Parliamentary Speeches and Academic References

Red_Marauder

Most of us understand from the earliest stages of school debating to general debate in a work or social capacity - or even from discussions on this forum - that the one thing that lends credibility to a point of argument is evidence.

Why do we see such little factual evidence in terms either of academic research or arguments based on best international practices presented in Dáil debates?

The Dáil chamber is supposed to be the platform from which the Government present their policies for political debate, yet if you go through the presentations and speeches, they tend to be totally devoid of hard evidence.

Often, it is merely a case of a Minister drearily and repetitively expounding his opinion on a matter of policy. Then the opposition reply with their opinions.

Now I understand that policies may come from a lengthy gestation period behind the scenes, deep in the viscerae of Government departments, marinated in journals and peer reviewed research ad nauseum, but surely we should get to hear about this?

Even a first year undergraduate knows the necessity of naming and referencing his academic research sources. Is that too much to ask for the policy makers of this country?

Sand

Your talking about Dail debates...the Dail is irrelevant. All policy is determined and decided by the government. The Dail is a talking shop for senior county councillors, a charade to maintain the illusion we need 100+ TDs. The party whip system ensures the senior county councillors vote on party lines regardless of their own views - the Greens unquestioning support and endorsement of O'Dea's perjury and slandering is clear evidence of this. They were told to vote a certain way, so they voted a certain way.

All the "debate" is just smoke. Why bother trying to make it sound better than it is?