Thank God for Michael D Higgins. While all those around him are misplacing their memories and losing their seats, Michael D knows exactly what is at the heart of this fanatical backstabbing and mature recollection avoidance - the media. The incessant modern necessity for the quick fix- the summarisation and conclusion - rather than the actual information and investigation, well Michael D is sick of it all.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Committee on Constitution in Leinster House last week, Deputy Higgins made it clear to politicians and press alike, that he is not happy with what is happening his cherished profession.

He has said political programmes “degrade politics,” and in particular the reactionary ‘The Frontline' with Pat Kenny. Political discourse, that central pillar of democracy established in the forums of ancient Greece and Rome, has dwindled to soundbite, one-upmanship and bravado, he claims.

However Deputy Higgins may be right in terms of morals and ethics, but unfortunately in practice, it may be like booking a ticket after the ship has sailed.

Short, sharp, shock programming, even political programming is nouvelle couture, and many of Deputy Higgins cohorts have cottoned onto it.

We can't blame George Lee for this, but he is the best example of the media and celebrity circus that now surrounds Leinster House. The day George announced his resignation from politics, he already had his media diary full. RTE News, radio stations, TV3 and Vincent Browne. George was ready for mass exposure and he took the media by storm.

However, whether he had anything extra to say on everything he appeared on is debatable. Due to his next appointment, he was not around long enough to give more than a few simple soundbites as to his reasons for leaving.

Deirdre De Burca initially took a different route on resigning from her Green Party Seanad seat. She published a letter and disappeared.

A united front of the Green Party was sent out to quell a storm, and only managed to stir the sauce even more. Then there was Willie O'Dea, then Trevor Sargent. With four weeks of political carnage, how could the media not react?

However, in those four weeks, politics hasn't stopped, unemployment hasn't stopped rising, Nama definitely hasn't stopped, increasing public debt hasn't stopped… But it all seemed to have disappeared to an extent, lost in haze of minor scandals, which must have made the Government happy, at least for a while.

The politicians and the media seem happy to have taken a break from real issues. Maybe all have just become sick of facing up to the day-to-day pressures of national and international politics. The politics Deputy Higgins craves and why he is so well regarded.

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