Ivan Yates

And I said, are you off your head?

I said, when I was in politics, there was something noble, even patrician about public service and all that.

Now politicians are regarded as like something you would wipe off your shoe.

And the reality is politics has become toxic.

And to be honest with you, I really wouldn't encourage people to go.

In fact, I would encourage people, if you want to be a special advisor or go in at a high level, or even to join the civil service, you'd actually have more meaningful engagement.

But what politicians have to go through, and the fact is, because there's going to be more and more politicians, the way our constitution is, we're up to 174 now, that actually they're all glorified community workers.

Like, leadership...

is about telling people what they need to know, not what they want to hear.

And I, like, the hardest question I have to, when people ask me, is that, tell me, in the whole of Leinster House, is there one leader?

And someone asked me that really seriously in December.

He said, I've only one question for you.

Is there any one of them is a true leader?

And here we are in May, and I still haven't got an answer to them.

It's very, no, sorry, power and public expenditure and policy choices and regulation are very important.

No, politics is very important.

It's as important as it ever was.

But the life and nature of a politician and the populist things they have to do, the lack of backbone they have,

You know, basically, you know, that's the bit that gets me.

But no, but politics, you know, I wouldn't disregard it in any way.