LABOUR LEADER Éamon Gilmore last night claimed Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin's approach to education and integration was more enlightened than all of the Government departments with responsibility for their areas.
"Archbishop Diarmuid Martin appears to be more advanced in his thinking on the role of denominational education and the integration of migrants than the departments of Education, Justice and Taoiseach combined," said Mr Gilmore.
The Labour leader's praise for Dr Martin was unexpectedly strong, and came during the course of a speech where he argued forcefully that strong values of right and wrong must be returned to the centre of political debate in Ireland.
He also said his party was willing to enter into a constructive dialogue with the churches about values and ethics in Irish society.
"All my political life, I have pursued a secular agenda: for the separation of church and state, for a pluralist society, and for the liberalisation of our laws. I have stood by the idea that in a republic, law-making cannot be dictated by any one church," he said.
Mr Gilmore was chairing the final of The Irish Times debating competition in UCD on the topic: 'This house owes a debt of gratitude to the Catholic Church.'
He argued that it would be ludicrous to turn back the tide on freedoms that were not easily achieved. He said a few issues remained outstanding, citing gay marriage as an example.
"Up to fairly recently, the Catholic Church kept this country firmly under a conservative social heel, and we know now of many of the abuses which were enabled by its dominance," said Mr Gilmore.
But having said that, he said, people should not forget the enormous contribution made by priests, nuns and religious orders in running schools, hospitals, parishes and many aspects of social and community life.
"For that the Catholic Church does deserve our gratitude," he said.
Mr Gilmore expressed concerns about the value system that had replaced the "old certainties" that had once governed people's lives, and pointed to the higher number of homicides in recent years.
Mr Gilmore also used the speech to make thinly-veiled criticisms of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. "The debate about what is right and what is wrong in public life also seems to have been buried under convoluted claims and counter-claims, accusations of witch-hunts and arguments about the merits of the tribunals.
"Is it right or is it wrong that a Minister would accept money from donors for his personal use? Where do we draw the line? What are the values or the public ethic by which we decide? Or are there any values at all?" he asked.