Let’s save the Dáil from contempt of the politicians who control it

I believe that’s tragic. Actually, it’s also hugely dangerous. The more respect for parliament is allowed to be corroded, the closer we all get to a slippery slope – and it’s the slippery slope, believe it or not, that leads to effective dictatorship.

SO they’re gone. And they won’t be back until sometime in September. We won’t miss them, of course, although we should. And at least once a week, somebody will remark on radio that the country seems to be doing fine without them. Perhaps we could do without them altogether.

It’s the TDs, of course. Every year around this time there’s the usual ritual about the long holidays and the way in which the Government has used the guillotine to stifle debate and rush stuff through. And every year the TDs disappear anyway, with all the usual platitudes about working hard in their constituencies and not really being on holiday at all.