A parliament divided: Elections are needed to restore hope

Last week’s census recorded that one-in-10 people in this Republic had turned their back on any religious alliance or belief. 

Such a figure, one that may grow, was inevitable once the scale of the paedophile and mother-and-baby home scandals was fully understood. Even if this ratio is low by European standards it shows a significant shift from accepted norms in what is a steadfastly conservative society.

Another matrix, albeit one merely concerned with the possibilities of our temporal world, shows an even higher level of rejection and disengagement. Barely two-in-three people — 65.2% — entitled to vote in last year’s general election did so.