Death of trust a terrible blow

THE greatest damage done to Ireland by our leaders has been the death of shame and trust. The financial bankruptcy of our country has been matched by the moral bankruptcy of those we trusted to lead us.

The shameless misuse of our nation’s finances is evident particularly in the exorbitant pensions and golden handshakes enjoyed by, for example, the Justice Minister and Bertie Ahern who has been outlandishly rewarded for leading the country into near destitution. Ireland’s enemy is no longer England but the enemy in our midst — those politicians and bankers who have been driven by blind ambition and greed, operating in a world of crass acquisitiveness. Though there is enough amiss in Ireland to fire a revolution, the ordinary decent citizens of Ireland are tolerant beyond belief. They can only hope that the next generation will redeem our country from the darkness that has descended on their lives.

The decline in public morality began when Charles Haughey came amongst us. Here was a man who almost made a virtue of appropriating the countries resources through every available means of chicanery in order to feed his vanity. He was followed by a series of leaders who seemed to have taken Haughey as a role model and like him nurtured their worst instincts, vying with one another in feathering their own nests at the expense of the country. Cronyism, and sheer brass neck are at the heart of the country’s present woes. Yet there is not a single apologetic voice nor the vaguest acknowledgement that we have experienced a generation of politicians who have failed to honour the trust placed in them.