I am astonished that Senator Bacik, my old and good friend, continues to refer to the convention and the Government's response to it in glowing terms. I managed to engineer a little bit of democracy into it. Some 94% of the people voted for some participation by the people in the nomination of the presidency but they are totally ignoring the will of the people. Some 52% wanted a change in the voting age.

Is the Senator looking for a debate?

Yes, I am looking for some kind of a debate. They also voted against reducing the presidential term even though I was in favour of it. They are very à la carte.

I come from a Southern Unionist background-----

I thought the Senator's mother was a FitzPatrick from County Laois.

-----and I belong to the Anglican Communion, which is the reformed Catholic Church. I am regarded as a Protestant and a southern Unionist and as someone viewed from the North as a Protestant, I am bitterly ashamed of the behaviour of people who call themselves Unionists and Protestants. They are a disgrace to any decent representation of those values. I call on the Church of Ireland, to which I belong, to disassociate itself completely from the Orange Order. It has shrivelled to one third of its original support and now is the time to cut links. I was embarrassed and disgusted at the time of Drumcree and I am embarrassed by the stupid behaviour of the Protestant people in the North of Ireland. They are an appalling embarrassment. When they were prisoners, they were like Neanderthals, reading comics and doing press-ups whereas the Shinners, for who I would not give a toss, at least had the intelligence to do university degrees.

The Reverend Ian Paisley did his best to stir up the hatred which led to all of this violence. When he was a distinguished visitor to this House, I was the only Senator who sat down in his presence. If he is a reverend, he should seek to undo the harm he did in recent days by finally denouncing the violence which has occurred. I do not know the religion of the Reverend Mervyn Gibson who spoke in support of the Orange Order earlier today, but I suggest no decent Christian, regardless of whether he or she is a minister, a pastor or an ordinary parishioner, should be associated with that order.