Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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That will have to be the end of the Deputy's contribution. Before Mr. Flannery responds, I wish to say a few words. All the delegates might like to make a few comments before we conclude. There should be as much as possible positive reasons for giving and there are many positive reasons for doing so. We are talking about incentives for giving but when we reflect on how the Irish people have acted in times of crisis, there is probably a groundswell into which we can tap and the people could be taught how to give on a long-term basis. Even after having been in politics for 12 years I probably still have a remarkable capacity to delude myself, but I think that people are full of good rather than being motivated by self-interest alone. All the delegates would have seen that in the work they do. I am talking about the remarkable capacity of people to do something good for their fellow man. It is a question of tapping into that. I do not see things as being quite as negative. Admittedly, we have also seen far too many cases where ethical behaviour has been well below standard in all parts of Irish society but such behaviour can also be seen across the world. We should not focus so much on such negative behaviour, rather we should focus on the positive behaviour. Even though Deputy Boyd Barrett said that perhaps we are allowing ourselves to be held over a barrel, life is like that. Many people who are strongly influential in Irish society and global society feel they have that power already. We should try to modulate it a bit and do the best we can.