Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)

As I understand it, today is about protecting and promoting democracy. I am here as a result of democracy. Having put my name before the people of Roscommon-South Leitrim I was elected a Member of this House and as such get an opportunity to speak here. Democracy is a great thing. Unfortunately, democracy in this country is being squeezed all the time at local, national and European level. At a local level, we have tokenism towards democracy, with county managers holding all the cards. These people are unelected yet they hold precedence over those who have taken the trouble to go down the democratic route.

When as Mayor of County Roscommon, I sought financial details at a meeting with the director of services on finance in Roscommon County Council I was told that people would leave the room if I continued to ask for more information. We talk about democracy all over the world but democracy begins at home. We need to start looking at that.

When I suggest that things should change for county councillors I am told that they abuse the power, so they should lose it. In other words, what is being said is that we cannot trust the people to choose their local leaders. That is not democracy. At national level we are heading in the same direction. A general election was held in February. Yet in the past week two people are deciding our future who have never appeared on a ballot paper in this country, namely, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. Watching them decide our future without consulting with all the people of Europe is anything but democratic. It is the equivalent of the mayor of Cork and the mayor of Dublin deciding how this country is governed. We would not accept it. Also, Manuel Barroso never put his name before the people. He was not elected, yet he decided we should go down the route of eurobonds which would mean the death of our nation.

Where do broken promises leave democracy? In advance of the general election we had promises from Deputy Frank Feighan, the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, that they would leave our hospital unscathed. The people of Roscommon ask what is the point in democracy when they are lied to and let down. Democracy is a fragile flower. It should not be taken for granted. At this stage it has been trampled and crushed for a decade by weak governments containing weak politicians.

The solution to these grave threats to Irish democracy is for people to put their name on the ballot paper in greater numbers and, in the words of Rage Against the Machine, take the power back.

See this speech in context