Respect should begin with politicians

DURING the discussion about the recent threats made to members of Tánaiste Simon Harris’ family at the latest Cavan County Council meeting, Independent councillor Shane P. O’Reilly took the conversation in a different direction.

Leas Cathaoirleach of the council, Winston Bennett (FG) proposed a motion to condemn the threats to Simin Harris’ family, which received unanimous cross-party support from the chamber.

However, when Cllr Shane P O’Reilly spoke on the matter he said: “Over the last while politics has been dragged into the gutter by politicians.”

He said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TDs regularly criticise each other on national media and referenced how a Fianna Fail TD recently stood with a group of protestors outside a Fine Gael TD’s constituency office.

“There should be honour among ourselves,” Cllr O’Reilly said, “We’re either in this as a collective or we are not.

“My biggest critics have been other elected members,” he continued.

“We cannot expect the public to respect us if we don’t. There’s a race to the bottom to get one up on your colleague and we’re all guilty of it,” he lambasted.

“There’s been a degeneration from all walks of life against politics,” the Leas Cathaoirleach of Ballyjamesduff MD said and he mentioned attacks on former health minister Stehen Donnelly’s home as “disgraceful and disgusting” as well as Deputy Martin Kenny’s car left burnt out on his driveway and an attack on Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness’ home.

In considering what has led to the current climate of aggression in politics, Cllr O’Reilly said: “When I started out in politics you used to have time and space [to work on things on behalf of people]. Now, the public wants things done now and instantly.

“Respect begins inside these four walls,” he concluded.

Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council John Paul Feeley said: “The development of social media allows people to type things they wouldn’t say to a person.

“Now the village idiot in one place can make contact with the village idiot in another place,” he said of social media.

Cllr Feeley said in his experience there is “always an undercurrent that we’re getting something out of it [politics}.

“We might, on occasion, say the wrong thing,” he said, “but, I don’t know anyone who sets out to do the wrong thing.”

The chair concluded the discussion by extending his sympathies to Simon Harris and his family.