Out of the misery of many, a few see opportunity. The budget last week brought plenty of pain, particularly to those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder.

There was, however, a group of individuals who fed off the misery. Some might describe such activity as parasitical, but the individuals in question are no less than tribunes of the people.

Through the earlier part of the week, a succession of TDs who describe themselves as independents beat a path to the doors of Brian Cowen or Pat Carey. The Taoiseach and the government chief whip were presented with shopping lists which were to be filled in return for supporting the budget. This bartering had nothing to do with the peril in which the nation finds itself. The conversation had nothing to do with protecting the most vulnerable. Far from presenting themselves to ask what they can do for their country, these tribunes were eager to find out what their banjaxed country could do for them.

Noel Grealish was the most prominent TD to approach Cowen with his tongue hanging out. Grealish put it around that he wanted a 1% levy on national insurance to go towards aiding those afflicted by floods, principally in his Galway East constituency. This was never going to happen, but the objective of the exercise was merely to send a message to the voters of Galway East. He also threw in for a bypass of Claregalway that is scheduled to be built in any event. But again, it's all about perceptions. Noel got the bypass.

In a functioning democracy, Grealish's concerns at a time like this would be over how the provisions of the budget might affect individuals, businesses and the general welfare of the country. In our system, the TD's primary concerns were how he could use the budget to aid his re-election prospects.

Michael Lowry also showed up with a dry tongue. He secured the right to claim credit for a hospital development in Nenagh and a few other bits and bobs. That should be good for a few hundred votes at the very least.

Most established democracies have standards. Lowry has been exposed as a tax dodger and a cheat, whom the Moriarty tribunal found had difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction. The people of Tipperary can choose their own representative, but for a government to be bending over to facilitate such an individual at a time of national emergency speaks volumes.

Lowry's constituency colleague Máire Hoctor threw a strop. Why should Mick get all the credit for doling out goodies? Wasn't she a government backbencher? Where were her goodies? She demanded a meeting at which Cowen issued soothing words.

Jackie Healy-Rae swung his goodies from the nearest lamppost. Cowen had "signed off on the hospital for me", he declared, referring to a community facility in Kenmare, the heart of Healy-Rae's domain.

His claim was designed to give the impression that a Taoiseach can gift a hospital to a TD of his choosing. Just like Grealish and Lowry, Healy-Rae's only care in the world was re-election. As he will not be standing again himself, his son Michael was at his side, to ensure that the people of Kerry South associate the young fella with the goodies.

Recent refugees from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlan, saw it as a time to make hay on the backs of the misery of public servants, the unemployed, carers and all who were affected by the budget. This pair made a song and dance of meeting with Cowen. They claimed to have secured a €50m hospital facility, which, like all the other goodies, was due for development even before the TDs put their paws on it.

This stuff is what passes for democracy. The relevance of parliament has been totally diminished. Despite electing 166 TDs to govern the country, the reality is that most of them are totally irrelevant in developing values, running the country or shaping a nation.

In a system where the parliament is reduced to the status of rubber stamp, there is nothing for TDs to do but spend most of their time and energy concentrating on getting re-elected.

They see themselves as getting elected to be re-elected. Any input into or concern for the state of the nation, a basic duty in other democracies, is relegated to an afterthought.

Ambitious party backbenchers work for advancement within the party with the aim of one day, perhaps, nabbing a senior or junior post in government. Others sit back and enjoy the view when they are not massaging their constituencies.

And then there are the independents, who, without any other distractions, can concentrate fully on re-election. When their vote is required, they milk the system.

Opportunity presents itself out of the misery of others.

There are exceptions. Dublin Central's Maureen O'Sullivan was the only TD to declare prior to the budget that she would vote according to what was in the document. For somebody who represents the poorest constituency in the country, she might be forgiven for adopting the cynicism coursing through her fellow independents.

Instead, she took her duty seriously, listened to Brian Lenihan's proposals and found that she could not support measures that bore down so callously on the poor. In a week when the practice of politics in this country took another nosedive, she at least could hold her head high.

mclifford@tribune.ie