We caught up with Peter Finnegan during his election campaign for the NUI Senead Eireann
What is your own background briefly?
Well that is a long story. But briefly, born in Northern Ireland, went to College to in Maynooth, live now in Celbridge, worked mainly on change leadership, in Youth Policy, Job Creation ,Education and Training , Enterprise Development, Urban and Rural Development, Company Rightsizing, Social Inclusion, Interculturalism and Migration, Childcare provision and family supports, Social, Economic and Cultural strategy for Dublin, Smart Cities and Digital Masterplan , Innovation, Community health and well being, Culture , Arts and Festivals, Disability access, Equality & Social Justice, International Relations, Urban Planning and service development , Economic Development, Tourism , International relations and Housing policy.
I probably couldn’t have a more varied background. It has helped me now as a Change Management Consultant. I have worked all over Ireland, in Dublin, at European level and globally. I spent a period as a Consultant advising regional government in Poland and Bulgaria on Economic and Enterprise development as part of their preparation for EU entry. I have worked with Universities and Secondary Schools, Government Agencies and Departments, EU institutions, the UNDP, Multi-national companies & Business Associations , NGOs in areas like Employment, Housing, Homeless Services, Arts & Culture, Media, Technology and Innovation.
I have found this experience invaluable in my role as a ministerial appointee to the Teaching Council , an elected graduate member of Maynooth Governing Authority , and a Board member of a number of Social Enterprise Companies.
Does it seem like a logical background to what you do now?
It was never a planned journey. Opportunity knocked, I was open to learning new skills and gaining new knowledge economy, the challenge of change always attracted and excited me, and all of this may not be a logical route to what I am doing now , but it equipped me as a change leader , and presented me with a record of achievement, often under the radar, and a independence of mind and spirit that would serve well in the role of Senator.
I have worked and contributed across the complex jigsaw of economy, education, and society that people have to navigate in order to live. So it leaves me well placed to contribute on legislation , call public services to account , and make an impact on national and international issues in Seanad Eireann.
How was the last 12 months?
Since taking early retirement from my last Dublin City Council role as Director of Housing Policy I have been self employed as a Change Consultant advising and supporting non profits, Enterprise Centres, St Patricks College Maynooth , and others.
I also chair a Committee under the National Childrens’ Hospital Project which facilitates the resolution of issues between the builders and local residents. The location of the Hospital build presents challenges to the residents that live around it. It also presents an opportunity to develop a global medical innovation hub for Ireland and I have been involved in some of the discussions about how this could advance.
Before leaving City Council I was in the USA with the Lord Mayor and Failte Ireland promoting Ireland as a Business Conference Destination and we saw how the City of Buffalo New York had developed medical innovation around it’s hospital cluster.
It was time to leave City Council, especially as I was making no headway on radical change in housing policy because of the Government’s approach on housing. The change has been challenging yet rewarding.
For me leaving the “comfort blanket” of a fantastic public service organisation like Dublin City Council wasn’t as hard as one might think. I have always within organisations like FAS, Eircom and City Council had to plough an independent path, am known as an innovator and creative, think outside the box, and challenge organisational mindsets.
So I have been an entrepreneur within governmental agencies driven not by money but rather by a sense of achievement when one succeeds in changing programmes or policies in a way the improves lives, gives better public service , opens new opportunities , and addresses inequality in society.
I do miss the people but I keep contact with as many as possible and still maintain the contacts across various sectors and interests. The strength of your networks and your ability to work in partnership with others is a vital ingredient in life and in work.
What are you doing now?
I am running because I want to take the experience and the networks I have an make a difference within our system of government decision making. I am also running because I want to change the way in which we do politics in this country. Our political approach is very adversarial, it is based around “winners and losers” , it doesn’t encourage independence of thought and innovation. I want to shake up this approach.
My experience is that by encouraging many voices to speak their own truth, by facilitating new ideas and approaches, and by negotiating a consensus around action , we can ensure that everyone wins, that co-operation is more dominant in public service than competition, and that the ownership of the results are shared.
How are you different to the other candidates?
I don’ know the other candidates well so saying what I bring that they don’t is impossible. I bring over 30 years of experience, across the entire ambit of issues that affect us as a nation and as individuals. A record of achievement the is based on innovation, creative action, negotiation, mediation, facilitation and above all the building of coalitions of common purpose.
Because of that experience I am not a single issue candidate because all issues are interrelated. I am a future focused strategic policy maker, who starts from dealing with the now reality of a challenge or a problem. I bring a global perspective that informs the national view but recognises and shapes that view in a way that allows for local difference. The policy solutions that suit Dublin do not always suit Kerry or Mayo.
