The question of leadership is one of the most critical issues facing society today, social commentator Fr Harry Bohan said today at the opening of a conference in Co Clare.
He said there was a need to move away from a command type of leadership to a more participative model, underpinned by honesty and integrity.
Fr Bohan said the last century was all about institutions such as the Church, banks and political parties. However, the trouble began when these organisations became ends in themselves and forgot what they were about. He said trust had been broken in these institutions and many organisations would have to return to their beginnings.
"The recovery that's needed cannot be just a repetition of the past...renewed community has to be at the centre of our recovery. In many ways the recovery has to start from the ground and grow."
He said this active participation required people to take responsibility. "Going along with the prevailing culture sometimes can exonerate people from taking responsibility. We see it in the Church, for example, that many clergy might find it hard to let go from the top-down model. But equally, many lay people don't want them to let go. But if we have to that other model of leadership then obviously there has to be a huge taking of responsibility on the ground in preparation for that."
Fr Bohan was speaking at the annual conference organised by Céifin, the Clare-based centre which encourages debate on social change issues.
Several hundred people have gathered in Ennis for the two-day conference. The morning session was also addressed by Philip Lowe, director general of Competition DG in the European Commission who stressed the need to rebuild trust and confidence in institutions. He said banks had in the past operated as autonomous and independent institutions with a lack of engagement with individuals and this explained some of the resentment now being felt. Banks were not conscious of the way their own problems had impacted on the rest of the community yet were expecting the taxpayers to help them out of their difficulties. He said the banking sector insisted on the right to make profits and receive bonuses while at the same time presuming that banks were too big or too systemic to fail. "The private benefits are privatised and the private losses are socialised," Mr Lowe said.
He suggested some form of social contract between banks and society to encourage civic responsibility. The contract "would establish in advance what conduct will be tolerated and what not," he said.
Friends First economist Jim Power presented a bleak economic outlook and predicted "huge anger" from the public over cuts yet to come. He was also critical of fellow economist David McWilliams for the weekend revelation that Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan had held a private meeting with Mr McWilliams at the latter's home earlier this year. He said Mr Lenihan who had been exposed to "an incredibly low trick".
"The notion that a private meeting he had with David McWilliams would hit the newspapers last Saturday in that sort of manner I found personally despicable," he said.
