Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

There is a problem with the period before the election campaign begins. There is also a problem with small parties. As was true of The Workers' Party in the 1980s, Sinn Féin also seems to be able to run a large number of constituency offices. I noticed that there was a list of donations to unsuccesful candidates which had to be put right on behalf of Sinn Féin.

It is a fallacy that elections are won on promises alone. Rather, they are won on track record, a judgment by the electorate as to who will manage the problems and challenges ahead and, only thirdly, on election commitments. I agree that ideally reform should be carried out by consensus. However, that will only be possible if parties do not use this issue as a political football and genuinely want to reach consensus.