SEANAD REPORT:IF ACTION was not taken to deal with the crisis of values in our society, there would be a right-wing backlash in terms of how bad behaviour would be punished, Ronan Mullen (Ind) warned.
The horrible murder of two Polish men in Dublin and the shocking treatment of a schoolgirl by fellow students in Galway gave context to the need for a debate on the relationship between freedom and responsibility. These urban and rural horrors amounted to disregard for the person. They had heard people speaking out about the need for facilities, but the problem was much deeper than that.
There was a crisis of values in our society. There was a crisis of parenting and of family life. There was a need to recognise that families could not function in isolation; they needed social support.
Stressing the importance of values, Mr Mullen said many of our young people were overdosed on various substances and were oversexed, it seemed to him. Many of them had minds that were filled but not formed in terms of values.
"That is a serious problem for our society. It's going to take us down very unhealthy directions where you will have a right-wing backlash in terms of how bad behaviour will be punished . . . we need to stop being so shy of what we fear is moral judgmentalism, and look at how we can form the minds and values of the next generation".
Frances Fitzgerald, FG leader in the House, asked Seanad leader Donie Cassidy to bring to government a request for a serious initiative to tackle under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour.
There had been many task-force reports, but the time for action had now come. More investment in public services was needed. There had not been the focus on social issues that there should have been and we would pay a heavy price for that neglect.