Feargal Quinn (Independent)

A British politician once said that the duty of the Opposition is to oppose, which I have never supported or quite understood. It is the duty of every elected person to ensure legislation to protect society as a whole. The whole question of consensus must, therefore, as Senator Boyle stated and Commissioner Rehn suggested, come into being.

We are faced with a serious situation. However, we faced as tough and difficult a situation 23 years ago in 1987. The Leader of the Opposition stated at that time that if the Government did the right thing it would not oppose. We got ourselves out of that situation within a few years to the extent that we jumped from the bottom of the pile to the top of it. We can succeed but to do so requires us all to work together. In regard to Commissioner Rehn's comments about consensus, it is important that rather than engage in point scoring we accept that what we need at this time is consensus.

I would like to take up one other matter with Senator Boyle. We must have an open mind on certain matters. I note there are three Members of the Green Party in the House today. I am concerned about some of the Green Party's fixed ideas, in particular in regard to genetically modified foods. I ask that the Leader provide time for a debate on that issue, if possible. Oxfam recently stated that if we are to solve the world's food problems in the years ahead we will have to consider the use of biotechnology in some form or other.