The first-time TDs elected at the last general election have had a year to settle in to the Dáil. So what do they think of it so far, asks Arthur Beesley
Máire Hoctor
Fianna Fáil
Hoctor was the only new female deputy in Fianna Fáil. A former secondary school teacher, the 40-year-old took a career break for a year to prepare her election campaign last year. From Nenagh, she received 8,949 first-preference votes in Tipperary North and won the second seat in the constituency.
Having grown up in her parents' grocery shop, she has no difficulty being in the public eye. But as a teacher, she was accustomed to a very structured working day.
"Now it's the total opposite," she says. "You can plan a day, plan a week in your diary, and it might not turn out like that."
Travel to the Dáil and within the constituency has become a major feature of Hoctor's life. She says it is not unusual for her to do a 200-mile round trip by car. This is a big change from her career as a teacher, when school was just around the corner from home.
"The biggest adjustments I've needed to make are in time management," she says.
As a Government backbencher, Hoctor has felt heat from her constituents over unpopular policies. Issues that voters have raised with her include the abolition of the grant for first-time home-buyers, a matter she raised with the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party because of her own difficulty with the policy.
Voters have also expressed unhappiness with the Government review of the free-fee scheme for third-level education.
Still, Hoctor sees great advantages in being a TD because there is easier access to information and the upper strand of power. Not the most vociferous of deputies on the floor of the Dáil, she believes it is better to spend time working for constituents than making speeches.
Hoctor says it is notable that there are very few women in the Dáil. She accepts that her election campaign and life in politics is easier because she does not have children to look after.
"The biggest advantage is being in a position of influence, and the privilege and duty that that brings," she says. "It has exceeded my expectations radically."
Séan Crowe
Sinn Féin
Crowe (46) topped the poll in Dublin south-west, the constituency embracing Tallaght. After unsuccessfully contesting the three elections since 1989, his 7,466 first- preference votes were enough to elect him on the first count.
Crowe was one of five Sinn Féin TDs to win a Dáil seat. A long-time activist in Sinn Féin, he was formerly a youth officer in the party. "I'm a political animal. I want to bring about change and this is the best way to do it," he says.
From Dublin, Crowe has spent time getting used to the way the House works, familiarising himself with some of the more arcane elements of the system. "I had never been in here before I got elected. I've had to get used to what I can say and what I can't say," he says.
He points to the frustration of being given only a short amount of time to make a point. At one committee meeting, for example, he was given three minutes to speak on a 500-page report on autism.
With Sinn Féin attempting to cover all the political portfolios with its five TDs, Crowe says his work is demanding. But he recognises that it is easier to achieve results as a TD. From a practical perspective, he has support staff and access to large amounts of information. From the political perspective, public bodies take requests from TDs more seriously.
In one instance, he was able to secure "back-money" from the State for a man who was going blind. The man, who was not a constituent, had tried several times on his own to advance his case. Only when Crowe intervened did he make progress.
"That gives you a sense of some of the power you have as a TD," Crowe says.
While he does not agree with some of the arguments made by rival politicians during debates, debate is important nonetheless.
"The past year has been just like an apprenticeship," he says. "Very few apprentices enjoy their apprenticeships."
John Deasy
Fine Gael
Deasy (35) took the Fine Gael seat of his father, Austin, in Waterford. He received 7,303 first preference votes, taking the second seat in the constituency. Deasy's move into politics was almost inevitable and his path to the Dáil was eased by his father's 29-year career in the Oireachtas. He was elected to Waterford County Council in 1999, just two years after he returned from a 10-year stint in the US.
Still, Deasy did not expect to be appointed to the Fine Gael front bench immediately. But the new Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, made him spokesman on justice. With the Fine Gael collapse in the election leaving many established TDs out of the frame, Kenny's appointment makes Deasy the youngest on the front bench in the Dáil.
Deasy says his best moment was when he made his first speech. Perceived to be on the right of the party, he has used the justice portfolio to launch a new policy on alcohol. This initiative added to his national profile.
However, an earlier attempt on the floor of the Dáil to address the problem of under-age drinking led to a devastating verbal assault by the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell. It was damaging for Deasy, but he says McDowell let himself down by personalising the attack.
Deasy believes the Government is engaged in a dumbing-down exercise in the Dáil. "The Taoiseach never answers questions," he says.
Noting that the Government prefers to introduce policy initiatives through the media, he says this leads to apathy and a sense that the Dáil has become irrelevant.
Deasy's advocacy of Oireachtas reform suggests he is aware of the limitations of politics on the floor of the Dáil. He believes the number of seats in the Dáil could be reduced to 100 from 166 and says TDs' pay should be increased to attract more talented politicians. He is also a passionate supporter of the abolition of the dual mandate.
