Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Everyone in the House and the general public are horrified by the scenes of Haiti on our television screens and in newspapers. Will time be provided this week for a report from the Minister? I saw the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, at yesterday's European meeting in connection with this matter, but some time should be provided this week for a statement from the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister of State on what is occurring in terms of Ireland's contribution to the aid and rescue efforts, as it would allow the House some short time to offer comments and to discuss how an Irish effort might be mobilised, improved or increased to assist in that significant humanitarian horror.

Before Christmas, I asked the Taoiseach about the Government's proposal to have an election in June for a directly elected mayor of Dublin. I pointed out that our difficulty with the proposal was that we did not know what it was we were supposed to be electing. No legislation has been published or details announced by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government regarding what the office will entail and how it will relate to the rest of the local government system in Dublin.

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