Would a civil engineer make a better transport minister?

yer man!

One thing I could never quite grasp is the whole minister of a department thing. Why should someone be in charge of a specific department but not have the expertise to go with it. Take Leo Varadkar for example, he's a doctor, a medical doctor, not an engineer, what does he know about transport? why not have an expert take up the position of transport minister, they would know what is the best type of transport to put where, etc... It just seems weird that in every other job, you need to be trained for it, you need to have experience in order to get it, but to be transport minister, sure we'll let the doctor do it or the teacher, they'll know....

schemingbohemia

Stupid argument, do you want him/her to be able to build the things too?
It's about management not about having a particular degree.

Jaysoose

Whats stupid about it?

Expecting a minister to have some background in the department he is running is common sense.

Africa

Actually, thats good logic; I did wonder about it before. Makes much much more sense actually having an engineer in charge of it.

Outkast_IRE

To be fair i think people from various professional backgrounds would make better ministers than the current ones.

Problem no.1 though is how easy it has been made for teachers to pursue this route, and if they are successful their job is held for them etc.

In my opinion less teachers and more professionals would be a great thing.

Corkbah

its impossible to get someone who is qualified to do those jobs actually running as an electorial candidate - they have more common sense.

A civil engineer might understand what is going on at meetings and will understand the jargon used - instead of trying to talk so long that no-one else gets a sentence in and people just give up because you simply enjoy the sound of your own voice !!

Anyway - I digress .... a civil engineer will understand the details but would probably get caught up in the details while someone who has no knowledge of the area but can smile for a photo or talk to the media ...and talk ...and talk .... can simply nod and sign their signature to pieces of paper ensuring civil servants get money and the minister stays elected.

dowlingm

We've had teachers and barristers as ministers for finance and that went splendidly #not

On the other hand James Reilly isn't giving a good account of himself as a doctor in charge of health.

I think a better question might be whether we need more public scrutiny of who gets appointed Sec Gen of a particular department. How far do you need to go down the Transport foodchain before you find an engineer or experienced project manager - or is that all staffed out to consultants now?

Corkbah

dowlingm wrote: »

We've had teachers and barristers as ministers for finance and that went splendidly #not

On the other hand James Reilly isn't giving a good account of himself as a doctor in charge of health.

I think a better question might be whether we need more public scrutiny of who gets appointed Sec Gen of a particular department. How far do you need to go down the Transport foodchain before you find an engineer or experienced project manager - or is that all staffed out to consultants now?

but he has other things to take priority ... nursing homes !!

What we do need as a priority is accountability for ministers - if their department is wasting and seen to be wasting money - out you go !! .... and insert next in line to mop up the mess (oh I should include a 10yr ban on politics for anyone who is caught breaking the law - 20yr for those doing it while in office)

Losty Dublin

dowlingm wrote: »

We've had teachers and barristers as ministers for finance and that went splendidly #not

On the other hand James Reilly isn't giving a good account of himself as a doctor in charge of health.

I think a better question might be whether we need more public scrutiny of who gets appointed Sec Gen of a particular department. How far do you need to go down the Transport foodchain before you find an engineer or experienced project manager - or is that all staffed out to consultants now?

+1. The senior civil servants at a department get paid as much and more than the Minister they report to. They'd also have longevity in their role and a greater working knowledge of the trade yet they rarely have trained and experienced people working for them.

Apart from wretched consultants

schemingbohemia

Remember it's the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport now so do you want someone with a civil engineering background who's worked as a Trolly Dolly while turning out for Ireland in Rugby at weekends?

coylemj

Disagree with the OP's suggestion. Ray McSharry left secondary school after the Inter Cert. but was one of the best Ministers for Finance we ever had precisely because he had the balls to stand up to Charlie Haughey and implement the cuts that were necessary to stop the country going down the tubes in the 1980s.

The last thing we need is a technocrat minister getting bogged down in details. There are enough specialists in each department to take care of the technical stuff though I do agree that there is far too much spent on consultants.

folan

i can only imagine its hard for a minister to propose changes when their experience is not actually relevant to their dept.

however, that should be what civil servants are for. now if thats the case is another thing.

WRT transport, knowledge of infrastructure et al could only be an advantage, but a good manager is a good manager and good staff are good staff. its the staff who should be doing most of the work, the manager should just be managing.

dowlingm

coylemj wrote: »

There are enough specialists in each department to take care of the technical stuff though I do agree that there is far too much spent on consultants.

It's been a long time since the Civil Service had their pick of the best and brightest, along with the banks.