Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Two minutes is a very short time. I must draw attention to the comments Mr. Kelly made about elected representatives. We live in a democracy and that democracy means every one of us sitting around this table was elected. We put ourselves forward for election and we take all the insults and social media that goes with that. To come in here and sit before us and undermine and diminish the role we play is frankly quite insulting. I do not believe you need to stand for election to understand what is involved in being an elected representative but it is the attitude he has betrayed in here that sets the public against politicians. The distrust of politicians is driven by people like him who make statements like those which he made today.