Eoghan Harris (Independent)

Two debates are going ahead today, one on NAMA, while the other is an attempt, not to discuss the George Lee issue, to discuss the serious issues that arise in regard to politics and political life. On a personal level, the George Lee issue is the equivalent of that of the mayfly. It is like a butterfly in the sun but there are deeper issues. I call on the Leader to find a way to extend the deliberations on the Constitution to examine the issues that arise in political life. What has been really worrying in recent days is how the discourse on the George Lee issue has become a general rejection of the notion that there should be no apprenticeship in politics. That is only one point in a bigger debate on political life. There is a cadet grade in some branches of life, namely, the police and the Army. Even in the Army one puts in two years hard training under NCOs. It is important to say this today. I have heard a great deal in the media about how Fine Gael muzzled and stifled George Lee and how the political parties all muzzle and stifle the lost leaders, the geniuses and those who would dazzle us if they were allowed to do so, but the truth is that the apprenticeship served in politics is important preparation in terms of character.