Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I want to pay tribute to the commission. I asked how it could carry out its work in the short time span and narrow terms of reference that it had. Yet it did an effective job and upheld many of the reservations raised by Members and experts outside the House. The Minister should make some apologies. He got an opportunity on Committee Stage to apologise to the people whom he described as part of the anti-globalisation movement. There is a letter of complaint to the Ceann Comhairle from the Irish Computer Society regarding comments made by the Minister. That was one small example of the contempt that the Minister had for anyone who dared question his good judgement. His judgement is now as low as his credibility. He should be big enough to apologise, before he is forced to do so, to the Irish Computer Society for his remarks in this House. There is an old cliché that the best form of defence is attack. I protested that people were being attacked who could not defend themselves. I hope the Ceann Comhairle will force the Minister to apologise.

The events of recent months have shown a high level of naiveté on the part of the Minister, followed by incompetence. He continued to press ahead with a system that was known by those who researched it to have problems. That incompetence was followed by arrogance, where everyone who raised concerns was criticised for being Luddites and yesterday's people.

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