Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to outline the Government's response to the Mahon tribunal's final report, which is being published today. Engaging in a debate on this topic is important because, at its core, is the issue of trust. Trust is essential to any democracy. It is what is vested in each public representative at the point of election and it is what is expected of them throughout their service to their electorate. When members of the public cast their vote for any one of us, what they are effectively saying is: "We trust you"; "We trust you to champion and support our interests"; and "We trust you to be straight, honest and honourable". They must have confidence and certainty that we will, at all times, represent their needs, not ours.

The people will always give out about politicians - that comes with the territory - but when they believe that politicians abuse the honour of representing them in order to feather their own nests, that goes far beyond mere criticism to a complete loss of trust in those elected and a loss of faith in the entire political system.

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