That’s tea with a small t, but it describes possible campaigning activities described at ‘hourly’ meetings which took place in several locations last weekend with independent candidates wanting to start a new political movment of ‘like minded’ independents who would act together in the Dáil like ‘a party without a whip.’

Some of these meetings were attended by people who worked on the Obama campaign – big whizz given how many people from Ireland went over to work on the campaign.

No this is not a political fiction novel.

So far the group consists of Paul Sommerville in Dublin South East, Shane Ross in Dublin South, Stephen Donnelly in Wicklow with strong pleadings being made to David McWilliams in Dun Laoghaire to join them. And they are looking for more people to run. Especially women – any woman in fact cos it’s looking slightly testosterone heavy at the moment. Not that this ‘party’ are going to spend much time talking about equality you understand.

Sommerville on Tonight with Vincent Browne this evening described that he believed there would be ‘a group of people who would bring ideas to government from within the Dáil – he added that ‘we need well informed economists inside the Dáíl.’

Text of email from Stephen Donnelly seeking local support

We are about to cast the most important votes of our lives and our children’s lives. My name is Stephen Donnelly and I am running for election. I can no longer stand on the sidelines and see our great country destroyed by incompetent politicians. I stand for change and a new beginning for Wicklow and for Ireland.

You know just how serious our crisis is and how it affects each and every one of us. Our wages and pensions are falling. Our businesses are closing down and our jobs are being lost. Our banking system has failed and a growing one hundred billion Euros of debt is crippling us. The IMF has taken control of our finances. Our health service is on it’s knees, our education standards are dropping and our public servants feel under siege. Unemployment and emigration have reached unbearable levels. Our beautiful county is being devastated. We are all furious. We have been let down and sold out.

The total failure of our current political system is at the heart of this catastrophe. Just three years ago all of the main parties were shouting for more spending, more borrowing. Of the 154 Fine Gael and Labour candidates selected so far, just two are running for office for the first time. Nothing has changed – the parties are offering nothing new with their candidates in this critical election. If we elect these people, our great country will continue to crumble. We need people who can face down the IMF, who understand business, and who know how to work with front line staff to transform education and healthcare. We need new people from outside the political system with the experience and the energy to turn Ireland around. This is our choice and it is our democratic right.

I am a father of two small boys. My wife and I want them to grow up in Wicklow, to have a great education, good jobs, and not be paying off other people’s debts for the rest of their lives (our national debt is climbing towards €125,000 per household). I want to walk the Wicklow mountains with my children and know that we the people of Wicklow took it back from the politicians and made it strong and vibrant again.

I have some of the skills and experience required. I have worked and studied in Ireland and abroad, in business, in economics and in building high performing public services. I studied at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to work for countries in our situation, to negotiate with the IMF and to rebuild economies.

Through this experience, I know that we can:

Give the debt back to the bondholders. They must deal with the consequences of their poor investment decisions. This had nothing
to do with the Irish people.

Get money flowing again to create jobs. We must establish a National Reconstruction Bank to support our business community in Wicklow and across the country.

Transform our health and education systems, for no extra cost. Other countries have done this and so can we. We must work with teachers, principals and healthcare professionals to set a new vision. Only they, with our support, can make this vision a reality.

Put people with the necessary experience into the Dáil. New candidates, with skills, experience and energy from outside the political system are standing up all around the country.

We in Wicklow can be part of this new beginning. I love this county and this country, and it is for this that I am standing for election. I need your help. I need your first preference vote. I also need any other help you can bring. I need you to talk to family and friends, to knock on doors, to make sandwiches, to hold coffee mornings in your house, to drive cars, and if you can contribute even one euro, I need that too.

People across Wicklow are standing up and taking part. There is a movement building, a movement of people who are fed up with the way things have gone and are ready for a new beginning. Please join us in making this a reality.

Thank you for reading, and I truly hope to see you on our campaign.

Stephen Donnelly
Independent Candidate for Wicklow