Nothing will change in this country if the same people run, the same people are elected, the same people make decisions on our behalf.

This is the opinion expressed by Una Mullally in today’s Irish Times. Unfortunately, the ‘our’ Ms. Mullally speaks of is the young people of Ireland.

In other words, she is writing about yet another interest group that is primarily concerned about their own particular needs.

In addition to the traditional complaints about third-level fees and accommodation Ms. Mullally suggests that young people should be given a quota for election candidates along the same lines as that already provided for woman candidates.

She writes of ‘rumblings’ from young people who have emigrated and occasional (revolutionary?) calls for votes from abroad.

She writes of ‘a simmering of sorts’ of political engagement that she hopes will start boiling.

She demands:

Our political system needs to take young politicised people seriously.

No it doesn’t. Our corrupt political system will ignore any group that fails to make a significant challenge to its activities.

And young people as a group, as a force for real change, as a stand alone, independent movement challenging the rotten status quo is, as far as I can see, non-existent.

Yes, there are plenty of young people involved in the Water Tax protests. In other words, involved in a genuine revolutionary challenge against what Mullally correctly describes as the male, white, middle-class, middle-aged, conservative demographic.

But what Ms. Mullally is really writing about is her unbounded admiration for what she believes is an emerging cadre of new, idealistic political leaders.

She quotes chairwoman of the Young Greens Lorna Bogue’s opinion of the political status quo.

I’m just kind of tired of middle-aged men pissing away my future all the time.

I couldn’t agree more but, unfortunately for any hopes of a new standard of political leadership, Ms. Bogue is in the wrong party. The Greens are led by Eamon Ryan, a middle-aged man whose party pissed all over young and old when in Government.

See here for Ryan’s cowardly/bizarre denial that his party supported Bertie Ahern when he was lying to the Tribunal.

See here for my recent open letter to Mr. Ryan regarding his party’s betrayal of Ireland and its people while in government.

So what should young people be doing?

Here’s a suggestion.

The amalgamation of every student union in the country to form a nucleus for the creation of a national young people’s revolutionary movement with the express intention of bringing down the corrupt, middle-class, conservative political system that has been pissing all over Irish citizens for decades.

Failing that I would invite Ms. Bogue to make a direct challenge to Eamon Ryan concerning the disgraceful behaviour of the Green Party while in power and demand that he apologise for the party’s betrayal of the people of Ireland.