Where we go depends on the depth and quality of our adherence to civic values and standards , writes Mary Harney, leader of the Progressive Democrats, on her vision for Ireland.
Over the last few years, we have achieved great things. We have proven wrong the defeatism which said for years: "Ireland can never beat unemployment."
We have proven wrong the despair which said for years to departing young people: "You can never come home again." We have proven wrong those who could only see victory or defeat, who ignored the democratic will of the people, and whose only answer was the bomb and the bullet.
There's a new confidence in Ireland now. We can't let this be a once- off high, a boom that will never come back. People are now asking: "What's next?" There's a lot of work to be done to build our infrastructure, to provide excellent health services, to lift our education attainment and to end poverty.
Most politicians and most electorates would readily agree these are top priorities. But we don't see ourselves as just another collection of voters; just another region of Europe like Wallonia, as the leader of the Labour Party once said; or just another small collection of consumers in a global market.
Our task is not just to build roads and railways, to achieve economic growth or put everyone to work. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union could each claim these things. Our task together is to be a civilised and free society, rooted in our distinct Irish history and culture. To borrow a phrase from Martin Luther King, it's about the content of our character.
In a democracy, the government will reflect the content of the character of the people. It can also foster and sustain civic values and standards.
Where Ireland goes next depends on the depth and quality of our adherence to our civic values and standards as a free and civilised society. If we fail ourselves in this, all the infrastructure in the world won't help us. Nor will our education and health services ever live up to our expectations if we haven't secured the basis of civilised behaviour among each other.
And yes, there is a certain degeneration in public behaviour which worries people and could undermine our progress.
IT ranges from compensation culture to random street violence, from white-collar fraud to political corruption, from racism among adults to growing consumerism among children. This degeneration includes the pursuit of selfish, sectional or institutional interests to the exclusion of the public interest. It includes cynicism about the political and democratic process. It involves rip-offs of consumers, monopolistic behaviour and tax evasion.
A business commentator recently wrote about corporate standards, "your values are what you enforce". We have to make our public values and standards count in action and in enforcement. It is the lack of enforcement of standards which undermines confidence, not the other way round.
This is why I have put a lot of my time and effort over the last five years in government into enforcing the standards people want for Ireland and our life together as a community. It was never about finicky rule-making or catching people out in a vengeful way. It is about the fundamentals of a fair society. It is about the balance of power in a democracy of equal citizens. It is about making sure each person makes a fair contribution.
The Progressive Democrats, and many other public representatives I know are determined to prove wrong the cheap cynicism of those who say, "they're all at it". I would be very disappointed if the result of our work to enforce standards - at last - in Ireland would be the opposite of what we were trying to do: if it produced cynicism rather than confidence; if it undermined our civic values rather than bolstered them; and if it deflected us from working to secure these standards for the future.
We have to build and secure our common standards and values. And we have to do this while we implement the right policies to secure full employment, to build excellent infrastructure and public services, and develop all the regions of Ireland. I want to see an Ireland one day where there are no inquiries and tribunals because there'll be no need for them.
In short, my vision for Ireland is for the content of our character, not just for things. I want high standards to be our starting point, our very heart and soul, our shared values. If we can keep our confidence, our shared standards, our willingness to be enterprising and our sense of what we can actively contribute to the world, then all else will follow.
Mary Harney is Tánaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats