Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I hope she will enjoy that political experience and work well for Munster over the next three years. Sometimes in politics, winners become losers and losers become winners. I think this loser from south Tipperary will be a winner in a few weeks and I wish her good luck.

The general election of ten days ago is being described as a watershed. It can be said, if we remove the party political aspect of it, that it probably marked the end of the old style of politics and government. Regardless of the composition of the new Government and the new structures of Parliament, it will be incumbent on every elected Member of Dáil and Seanad Éireann to approach the task of rebuilding this nation in a much more unified and transparent fashion.

The record will show that there is a history of Governments with large majorities having a short life span. Senator Harris is worried about the size of the majority that the next Government will have. I hope we have not just a national coalition Government but a Dáil of 166 Members united in a common purpose, because this country is as close to the precipice today as it was a month ago. Nothing has changed. There are new Deputies, and there will be new Ministers and a new Taoiseach, but the fact remains that Ireland is virtually bankrupt, and nothing but the strongest, most strident policy decisions will save the country.

That is a responsibility for every single Member of Dáil Éireann, from incoming Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, down to the newest Deputy. The whole attitude and approach to politics will have to change and there will have to be a common unity among all Members over the next five crucial years. We do not know whether this House is on its last term, but it has a very important role to play. I hope the next Seanad will be as constructive as the current one was, but a different type of leadership is required. It needs to be a Chamber of much more reflective debate, and Senators will genuinely have to change the way they do business in this House.

I have expressed my disappointment and criticism to the current Leader on a number of occasions to the effect that we did not use the Seanad to have the type of debate, dialogue and constructive approach that modern politics requires. I hope for the sake of those who aspire to be in the next Seanad that a new direction will be taken. We have to respect how the people voted last Friday week.

Last autumn, I recall, there were marches on the street outside Leinster House. Angry people were marching, starting with hundreds and growing into thousands. The election was a release valve for many of those people. As far as democracy is concerned we are literally in the last chance saloon. People have rejected one Government and replaced it with another. It is crucial that the incoming Government and all those elected to Parliament respond to the national crisis. Within six to 12 months, if the public decides that the current Government has not succeeded, I am afraid that democracy in this country will find itself in a very dangerous place, because all the democratic alternatives will have been found wanting. An enormous challenge faces the incoming Government, but we have to play our role as well. We must remove this "Yes" and "No", Government versus Opposition type of childish politics which has ruined this country.

There is a grave responsibility on everyone seeking election to the Seanad as well as those elected to the other House to face the reality that Ireland is still on the brink of total disaster. It is consoling, however, that our incoming national coalition government will comprise not just Fine Gael and Labour but also the IMF and the ECB. Regardless of whether we like it, those external structures will put certain pressures and demands on us which we cannot ignore. I hope for realism, common sense and goodwill because I do not want this to be last Seanad, nor do I want the other House to be the last Dáil. Democracy is on a knife edge, however, until and unless everyone works together to turn around the country's economic woes.