Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As elected representatives of the people in our constituencies and across this country, we have been treated contemptibly.

I refer to us not as individuals but as representatives of those who voted for us. The Minister is very well aware of the commitments made by the two Government parties, the Labour Party and my party, Fine Gael, and explicitly by the Taoiseach who committed to a so-called democratic revolution after the general election. No such revolution has happened. What we are seeing is centralisation and a tightening of the grip on power.

I must repeat what I said on Second Stage, namely, that in a national Sunday newspaper a senior Cabinet colleague of the Minister, sadly from my party rather than the Labour Party, was threatening that the resources available to my party - I am still a member - would be used to destroy me in my constituency and my colleagues in theirs around this republic. As we approach the anniversary of the 1916 Rising, I find that quite disturbing. It is profoundly anti-democratic and absolutely unconstitutional and I am very exercised by it. It shows complete contempt for democracy and the concept of representation of citizens. I have no doubt that it is unconstitutional. If the Minister and the other members of the Government continue to refuse to acknowledge this, unfortunately, we will be left with no alternative but to go to the courts and vindicate the constitutional rights of citizens.