Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

The public perception is that there is still corruption in politics and the tribunals have an important role in establishing what went wrong and what needs to be done to ensure politics is above board and to restore public faith. The public image of politics has been damaged especially by the revelations from the tribunals and it will be damaged further if the tribunals do not complete their work. If politicians support the planning tribunal and act on its recommendations, and if it is not stopped but is facilitated to work in a timely way, that will help to protect politicians and democracy. It will also help people to realise that politics is not about strokes or making decisions for the wrong reasons but aims to implement policies for the common good and for different political parties to articulate their ideas.