Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I concur fully with the comments of Senator O'Toole regarding welcoming people into the political profession. Undoubtedly, while there is tremendous cynicism about politics across the country, most people who interact with politicians will acknowledge privately that most politicians are hardworking, genuine and earnest about what they do. We need people from all strata of society, walks of life and professions to enhance the collective debate and cross-fertilisation of ideas within these Houses. I welcome anybody coming into it.

There is a second issue which we, as politicians, need to confront, namely, partisanship within the media generally. We are living in a country which perhaps takes a greater interest in politics than do other countries. We have a tradition of that and, therefore, it is appropriate that people from all walks of life, including the media, have their own political views. However, some people in that profession channel and promote those views against the interest of the system in which we operate and perhaps abuse their position. I attended a conference three years ago in UCD regarding the Defamation Bill at which the media were extremely well represented. All the newspapers and other media outlets were there. The secretary of the NUJ, as I recall, said at the time he was concerned about the deterioration in the standard of media reporting, which followed the downward spiral in Britain.

I asked two weeks ago for a debate on this issue because undoubtedly there are elements within the Irish Independent group and RTE whose partisanship when reporting issues is totally blighted. We need to get to a situation where people, when looking at reporting, get it objectively. I have no difficulty with people in the media giving their own opinions once it is done under the banner of opinions or comment. They are entitled to do that, but when we are receiving reporting across the spectrum of the media, it should come across in an objective, rather than a subjective, way. This is not happening and is corrosive to the system. It is undermining good initiatives being taken and politics in general, not just the Government but all politicians who are getting it on the doorsteps. I know that from talking to people in the Opposition. We need to stand up as a group and challenge and take that on.

We should have a debate on the economy. It is simplistic for Senator Regan to put forward his views. One will not read in the media, for example, that there has been no property bubble in Germany and residential property there has-----