Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

This morning we attended a poignant commemoration of the events of 1916, during which the Bishop of Down and Connor, Bishop Treanor, spoke eloquently about mistrust. That is the reason for the anarchy in Greece: trust has broken down. In Ireland there is an issue with trust in State agencies, the church and the health service. People do not trust anymore. This is borne out by a survey in The Irish Times to which the bishop referred this morning which revealed, shockingly, that many people had no faith in either the Government or the church. My colleagues in the House have called many times for a debate on politics. Two weeks ago, Senator Bradford spoke about morality, decency and the difference between right and wrong. We need a debate on honour in politics. We must do the right thing by our people if we do not want to go down the slippery slope to the anarchy that has erupted on the streets of Greece.