Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We can see that democracy is under threat in many western democracies, but if one tries to identify where democracy is under threat or how it is under threat - this is my opinion and people may disagree - it is under threat because of the deluge of information being pushed out to individuals, to a large extent through social media. We do not know who the funders are, the information is not verified and the publishers of the information are not identified. We have a Constitution that has established that the people can elect people to the Dáil. We have a process whereby democracy manifests itself. People might not like it and they may believe it is not democratic enough, but it is the method by which the people of Ireland elect the Government. Unless we start standing up for the democratic structures in the State, we will expose ourselves to the threats to democracy that have had an impact in other countries. We should not be embarrassed by the fact that candidates in an election, be they members of a political party or independent, can market themselves to tell people to vote for them. It is an integral part of the democratic process. The more we keep undermining ourselves and apologising for our existence, the more we undermine democracy. We should stand up and be proud of the fact that we are politicians, that we get elected and that we represent the people. That is the end of my party broadcast.