We need lateral thinking. We need a party who’s only vested interest is that of the country and not big business and the building industry. We need fresh ideas, and people who aren’t afraid to implement them.

Incidentally, if you need a new Taoiseach, I suppose I could be persuaded.