Irish idiom for putting the national interest ahead of other interests From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Put on the green jersey" is a phrase to represent putting the Irish national interest first. The phrase can be used in a positive sense, for example evoking feelings of national unity during times of crisis. The phrase can also be used in a negative sense – e.g. the Irish national interest as an excuse for immoral conduct or corruption. The phrase reflects the wearing of green sports jerseys by most of Ireland's sporting teams.
While the term is used in a range of contexts, it is most common to see it used in a pejorative sense, and to describe taking face saving actions, over unveiling the facts.[1][2][3] In this context, it is often used in relation to political situations and the choice between protecting Ireland's international reputation versus the need for public disclosure.[4][5] The term is invoked frequently in such a manner during debates in the Irish Dáil Éireann (a search of Dáil Éireann debates lists over 400 instances),[6] where opposition members sometimes claim face saving measures are for an incumbent Government's reputation, and not the national interest.
The term can be invoked by an incumbent Government looking for support from opposition parties for a particular course of action on which there is no consensus. In November 2018, the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was criticised by opposition parties for invoking the Green Jersey in relation to Brexit negotiations,[7] and other matters.[8]
During State prosecutions of the Irish banking crisis (2014–2018), the derived term green jersey agenda was used to imply that Irish bank CEOs and the Irish State (Department of Finance, Financial Regulator, and the Central Bank), colluded to advocate the build up of credit during the Celtic Tiger period, and then covered up the scale of financial leverage when the banking system began to collapse in 2008.[9][10][11][12][13] In one particular State prosecution, the Irish Times reported how the State unsuccessfully sought to have the jury prevented from hearing evidence regarding a "green jersey agenda".[14]
"Green jersey" can appear with the term Ireland Inc., which refers to Ireland behaving like a single company (and taking commercial decisions ahead of other decisions such as social, ethical, or risk).[15][16] In this context, the term is most often invoked when refuting criticism of Ireland Inc.[11] This was considered to be a factor in the lack of challenge and debate around the extreme build-up of leverage in the Celtic Tiger era (and for which the independent Irish Fiscal Advisory Council was created).[17][18]
An example was when Irish businessman Denis O'Brien, said in 2018 that the Dublin office market was in a "bubble",[19] which the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, publicly refuted that day, from the world economic forum in Davos.[20]
The term (and its derived terms), are also invoked as a call to put different interests aside in favour of taking a positive course of action for the Irish national interest. During the 2019 FAI controversies regarding CEO John Delaney, the term was invoked to overhaul the FAI's governance.[21] In the 2019 European elections, it was invoked to show Ireland's commitment to the European Union and rejection of a Brexit agenda.[22] In April 2019, Irish European Commissioner, Phil Hogan, was quoted as describing Europe's support for Ireland's agenda in the Brexit negotiations as "wearing a green jersey".[23]
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