Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

A ruling was made at the Committee on Procedure and Privileges that if someone wished to introduce the idea of a person addressing the House, it should be raised at the committee, as was done in this case. It is on the Order Paper without debate today as an announcement made out of courtesy so all Members of the House would know that the committee agreed to the address. Senator Ross wanted to restrict Mr. Cox's speech to five minutes. I would not be that discourteous to anyone. He has intimated very strongly that he wants to hear the views of Senators.

Senator Feighan would like to discuss decentralisation. I suggest that he raise the matter on the Adjournment. Senator Terry raised the issues of crime, young offenders, special projects and the retirement age of gardaí. Again, this could be discussed on the Adjournment or during her party's Private Members' time because the issue is so wide-ranging.

Senator Leydon raised the crisis in the beef industry and the need for the Competition Authority to revisit the area while Senator Jim Higgins spoke about the economy. The Fine Gael Party has a debate on the matter scheduled on the Order Paper.