Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Let's protect our strong democracy

One of the major assets of the Irish political system is its openness. You could run into the Taoiseach on Grafton St, or a minister in the supermarket, and have an easy, friendly interaction

'We need social media companies to play a far more active role in policing what appears on their platforms.'

Sometimes I feel like I live in two worlds. When I’m canvassing or just out and about in my constituency of Dún Laoghaire, I’m struck by how pleasant almost all of my interactions with the public are (there are very occasional exceptions).

Then there’s the online world. Here civil dialogue is frequently drowned out by torrents of hatred and abuse directed towards me. I’ve learned to treat it as an occupational hazard of politics, eased somewhat by judicious muting and blocking.