I bring a commitment and a record of engaging with people and organisations. My experience is that to succeed you have to escape the ivory tower bubble of the “head office” or Leinster House and meet the people who you serve on the ground , in their own space. I particularly want to use technology and regular gatherings in every county to “crowd-source” the insights, knowledge and ideas of graduates and their families around the challenges we face today and in the future. The NUI Constituency crosses all boundaries of society and economy and I will not be a candidate you only hear from at election time.
I bring a belief and a lived commitment to change as the only constant in life. I bring my record of anticipating and shaping change in ways that benefit citizens and communities rather than letting change capture us.
Two recent things we have done as a Nation that demonstrate how we can do things differently have been the Citizens Assembly and Slaintecare. In the former we have “crowd sourced “ the insights and wisdom of citizens and this has led to the major positive social changes that have happened by way of referendum in recent years.
The initiative also “lets the politicians afraid of the next election “ off the hook of decision making on divisive issues. Slaintecare will change health and what is amazing , and only because of the minority government in place, it was agreed by consensus across Party lines, and was a non issue in the recent election.
What about the Climate Challenge?
The issues we face as a society and globally as a Planet are all inter related. The Climate challenge is related to our economic model , to how we and where we live , to how we eat and consume , and to how we move around Ireland and the world. Technology and the increasingly digital world offers potential to contribute to the solution but also to the Climate challenge if we don’t plan carefully.
A Data Centre uses massive energy and generates heat, but provides few jobs while facilitating digital creation and connections. So we need to use the downside to address potential upside benefits, such as linking the heat generated into district heating systems, and investing in job activity that does not require travelling into an office miles away every day. Each housing development built should assist by having with the development shared office hot desk spaces to reduce the need to travel.
On a broader front investment in eco public transport, especially in direct connection (limited stops) rail could extend the de facto footprint of housing and living miles away from places of work. Time is the most important currency we have because once spent it can never be regained and we do not know how much time we have in our “time bank”. Changing how we live, work and travel can free us from non-productive non-choice use of time.
On Climate Change we need to “up our game” by what choices we make individually and what incentives and disincentives we create as a society through legislation, taxation and the allocation of public finances. I believe we should follow Luxembourg and make free public transport available, but we also have to innovatively expand and “green” our existing public transport networks. Ireland needs to provide example to the world.
But the global climate challenge will not be solved by any one country, it requires global collaboration. As a small nation we have made an huge contribution to peace keeping, and to balanced world development through our people and their approach in the Army, in Development and Justice NGOs, and the education, medical and development work of Irish missionaries (lay and clerical). Our strength lies in building collaboration, giving example, winning friends by our actions, and gaining consensus. That is a unique gift of the Irish and we should use the same gift to lead the world on Climate Action.
Who has inspired you?
I am a product of place, the people I have encountered , and the depths I am still discovering as I travel to my own soul. My inspiration comes from family and teachers and friends who gifted me with the space and encouragement to “be my own person and be independent in thought and courageous in action”.
My belief in building coalitions and collaboration comes from being the eldest of nine children from a working class, Northern Ireland background and growing up in a mixed community at the height of the Northern Troubles. I am an admirer of the late Seamus Mallon, the late Fergal Quinn, existing Senators such as Lynn Ruane and Frances Black. I see hope and courage for change in the voices of leaders like Pope Francis , Mary Mc Aleese, Michael D Higgins and Naomi Long.
I have learned and developed myself and my views from all those I have encountered along my journey to date, from Lord Mayors of Dublin, to Innovators and thought leaders in business and community, to determined educators, to cultural creators, to individuals who faced with terminal illness or tragic loss of loved ones remain strong in spirit, determined to engage and embrace every hour or every day, no matter what lies ahead on the horizon.
important we exercise our personal power to make a difference & report any cutting. Protecting environment extends further #seanad2020 I facilitated decision by Dublin Parks Dept to end use of pesticides on roads and paths & auctioned it in Dublin South Central #vote4finnegan https://t.co/1KWdBHIpBs
— Vote Peter Finnegan to Seanad Eireann (@peterjfinnegan) March 2, 2020
If your want to discover more about me then best to check out the profile on the NUI website
http://www.nui.ie/elections/seanadelection2020/Profiles/Finnegan_Peter.asp
Or visit my own website www.peterfinnegan.ie
or linked in profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjamesfinnegan/
or follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/peterjfinnegan?lang=en
Or email me votepeterfinnegan@gmail.com
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