Dáil rumpus - Acting like clowns while crisis grows
Fine Gael and the Labour Party threatened to withdraw cooperation unless there was a formal debate on the report before the Dáil breaks for holidays in July.
There was so much shouting and roaring that a 10-minute recess was called in order to allow tempers to cool. When the Dáil reconvened, Mr Lenihan announced the report could be discussed next week.
What is happening to the economy is not just of passing interest, it is likely to affect us for decades to come. The Dáil rumpus was therefore not only unedifying but also utterly destructive. If children were behaving in such a raucous manner, responsible parents would be appalled.
The politicians were acting like clowns in a circus. That may have impressed a few in the chamber, but it could only have disgusted the audience outside. Radio and television does not lend itself to such hysterical tactics.
This was the debate of the deaf, because nobody can shout and listen at the same time. The issues are much too serious for the lives and livelihoods of too many people to tolerate this kind of political buffoonery.
As a form of debate, it is unintelligible. People will not bother to listen. In a democracy it becomes extremely dangerous if the electorate stops listening.
People have a right to expect political maturity from their elected representatives. That was not what they were getting initially yesterday. If the Dáil could not discuss a matter of such importance to the economic future of the country, questions will inevitably be asked about the purpose of the whole institution.
Mr Lenihan insisted that the Government is moving to turn the economy around. Members of the Government do not have a monopoly on wisdom. If they had, we would not be in the current mess. The minister admitted that he regrets what has happened, but he stopped short of issuing an apology.
On the other hand, Mr Lenihan noted that during the boom years the opposition failed to come up with alternatives that might have averted the current crisis.
If they had, they would probably have been ignored, as were some of the more rational commentators who perceptively warned of what was happening.
It is not enough for the Government to say what others should do. Ministers should listen and lead by example, something they have failed to do so far.
What is needed to rescue the economy is not more hysterical invective, but rational debate with reasoned arguments.
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