David Norris (Independent)

These are serious and difficult times and we have to try to face them in the most constructive way possible. It is not helped by the fact the level of political discourse in this country has reached a very significant low. There is no respect that I can see for any person connected with politics. I listened to Deputy Michael Noonan being interviewed on "Morning Ireland" just a few days ago. I was horrified by the way in which he was barracked, interrupted and abused. This is a senior former Minister and someone who will probably occupy a very important position. That level of discourtesy is inappropriate.

It is time we reintroduced some measure of courtesy into our political discussions, if for nothing else than to respect the people who elected our representatives. It is partly this kind of debasing of political debate that has led to these extreme incidents, such as the appalling example of the Minister, Deputy Mary Harney, being attacked with red paint. People could be blinded by that. I remember that eggs were thrown at people during the last election. There was a case in the past year where a person lost the sight of one eye through an egg being thrown. An egg may appear quite a silly thing but it can do a fair amount of damage. This is completely wrong.

While I happen to disagree with the Minister, Deputy Harney, on a number of issues and I have made this plain, that is the level at which it should be maintained. It is surprising it has taken this long to discover there was excess administrative capacity in the HSE. This will have to be addressed very carefully and managed properly or it will backfire. Let us at least show some degree of courtesy in our public discourse.

The other matter I wish to raise is the extraordinary fact of the contradictory items contained in many of the newspapers. The Irish Examiner reports that a significant academic report has demonstrated that alcohol is a more damaging drug than either heroin or crack cocaine but the same page carries a call from the drinks industry to drop tax by 20% and abolish VAT. I do not know from where these people are coming. These kinds of contradictions should be exposed in debate in this House.