I am hesitant to involve myself in the new Kerry civil war between Senators Mark Daly and Paul Coghlan.

It is not a civil war. Some think it is not civil at all.

We are not happy enough to fight our own civil war, we are fighting for Greece.

He is an expert in that area, too.

Senator Paul Bradford to continue, without interruption.

I support the very measured comments on Greece from Senator Feargal Quinn. We must proceed with great caution. Given that everybody in politics looks at the political side of things, it is fair to say from a political perspective that from the point of view of Renua, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or the Labour Party, Mr. Tsipras and Syriza may not be our cup of political tea.

However, we must respect the fact that he is the democratically elected leader of the Greek people and we must treat him him and his Government accordingly to bring some sort of order to the chaos which is Greece.

We are bending over backwards.

It would be a major leap into the dark if Greece left the eurozone. There is no example of what happens when a country leaves the eurozone. This would be the first such example. Undoubtedly, there could be a grave threat of contagion which could affect not just Athens but the entire European Union to Achill Island. It is important that the Government and other governments in the European Union work very constructively. I concede that we may not like the politics of the Greek Prime Minister or his government, but his government is elected. It will probably not be elected next time but the Greek people will still remain. Their plight is very serious. It is one of the oldest civilisations in Europe. As I said previously, Greece is not just about feta cheese. Greece is the home of democracy and civilisation and is a most cultured country. It is shameful and deeply distressing to see what is happening there. Much of it is happening as a result of the wrong political decisions taken by its own governments for many years but rather than punishing it and displaying it as an example of what not to do, we must do everything possible to work with it. I would be shocked if the Taoiseach and Minister for Finance were not thinking along the same lines but the next 24 or 48 hours will be crucial. The entire European project, not just the eurozone, is at severe risk if a solution is not found. The solution must not be based on settling political or economic scores. It must be based on trying to ensure support is given and Greece can remain in the eurozone and remain an active part of the European family of nations. There are forces outside Europe - certainly forces outside the European Union - that are hoping that it will go wrong for Greece and that they can pick up the pieces. These forces are not too far away from Greece geographically. We must work against this.