For many reasons, mostly political, it was great to see Mary Coughlan's elevation to junior minister and she will perform very well in her new ministry. She was a courageous young woman in the lean years. Happily for Fianna Fail and its future, there are more very worthy colleagues waiting in the wings for preferment.

"If you seek to set the bar at a certain level then you should not seek to limbo-dance under it yourself." These were the words of Minister John O'Donoghue speaking this week on whether Fine Gael's deputy leader, Jim Mitchell, complied with his statutory ethical obligations, as he is required to do under the 1997 Electoral Act. Did the persons, unknown, who commissioned the poll prior to the Fine Gael leadership heave give Mr Mitchell a gift or benefit under the terms of the Act? That will now be a matter for the Public Offices Commission to decide.

Jim Mitchell is a gutsy guy as witnessed by the manner of his meeting his recent illness and, in addition, his elevation to political sainthood after his Public Accounts Committee "outing" of the banks. I wish him no ill will whatsoever.

The Fine Gael Party had a shaky start to the new year. John Bruton's resignation as party leader, the subsequent leadership challenge and the nominations of a new front bench have left in its wake bruised egos and divisions only time will heal. The pressure is on Michael Noonan to deliver or suffer the same fate as his predecessor.

Mr Noonan's first act was to pronounce the Celtic Snail well and truly dead. Having done the decent thing by the snail, he promised to ban corporate donations. Mr Noonan proclaimed: "Fine Gael must restore trust in politics."

Having led Fine Gael on to the moral high ground, Mr Noonan has rapidly discovered how thin the air is at that level. His deputy leader has already been sent back to the base camp. What has been most surprising is the very belligerent welcome afforded by Labour to their new neighbours on the high moral ground.

Labour's policy on probity in politics seems to be, make them good Lord, but not yet. It seems that the congestion on the middle ground has now moved on to the high ground.

The Labour Party has been notably grumpy about sharing its previously exclusive status as the elect of Irish politics. They must move over to make way for the newly revamped Fine Gael Party. However, as the Labour Party is only too aware, the moral high ground can be a dangerous place to inhabit.

A self-appointed regulator of ethics in politics treads a dangerous path. To assume this role implies that you are without sin and without fault. It is all the more embarrassing and potentially dangerous if indeed you are found to be at fault.

And so the party that declared only this month that it would restore trust in politics and ban business donations faces its first potential embarrassment.

Fianna Fail deputy Sean Fleming's complaint to the Public Offices Commission concerning the private use of opinion polls by Mr Mitchell as part of his campaign to be leader leaves the Fine Gael party and Messrs Noonan and Mitchell exposed to accusations of double standards. As Minister O'Donoghue so eloquently put it, Fine Gael cannot have it both ways. If they are seeking to enforce standards in other political parties, they must meet those standards themselves.

Sean Fleming's complaint centres around the fact that at the time Jim Mitchell received the benefits of the poll, the donors who provided it were indeed anonymous to him. Section 23 of the Electoral Act 1997 makes it illegal for a member of the Dail, directly or through an intermediary, to accept any anonymous donation exceeding £100.

Therefore, it appears that while Fine Gael's new leader was busy waging war on Fianna Fail and promising to clean up politics, his Deputy was equally engaged in flouting the very regulations which have been put in place by Fianna Fail to prevent political corruption. The fall from such dizzy heights can be deadly.

Unfortunately, there are no winners. Politics is the loser. Fianna Fail at least has learned the value of humility. The Taoiseach has stated on many occasions that the issue of donations to political parties and candidates should proceed on an all-party basis. It is a complex matter, which deserves careful consideration. The Taoiseach has pointed out that there are also constitutional issues, which need to be addressed.

It is manifestly clear from the conduct of the Opposition in the Dail that their only real interest is in keeping this spurious row alive. Bereft of this issue, they would be politically naked. While Michael Noonan has been quick to call for a ban on corporate donations he has been slow to explain adequately how politics should be funded. Does an end to corporate funding mean people will fund politics from their taxes? I have written before about the State funding of politics. In the first place it is advocated by Labour to protect their flank against new entrants from the left and to make it impossible for larger parties to communicate with a bigger support base as Fianna Fail must do.

Labour's campaign is based on having sufficient funds to communicate with about 20 per cent of voters in 20 constituencies. Fianna Fail must communicate with over 40 per cent of voters in all 42 constituencies. Labour already spend much more than Fianna Fail per vote obtained. So much for Fianna Fail being the big spenders.

Fine Gael's traditional support base among the higher professions and big farmers makes it best placed to extract large numbers of large personal donations of up to £1,000. And of course there is Denis O'Brien's £50,000 in the bank.

Strangely Mr Noonan's donning of the Labour vestments has not led to either unity or co-operation. On the contrary, I have never seen the Opposition more divided than in the last two weeks. Labour has been openly antagonistic to Fine Gael across the floor of the Dail. The Opposition has been split in the voting lobby. That is no small achievement in two weeks.

Let me reiterate, however, that there are no winners. On the contrary, politics has been poorly served these past few weeks. As the tribunals continue to produce revelations about the past, politics today does not address the real concerns of voters.

The lack of compassion and justice and the prevailing atmosphere of "someone's head must roll" is turning people off. Yes, the public wants the truth about the past. Yes, they want justice done to those who offended. Politics need not be about heads in a basket. Always a tough trade, it is increasingly a cruel one. And that is a turn-off.