Mick Clifford: Politicians need to look at the bigger picture

Politics is operating in a deeply unserious manner in a time of impending existential change

Tents pitched up on the junction of Clyde, Wellington and Pembroke Rd, in Ballsbridge, Dublin. The existential threat of climate change is being treated like a passing fad while a problem with accommodating asylum seekers is now considered the harbinger for complete social upheaval. Picture: Collins

Two issues are set to dominate life on this planet for decades to come. One of those is currently being dealt with primarily through a head in the sand approach. The other is now the subject of moral panic in which reason is lost and emotion is being heightened and exploited. This is the deeply unserious if not tragic manner in which politics is operating at a time of impending existential change.

Last Monday the Taoiseach opened the National Economic Forum in Dublin Castle. The event brings together a range of sectors in political, social, and business life to discuss how the country goes ahead from here. The theme for the discussion was to identify the challenges and opportunities for the country in a “more shock prone world”.