Sir, – As I understand it, the function of the opposition is to perform a constitutional safeguarding role by holding the government of the day to account for its decisions.
This is achieved through informed debate, rigorous examination and where necessary challenging the government by ultimately calling for members to vote.
I have maintained a strong interest in Irish politics and parliamentary debate for many years. However, what has struck me over the past year is the decline in constructive and informed debate.
Far too often and almost every week, Dáil proceedings seem to descend into farce, repeated again and again, without any tolerance of genuine and constructive debate.
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For example, a speech or statement is released before the debate has taken place. This indicates that the debate itself is pointless.
It appears that some parties and TDs are increasingly willing to disregard parliamentary protocols in pursuit of soundbites, often at the expense of reasoned, evidence-based debate. One consequence of this trend is the erosion of credibility not only for those engaging in such conduct, but also for all TDs who have a mandate and a valuable contribution to make. For example, our local school visited the Dáil and witnessed first-hand elected members shouting and barracking each other in the name of democracy.
The world is on the brink of collapse and we need solutions to address how we as a country can respond and protect our citizens.
It’s more light and less hot air that is needed. Every elected representative has a duty to listen more, contribute more, observe the structures that facilitate democracy. All in a respectful manner and in my view, less in a negative point scoring attitude. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS MORRIS GORMALLY,
Rathangan,
Co Kildare.
