Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Private Members' motion proposed by the Technical Group. I found it quite remarkable that for such a short proposal it took me a long time to read it and even longer to understand it. In my youth in Louth and in particular Dundalk, I never had many occasions to encounter the word "exhortations". Since my youth I have had even fewer occasions to embrace the word. Thus I readily admit that I was thumbing through dictionaries.

A wise old man from Cooley once told me that we learn something new every day, and so I did today when I managed to decipher the meaning of exhortation. It is more than a little ironic that one of the definitions I uncovered referred to exhortation as "language intended to incite". Unfortunately, this Private Members' motion is little more than such. It is a poor and ill-conceived effort at point scoring.

Another aspect of the proposal that alarmed me was the reference to the "decision to raid ordinary citizens' pension funds". I do not know which of my learned Opposition colleagues wrote this but it is exceptionally emotive. The use of words such as "raid" and "ordinary citizens" is unfortunate and is a poor attempt to evoke a response with a populist issue. In the very next line the word "threat" appears, which again is a vague effort at trying to evoke emotions. The proposal in the format submitted and with such unfortunate language leads to issues of credibility and certainty. It is not just hard to read but hard to credit. The tone throughout is lamentable and ultimately pours scorn on the proposal.

I respectfully suggest and even, dare I say it, exhort the Technical Group to reconsider. The scribe who penned the motion has spent more time on the effect than the substance. Perhaps it was intended for release last Wednesday to coincide with Hallowe'en with all its spooks and scary stories. Alarmist and populist sideshows will not fool the people. While I strongly commend the full use of language, I struggle to believe the day will come when I will overhear two mid-Louth spectators in the Grove field in Castlebellingham relaying the story of how they exhorted their team to win.

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