Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome Dr. Manning and thank him for his most interesting address and, in particular, his robust and intellectual defence of Seanad Éireann. It poses a challenge to us all, not least to those who believe there is a simplistic, sloganeering way of dealing with one House of the Oireachtas while not reforming the political system in general.

Dr. Manning has mentioned the issue of language and how the language of human rights sometimes can be misinterpreted or abused. I read recently a most interesting article by the Chief Rabbi in Britain, Dr. Sacks, in which he stated:

There are times when human rights become human wrongs. This happens when rights become more than a defence of human dignity, which is their proper sphere, and become instead a political ideology, relentlessly tramping down everything in their path.

Dr. Manning should comment on this observation as one sometimes hears about the human rights industry. He has spoken about the language used. There is a difficulty in this regard. He should indicate his views on Dr. Sacks's comments because language is important.