In my mind's eye, I see and hear a huge bandwagon rolling and spluttering through the political landscape, with senior Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and Sinn Féin notables all shouting to get our attention while they tell us how shocked they are by the treatment of the Garda whistleblowers.
ach party supremo is emphasising how he/she has always had the interests of those brave people at heart and is deeply committed to recognising their uncommon valour and sacrifice.
Drowned out by the unmerciful racket made by the bandwagon engine and largely obscured by the enormous belching of fumes from its exhaust are those voices of the past...the ones we heard and read about a few years ago, but which were scorned, dismissed or ignored by the main parties in the Dáil and excoriated in both the mainstream media and via online news outlets: Clare Daly, Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, Mick Wallace, and Joan Collins.
They had to resort to the most labyrinthine tactics and skilfully crafted use of Dáil privilege to bring the plight of whistleblowers to public attention.
As a society we owe these TDs a huge debt of gratitude and I suspect future historians will accord them their rightful place in the political hall of fame.
I'll never forget how establishment politicians laughed at those four deputies and their distinctive, non-conformist approach to opposing corruption, holding ministers to account, and fighting for justice. Oh, how they laughed at them...for being so different and, in some instances, for how they looked and what they wore in our national parliament.
Who's laughing now?
John Fitzgerald
Callan, Co Kilkenny
TDs' personal lives are irrelevant
Miriam Donohoe makes some interesting points in her comment piece 'Image matters: why a spouse in the picture is seen as important for political leaders' (Irish Independent, February 21).
She details the roles various spouses of political leaders have played over the years, both nationally and internationally.
For the most part their roles have been minimal, mostly confined to providing behind-the-scenes support, as is proper.
She also states that if Leo Varadkar becomes leader of Fine Gael and is elected Taoiseach, the international headlines may read "Ireland elects gay prime minister".
That may be so, but it will be a 24-hour phenomenon, newsworthy in itself but not exactly heart stopping.
People really don't care about Mr Varadkar's sexuality.
It's not a topic of discussion in his current role as social protection minister, nor will it be if he becomes Taoiseach.
The only way it will become relevant is if journalists on a slow news day decide to make an issue of it, even then they will realise their readers have more concerns than this particular issue.
Tommy Roddy
Lower Salthill, Co Galway
The Irish electorate has never been too nosy about the personal lives of politicians and I don't think we should start now.
The only thing we should ask of Leo Varadkar or Simon Coveney or any of the other candidates in a future Fine Gael leadership race is that they present themselves authentically when they are working on our behalf.
After that, whether it's the Panti Bar or Coppers they head to for a pint doesn't make much difference in this day and age.
Karl Ryan
Brussels, Belgium
Media has its priorities wrong
I see the Irish media complaining that the attention being paid to when the Taoiseach will 'step down' is distracting from the business of Government.
This is media indulging in personality politics by giving wall-to-wall coverage to anti-Enda Kenny propaganda day after day instead of discussing the serious commercial and political threats to the future of this country.
This is the same media that failed to confront the powerful personalities in pre-2009 Celtic Tiger times when they were causing the biggest calamity in the history of the State.
A Leavy
Sutton, Co Dublin
Rulers of the road
In light of the news that drivers may soon face €80 fines and three penalty points if they drive within 1.5m of cyclists (Irish Independent, February 22), will we see drivers out with rulers and measuring tapes before overtaking?
John Williams
Clonmel, Co Tipperary
A moral duty to protect others
I write regarding the opinion piece by Ian O'Doherty in which he advocates the legalisation of prostitution and bemoans Ireland's adoption of the Nordic model in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill (Irish Independent, February 21).
Mr O'Doherty is entitled to his opinion, but his column contained several mischaracterisations and factual errors.
Firstly, it is not true to say that the Nordic model, which criminalises the purchasers of sex rather than sex workers, "simply doesn't work". Studies have demonstrated that levels of human trafficking increase where prostitution is legalised.
This can be seen by comparing statistics between Denmark and Sweden, neighbouring countries with different approaches. Similarly, in the US, the state of Nevada, with its legal brothels, is also one of the worst states for human trafficking.
Secondly, those of us who support the Nordic model have never claimed that "women are always victims". Men, women and children can all be victims of human trafficking and sexual slavery. But it is an undeniable fact the majority of trafficking victims are girls and women. Therefore it is not unreasonable to portray sexual exploitation, as with rape, as a crime that more often than not involves violence against women.
Finally, it is false to claim that prostitution is "one of the few remaining areas of public life where morality is openly flaunted".
Most of our laws that seek to prevent exploitation of the vulnerable are based on morality. It is immoral to enslave somebody, to abuse a child, to rape anyone, be they male or female. It is immoral to discriminate against somebody because of their religion, colour of their skin, or sexual orientation. It is immoral to engage in an industry (prostitution) inextricably linked with exploitation, trafficking and coercion. All of us have differing moral codes that we live by, and that is fine providing we don't interfere with the human rights of others.
But a civilised nation must pursue a moral imperative that protects others from violence, coercion, discrimination and exploitation.
Nick Park
Executive Director, Evangelical Alliance Ireland
Foley Street, Dublin 1
