Cavan Calling: Both Tony and I are keen spectators of the political arena. We read newspapers, watch television news, gossip with friends and relations and generally try to keep up with and even anticipate events in the serpentine world of politics.

We still follow events in Britain closely, but one of the things we have yet to get to grips with here in Ireland is the political sphere. I'm afraid detailed knowledge of the dramatis personae still continues to evade us despite careful reading of this newspaper.

The local and European elections last year did little to help us in this respect. The roadsides were full of campaign posters with photographs of the candidates so we knew what they looked like, but we found it quite difficult to obtain information on policies. Tony and I were living in rented accommodation in Blacklion at the time of the elections, and although we had quite a lot of campaign literature pushed through the letter-box it seemed to be based mainly on a supposition of knowledge.

On the positive side, in England we rarely received anything and a canvasser on the doorstep was an even greater rarity. There was an expectation of how we would vote, and while that was understandable I still think other political parties should have been willing to take the time to explain the alternatives.

But the political process should be about much more than personalities and the mechanics of electioneering. It should reflect the wishes and aspirations of voters. An enormous crisis facing western governments is the increasing apathy of the voting population and the cynicism that appears to lie at the root of much of it. And yet this should not be translated into a simple assumption that people are indifferent to what is happening around them.

The massive outpouring of sympathy and practical aid following the tsunami disaster is testimony to this. Certainly in the first few days after the tsunami struck, governments appeared to have been almost surprised not just by the expectations, but the rapid response and action of their own people.

Disenchantment with the political process does not mean ideas of community have broken down. It seems quite the reverse is true. Disillusionment with domestic politics appears to have created a greater understanding of the importance of the global village and that what happens thousands of miles away is of concern to us all.

Like so many others, I have watched the news from Asia stunned by the sheer, incomprehensible scale of the disaster. I started to think about what will happen in a few months or even a few weeks once another awful event pushes the tsunami out of our immediate consciousness. What will happen in the long term?

I have an idea that would hopefully harness the humanity and sense of community shown in the immediate aftermath of this tragedy. It is based on the understanding that ordinary people can effectively help and offer friendship to other ordinary people by utilising the knowledge many towns and villages have gleaned from twinning schemes.

While Irish communities have much to offer initially in the way of practical support (building expertise springs immediately to mind), twinning offers the opportunity of cultural and social understanding and exchange. In this way, the relationship becomes a two-way process, meaning people in Asia who have lost so much already have the dignity of giving and sharing, not simply being passive recipients of aid.

I talked to Tony and he suggested I take the idea to our local Cavan county councillor, Eddie Feeley. Eddie's response was very positive and he is going to raise the issue with the county manager, Jack Keyes. Eddie's son John-Paul has also spoken to Brendan Smith (our TD), who is enthusiastic about the idea. He, in his turn, is planning to talk to Conor Lenihan, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Coming up with the idea was the easy part. Working out feasibility and the most effective way of organising and implementing the plan will be far more complex. An option that might be worth exploring is using some of the money donated to the disaster fund to help interested communities here in Ireland begin the twinning process. If it is possible to use some of these funds for seed money and to provide coherent and detailed instructions on how to go about setting up a link, then perhaps this long-term project could be ready to move into place pretty quickly. I certainly hope so.