Seanad debates

Thursday, 23 October 2008

11:00 am

Photo of Labhrás Ó MurchúLabhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

Those of us who can look back on the 1960s will recall the very exciting protests that took place in that decade. There was not a week in which there was not a protest on the streets, generally led by university students. We owe them a great debt of gratitude for what they did at that time. Most of the causes they promoted were not mercenary in that they were not looking for anything for themselves. They were usually providing a voice for somebody else in respect of either a national or international incident.

This spirit of protest has been dulled by affluence and we now live in a time when we think specifically of ourselves. One can use the word "greed" if one wishes; it has been used in this House many times by Members on both sides. What happened yesterday was another robust exercise in democracy and there is no reason we should not welcome it. Legislators have no choice but to listen when such a protest occurs. Let us hope more people express their views also.

We must remind ourselves that we should recognise where we stand economically at present, as we did during the long night on which we discussed the guarantee to the banks. It behoves legislators to strike a balance between principle and pragmatism. Nobody has a monopoly on either. We will be tested and the Government's job is to govern and listen to and take cognisance of the views of members of the wider community.

It is being impressed upon us all the time that we have not yet seen the worst of the circumstances that obtain. If there are more difficult times ahead, we had better prepare and position ourselves for them. This is no longer a domestic issue but a global one, and we will only succeed in serving our people properly and productively if we try to do the best we can with the resources we have. I refer to human, financial and infrastructural resources, and principle and pragmatism all put together.

I do not blame anybody on either side of the House for scoring political points at this time. Doing so is part of democracy. However, if we are to serve the citizen as we should, meet the challenges in the best and strongest way possible and, above all, call on the spirit of the people, as witnessed in the 1960s and 1970s, courageous leadership will be required.

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