Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I welcome what Senator Coghlan said. I do not think it would be any breach of the separation of powers if we were to have a debate about the way judges are appointed and the operation of our Judiciary. This is a Government that has both appointed and disappointed judges. It would be timely to have a debate about the separation of powers and about the way our judges are appointed.

It is often said that we should save for a rainy day. These days people clearly understand the origin of that phrase. It is clear that we did not put enough money aside for the rainy day, the stormy day or for floods, and I echo those calls for rapid and increased intervention by the Government in that area to assist coastal communities, with particular emphasis on small businesses. I raised this in the Seanad before. The European solidarity fund has been reduced from €1 billion to €500 million, following agreement by the member states, at a time when the size of the fund should be increasing. We should also have a debate about the fact that while only public facilities are capable of attracting compensation from the EU, there may be a need to extend it to cover those who have sustained private losses. That is very serious and it is interconnected with jobs and with growth in our communities.

I would welcome any debate about equality and what that means. I also must say that RTÉ could have saved the public money if the requisite apology had been forthcoming. That is a serious matter. I certainly think that the payments by RTÉ were a welcome development in the cause of promoting a civil debate where people stop bullying each other for having a different point of view.