Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Essentially, the view is that party comes first and constituent or citizen second. There was an expectation of ambitious reform, and what we got was superficial reform. That is part of the reason there is greater support for independents now. It is a very deliberate choice that if the party system will not reform politics here, the citizens will force reform by virtue of breaking a system that they see as not operating in their interest.

The system designs outcomes that favour particular classes of people. It is no surprise that people, almost by accident, tend to thrive in that situation - sometimes people who have close associations with political parties and indeed, perhaps, have funded and still fund them. The definition is important. Returning to Deputy Daly's words, I do not go as far as saying I am an atheist but I am certainly an agnostic. I would take the humanist approach.

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