"We have to try and elect a legitimate legislature as opposed to a place that is full of councillors right now," he says.
Eamon Ryan
Green Party
The Green TD says his first year in the Dáil was akin to the fresher year in college. He was elected on the ninth count to the fifth seat in Dublin South.
The founder of two businesses, Ryan (39) was a busy man before entering politics. Now he is even busier. He enjoys politics in the Dáil, but finds that it requires a degree of "obsession".
"It's difficult to switch off," he says. While he might have read the sports pages first in the newspaper when sitting down at the end of an evening, he is always on the lookout now for political stories.
Ryan has difficulty with the structures, standing orders and protocols of the Dáil, which limit the opportunities of deputies to speak. But he still finds the House relevant and important and supports the parliamentary process.
"I love speaking in the chamber," he says. "When I sit down after 15 or 20 minutes, that gives me a great sense of satisfaction."
He admits he had difficulty keeping his cool over the decision of the Taoiseach not to attend the chamber on Thursdays and says it is better to exercise restraint. Ryan has frequently clashed with the Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, over speaking time, but he says he likes him.
Ryan says the biggest advantage of being a TD is access to information. In one afternoon this week, he received briefings on fisheries, on the digital hub urban renewal initiative in central Dublin, and on the World Trade Organisation. If such briefings remind him of college tutorials, he finds them to be highly useful. A campaigner on environmental issues for years, Ryan sees the Greens entering Government at some stage in the future. Thus it is important to keep himself informed.
Marian Harkin
Independent
After running unsuccessfully in the 1999 European election, Harkin (49) topped the poll last year in Sligo-Leitrim. She might run again for Europe next year, but says she has concentrated since her election on her work as a TD. She will make a decision in the summer.
A maths teacher until last May and never previously involved in party politics, Harkin had no real preconceptions about Dáil politics before her election.
"It's the steepest learning curve I've ever been on," she says.
She believes she has been effective as a TD, highlighting local issues and securing access to certain ministers in constituency work. She spoke in the Dáil against the restrictions to the Freedom of Information Act. Harkin notes that she had to study the original Act before forming a view on the amendments for her speech.
Though conscious that she might be addressing an empty chamber when speaking in the Dáil and that the Government might take no heed of what she says, she believes it important to make her point.
She says the most crucial task for TDs is to police how the Government manages expenditure. For example, she says that money spent on the national pension fund should be used to improve primary schools. She says she did not campaign to put herself in the position of trading favours for Sligo if the Government needed her vote. She dislikes the tendency of politicians to blame external factors for problems while seeking credit for State expenditure locally.
From the perspective of the Independent TD, Harkin believes that the creation of the technical group with the Greens and Sinn Féin has given members an important opportunity to secure more speaking time in the House. However, she believes Independents are more discriminated against in the Dáil than women politicians.
Not long after Harkin arrived in the Dáil, the Fianna Fáil junior minister, Brian Lenihan, told her she would need a year to accustom herself to the place.
"I thought I'd do it in half a year. But he was right and I was wrong," she admits.
Noel Grealish
Progressive Democrats
He ran the shortest election campaign last year. The Galway West TD was only parachuted on to the PD ticket when junior minister Bobby Molloy resigned. "I had ambitions to run for Dáil Éireann, but I didn't think I'd be running so soon," he says.
The director of a glass-glazing factory, Grealish secured 2,735 first-preference votes. He was elected on the 15th count, to the fifth seat in the constituency. A member of the PDs since the party's second meeting at Leisureland, Galway, in January 1986, Grealish (37) relishes being a Government backbencher. "We've had very productive parliamentary party meetings. We're at the heart of discussion on Government policies and issues, and the party takes our views on board," he says. "I don't know about punching above our weight, but we are influencing policy, which is what we are there for."
Still, Grealish must toe the line on Government policy. While he admits difficulty with the abolition of the dual mandate and the cancellation of the grant for first-time home-buyers, he says the advantages of being a Government TD outweigh the disadvantages.
So have voters expressed any anger to him over cutbacks and the economy? Grealish says "not really", but says the Government has had a "bumpy ride" since the election. In particular, constituents have come to him with concern about funding for people with disabilities.
As a member of Galway County Council, Grealish believes his constituency duties have not changed radically. He sees much of his work as a TD from the perspective of a legislator.
With travel between Dublin and Galway and constituency duties at home, Grealish says being a TD is a seven-day job.
"It's very hectic, very busy all the time," he says. "If one was married it would have a different effect on family life, particularly if there are children."
Labour had no first-time TD elected last year