Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

This is probably the last occasion on which I will have an opportunity in the current Dáil to make a Second Stage speech. It has been a great privilege to be a Member of the House for 26 years. I came here shortly after my confirmation. On Second Stage of this Bill I wish to say a few words on the relevance and importance of politics and people using the electoral register to vote. At the commencement of the 21st century and a time of unprecedented material wealth we have more opportunities than ever before to shape the Ireland we could only hope for in the past when, to a great extent, we were reactive or even protective and played the hand we had been dealt. Today we live in a country of previously unimagined wealth and in which there has been enormous change in a short few years, albeit with serious social and economic issues yet to be addressed. It is a country in which there is virtually full employment, in which Croke Park can host rugby and soccer matches, immigrants make up 10% of the population and, for the first time, we have broad political consensus on North-South relations. In such a changed Ireland what society should we now seek to shape?

For many years our greatest export was not agricultural produce, but our people. The devastation and heartbreak this created for families and communities should cause us to want an Ireland in which opportunity is nourished and enterprising spirit encouraged and rewarded. Enterprising spirit is not the sole property of the captains of industry. A man or woman who toils for a day is entitled to a day's reward. The wealth thereby created gives us the tools with which to ensure, at last, solidarity with the less fortunate. Enterprising spirit and solidarity go hand in hand. Solidarity is not about patronage or paternalism. None of us knows the hour or the day on which we will need to rely on each other, the community or public services. Solidarity is not for some other person. It is inclusive and for us all. It provides the platform to ensure equality of opportunity and protection of the weak and disadvantaged in society. The twin pillars of enterprising spirit and solidarity are based on the principle that we all have rights which should be protected and that we also have responsibilities to ourselves and each other to be discharged in accordance with our ability.

Nobody should have authority without also having responsibility for the decisions that go hand in hand with it. Neither should anybody have responsibility while others exercise authority. At first consideration this may seem axiomatic, but in the Ireland of today far too many have power and authority but not the responsibility that goes with them. In particular, social partnership and a free media which have grown in stature and power must take the responsibility that goes with this stature. If we are to encourage enterprising spirit and solidarity, rights and responsibilities and authority and accountability, we must have more democratic debate and participation. What passes for debate in modern Ireland is little short of a sham. Far too many political parties vie for the middle ground; where there are ideologies, they are more likely to be bigoted than open to persuasion by the arguments of others. "Bigoted" is a word we normally reserve for our Northern brethren, but it is time to look into our own hearts. Our so-called consensus on neutrality, without as much as a discussion, is evidence of the appalling absence of democratic debate in the Republic.

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