`There are to be no untouchables in terms of the law." This observation from Mr Justice Smyth is a fair reflection of the mood of the people of this State, where massive changes are already well under way. The learned judge has, in a phrase, captured the mood of the moment.

For Mr Liam Lawlor, this prison sentence is a tragedy. He was a formidable athlete who hurled for Dublin and a man who came into politics with the ability and drive to succeed. I abhor the hectoring and even gleeful tone that some have used to greet his predicament. Justice and charity should not be mutually exclusive.

Those calling for his resignation from Dail Eireann should perhaps heed the comments of Mr Justice Smyth when he said he had no wish to disenfranchise Mr Lawlor's constituents by imposing a long jail sentence. Are those who call for Mr Lawlor's resignation suggesting the law should not be equally applied in his case, or that he should have received a longer sentence than any other citizen? If they are, then perhaps they should bear in mind Mr Justice Smyth's further comment that "we must not make a scarecrow of the law, setting it up to fear the birds of prey".

I was born and reared into a republic, that although proclaimed, was not fully begotten. Liberty, equality and fraternity were not equally available to all. We inherited and maintained a society where who you were mattered more than what you were. Those who were most disadvantaged - those in the orphanages, the laundries and the industrial schools - got no hearing for their complaints. Their lives were bleak and their regime was harsh, often cruel and almost invariably dehumanising.

While the State has always enjoyed the trappings and a fair degree of the reality of an open and fair society, injustice seemed to arise more from social exclusion and lack of education than any inherent legal disadvantage. Too often, however, personal progress was determined by who you knew. There was a general perception, both at home and abroad, that contacts were more important than qualifications.

A lack of transparency has inhibited the development of civic society since the State was founded. There were too many blind corners in our system. The integrity and inherent personal restraint of those who founded and led the State in its first decades ensured the civic framework they built was safeguarded from corruption.

It was the next generation - my generation - that witnessed those restraints being replaced by a sharp and dynamic thrust from a Victorian system into the modern age. The system of government at both national and local level was not prepared for this, or for the pressures that this thrust would place upon it.

In one sense, the last 30 years have been about growing pains. An agrarian economy has been transformed into a modern and efficient technology-based economy. Third-level education, once a rare exception, is now the norm. Most people are now as well educated as their leaders in church and State. Public representatives have become rigorously and publicly accountable and the organs of the State are open to full scrutiny.

However, the tidal wave of recent events should not mesmerise us into forgetting that we are at the crux of a long continuum. It is over 30 years since the late George Colley sounded the alarm about low standards in high places. A general disbelief, then and long after, that such a scenario was possible, together with the good example of the great majority in public, postponed any further effort to look under the stones. The seed of doubt had, however, been sown.

Over time, questionable methods seemed to breed success and this success seemed to imbue the successful with a feeling of invincibility. There was a public perception that only the little people paid taxes and, indeed, only the little people were bound by the rule of law.

In the real world, however, there was a new reality. A previously passive, unquestioning and often uneducated populace had, in the space of a generation, had their eyes opened. Assertive, inquisitive, university-educated and often with extensive experience of life abroad, they didn't think of themselves as little people and were not prepared to be treated as such.

When the chain of events, ranging from the bizarre to the burlesque, caused the establishment of all the various tribunals, those who had conducted their business affairs outside or on the fringes of the law awoke to a knock on the door and were called to account. They found themselves in a world that they did not recognise.

THE recent events have been cathartic. For the first time since the very beginning of my career in politics, I feel the system is fully alive. People and politics have shifted fundamentally. The Good Friday agreement and the economic boom are the affirmation that, once again, everything is possible. This Government, through the Oireachtas, has set up a range of tribunals that are, in the Taoiseach's words, the most thorough and far-reaching inquiries into public affairs, not only in the history of this state, but in the recent history of most democratic countries.

Having inherited McCracken to investigate payments by Dunnes Stores to named politicians, the Government then established:

Moriarty, to further investigate payments to politicians,

Flood, to investigate irregularities in the planning process,

Lindsay, to investigate the contamination of blood products,

Costello, to inquire into the Ans bascher accounts,

Blayney, to inquire into irregularities at National Irish Bank,

Murphy, to inquire into abuse in swimming,

Laffoy, to inquire into childhood abuse.

We have now embarked on what will be a sad and painful journey into our past - what we did not know or what we knew and choose to ignore. The current overwhelming preoccupation with the unfolding past is understandable. We should not, however, let ourselves be diverted from the present.

This Government has entirely re-created the legal basis and framework for public life. In the life of this Dail, legislation either has been passed, is before the House or is being prepared by the Government to place Irish public life under one of the most transparent and accountable legal regimes in Europe.

We have grown up very fast and we still have a way to go.