Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is something we have in common. My grandfather was a garda. He married a woman from Drogheda and had nine children. He lived in the community he policed. He had his own home and was able to send his children to school. Even back in those days, some of them actually went to university and became engineers, teachers and nuns. My dad became a garda himself and, like my grandfather, he could live in the community he served. He had his own home and five children, all of whom he put through university. I believe this is what Senator McDowell was talking about. He was not referring to any kind of a golden age. We all recognise the inequalities that existed. It was a matter of human capital and social mobility. Our parents' generation and our grandparents' generation forged a republic in which everybody had a stake in society and where there was mobility.