We're facing worst crisis in history of State...
FORMER president Mary Robinson yesterday warned the Government that the country is in the grip of possibly the worst crisis in the history of the State.
She bluntly told the country's leaders that a lack of a vision of ourselves "lies at the heart of the crises we face" and warned that it was vital that example now come from the top and that the vulnerable be protected.
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday became the first former president to deliver the General Michael Collins oration at Beal na mBlath in west Cork.
Her speech centred on the scale of the crisis facing Ireland and how those in positions of power should deal with it.
"Challenges of this magnitude demand not only detailed solutions but a comprehensive vision of what sort of society we want to see emerge from our current difficulties.
"The likelihood is that, in the absence of a vision of our future which enjoys broad support, every interest group will put its own concerns first. That would be a recipe for disaster," she declared.
The former president said that Ireland now stands at an historic crossroads.
"The international banking crisis has hit us proportionately harder than other developed countries. And the findings of widespread physical and sexual abuse of children has shocked and appalled people," she said.
Report by Ralph Riegel - Irish Independent
FORMER president Mary Robinson yesterday warned the Government that the country is in the grip of possibly the worst crisis in the history of the State.
She bluntly told the country's leaders that a lack of a vision of ourselves "lies at the heart of the crises we face" and warned that it was vital that example now come from the top and that the vulnerable be protected.
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday became the first former president to deliver the General Michael Collins oration at Beal na mBlath in west Cork.
Her speech centred on the scale of the crisis facing Ireland and how those in positions of power should deal with it.
"Challenges of this magnitude demand not only detailed solutions but a comprehensive vision of what sort of society we want to see emerge from our current difficulties.
"The likelihood is that, in the absence of a vision of our future which enjoys broad support, every interest group will put its own concerns first. That would be a recipe for disaster," she declared.
The former president said that Ireland now stands at an historic crossroads.
"The international banking crisis has hit us proportionately harder than other developed countries. And the findings of widespread physical and sexual abuse of children has shocked and appalled people," she said.
Report by Ralph Riegel - Irish Independent