Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I would be interested to hear the Minister of State develop that point. The crisis we now face is not only a financial one but a political one. It has great potential to do very real damage to democracy in Europe, on which the foundations of Europe have been built following the Second World War. It is somewhat apposite that Senator Jimmy Harte made a reference to Hitler. It was in somewhat similar circumstances in the late 1920s and early 1930s that democracy came under threat and we saw the rise of Fascism and of the right in Europe, which is now happening, primarily because, as was said by some of the other contributors, the middle classes are now beginning to be hit more and more. In such cases, they tend to drift more to the right. Does the Minister of State have any views on that? I know she has made public statements on governance and standards in government over the years both as a Deputy and, more recently, as a Minister of State.

There is a very real difficulty for us from a democratic perspective. Has the Minister of State any insight into whether these matters have been discussed by the Council? Are they being discussed at the level at which she is operating? Are they being discussed outside the immediate financial difficulties, namely, the eurozone crisis? Is there a recognition in Europe that there could be a very real threat to the stability of Europe and the democratic institutions on which Europe has been founded?