Former Minister of State for European Affairs Lucina Creighton was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party for voting against the Government during the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill vote back in July. Now serving as an independent TD and founding member of the Reform Alliance - along with other TDs and senators expelled from Fine Gael - Creighton has written a lengthy blog post outlining her views on the current state of Irish politics.

In the post entitled Loyalty in Irish Politics, Creighton opens by explaining "the over dependence on loyalty in Irish politics, or perhaps the misunderstanding of loyalty, in comparison to other European countries, can be explained by the fact that many of the post-independence political establishment had fought together and against one another, a legacy which has not yet expired."

Contextualising the emergence of Irish party politics following the Civil War and War of Independence, she states that "the militarism of unity has long been used as a cloak for cowardice, where individual members misdirect their loyalty to government, irrespective of the platform they promised to their electorate."

The TD goes on to suggest that in the 2011 general election, the Irish electorate did not necessarily vote strictly along party lines, instead placing their trust in individuals, policies and promises they felt would address the problems facing the country at the time. Creighton believes many of these policies and promises have since been betrayed and diluted, frustrating party members such as herself who genuinely believed they could deliver on many of their electoral promises.

"Slavish adherence to the government line"

For Creighton, the current government betrays not only its own members and voters, but also the party itself.

"We in Fine Gael found to our detriment that loyalty to the party, its members and the electorate which we serve, are not held in equal or as high regard as loyalty to government," she explains. "Loyalty to government, rather than the values of the party which we support is the higher calling that we are expected to serve. This loyalty manifests itself in a slavish adherence to the government line, an unquestioning acceptance of the superiority of others by virtue of their rank or influence, and a willingness to stay silent in the face of poor policy making and vested interests. These triumph above all else. Inconvenient questions and independence of thought must be quashed".

Creighton suggests that the reason so many TDs focus on local affairs is because that's the only are they can get job satisfaction, and this has morphed to the point where even cabinet members feel they can not get anything done outside their appointed departments.

She writes that the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Finance and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform effectively govern the country by themselves, with the aid of their "special advisors and senior civil servants".

"When the four men have made the major decisions on revenue and expenditure," Creighton explains, "the remaining cabinet soldiers dutifully bow to the monies or tax incentives that have been given or taken away from their department."

Creighton concludes that "while many saw the 2011 'democratic revolution' as a snapshot or a footnote in Irish history, where normal party allegiances would soon return, this is not sense that I get, but rather that the electorate are craving something different. Irish citizens crave a politics of conviction that is befitting of a democracy which has lost its soul.  It is up to those of us who care enough about our country and our people to make this much anticipated 'democratic revolution' really happen."

You can read Creighton's full Loyalty in Irish Politics article on her website.