“We had to get Ireland working again”; Joe Costello reflects on long career amid retirement
Mike Finnerty 11 Jul 2023
Veteran Dublin politician Joe Costello has announced his resignation from Dublin City Council, signalling an end to the career of one of Dublin’s most prolific politicians.
Costello, who served in every role from Councillor, Senator, TD, Minister and director of elections for Michael D Higgins’ successful 2011 presidential bid, spoke to Northside People about his long-spanning career, the changes in politics in his lifetime, and his hopes for the future.
Speaking about his extensive and varied career, Costello said it was a “privilege” to serve in elected office, and remarked that “any elected office is a good office.”
Costello paid tribute to his wife Emer – a distinguished politician in her own right who served as a member of the European Parliament and as Lord Mayor of Dublin – as a “great support” to him during his career and he always felt “very strongly supported by her” during his career. As for why he is stepping away after a long career, Costello said he wanted to leave office “in an orderly fashion” and give his successor the best part of a year to build momentum ahead of next summer’s local elections. His successor will be co-opted onto Dublin City Council later this month.
Costello weighed up running in next year’s local elections, but indicated it was time for someone new to take up the reins.
“As a politician, you have to deal with bread and butter issues that help out everyday people, and it was always an honour to serve my constituents.”
“Being a politician comes with a lot of challenges and it is very exciting, and I say that politics goes from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
Costello’s stint in office began in 1989 following his election to the Seanad as a member of the Administrative Panel.
He remarked that at the outset of his career in politics, there was one secretary for four senators, and in the modern day, there is a secretary for every senator.
He noted there have been more resources granted to those in Government office, but would like to see more resources allocated to those elected at a council level.
“Councillors are very heavily worked in this country for relatively little money, and that is something I would like to see change in this country.”
Costello was then elected to the Dáil in the November 1992 election in the “Spring Tide,” but lost his seat in the general election of June 1997.
The 1997 loss resulted in a return to the Seanad before being reelected to the Dáil in 2002 and serving as a TD until 2016. Costello was elected onto Dublin City Council in 2019, and while a third return to the Dáil was unsuccessful in 2020, he remained on the council until July 2023.
The social media revolution has represented the biggest change in Costello’s life as a politician, which he said has made politics a “bit uglier.”
“To me, there is nothing more interesting or exciting than politics, but there is also that seedier element of anonymous trolling or abuse on social media.”
Having served as Minister of State for Foreign Affair and Trade during the Fine Gael – Labour coalition of 2011 – 2016, Costello witnessed visits by heads of states, foreign delegations and was instrumental in shaping Ireland’s presidency of the European Union in 2013.
Costello recalls “difficult” meetings at a time of great economic downturn for Ireland, but also recalled the period as “very exciting,” pointing to Ireland’s role in getting EU member states to play a bigger part in overseas aid development during their EU presidency.
“There were a lot of challenges for sure, the country was in a bad state, and it was our job to get people selling and buying things in Ireland again.”
During his third stint as a TD, Higgins was instrumental in shaping transport policy in Ireland, including extending the Luas Green Line to Broombridge and ensuring that Dublin Bus services would not be cut for commuters in the area.
Transport policy is a clear passion of Costello, and spoke at length about how the current Government is “falling down” in the area.
“At a time when all this money is coming into the country via corporation tax, there is absolutely no excuse for the Government to not invest in our transport infrastructure.”
“Rural Ireland is really being failed in this regard, but in my view, once you build transport infrastructure, it is there forever.”
Costello also pointed to the recent revelation that €300 million had been spent on the MetroLink without any tangible results as a sign of the Government’s poor current record on transport.
Labour’s subsequent electoral decline has been attributed by many political analysts to their stint in coalition, and Costello said he would be “very surprised” if his party were to enter into coalition with the largest party after the next election.
Current polling indicates that no single party would have the numbers to form a majority, which has led to smaller parties being courted to make up the numbers.
For Costello, it is a matter of numbers that would prevent Labour from taking part in Government for the third time in 30 years, saying the party would need more than 10 TD’s elected before it entertained the idea of joining coalition again.
“Of course, it is only when you’re in power that you can get things done and deliver on your promises, but history has shown us that the smaller parties always lose.”
As for what the near future holds for Costello, he very much plans to be involved in the local community.
“I’m still on the board for the Grangegorman Development Agency, and we look after the Technological University Dublin campus – there is a lot of potential there for positive community growth.”
Costello is held in high esteem by council colleagues, with Costello’s party colleague, Councillor Dermot Lacey thanking him for his “35 years of committed service as a public representative.”
Diplomat Colin Wrafter, who served as Ireland’s ambassador to South Africa and Zimbabwe, said that Councillor was a “fine public representative with a distinguished career he can be proud of.”
Independent Councillor Nial Ring rounded out the tributes to Costello, saying “Joe has represented the area with drive, professionalism and passion for 35 years and he will be missed by his constituents and also by his fellow councillors.”
“Personally, I always found Joe to be very approachable, affable and helpful in all my dealings with him on constituency matters.”
“Although not from Dublin, Joe always put the people of the North Inner City and Dublin Central first and over and over again they thanked him personally and through the ballot box” he added.
“Joe was not just a fellow local politician, he was a confidante, advisor and a friend to all his constituency colleagues and we wish him and Emer a long, happy and well-deserved retirement.”
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