David Norris (Independent)

I join colleagues in praising the actions of the young gardaí at the weekend. We all share the same sentiments on this matter. It is good to have this kind of positive news about our police force. I will not say anything further on the issue because I have just finished writing a newspaper article.

As this is International Human Rights Day, we should remember the Falun Gong and Falun Dafa in China, which are under a good deal of pressure. There was a demonstration outside Leinster House today and I understand representatives of these organisations will make a submission to the sub-committee on human rights of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs.

I support Senator O'Toole and other Senators who spoke on fishing, an issue we debated some time ago. It is important that we keep up the pressure. We are in a nonsensical position in which we have less than 5% of our own resources, while the remaining 95% goes directly to the countries that have destroyed their own fish stocks. We are now inviting them to destroy ours as well. We should be very careful. I have seen figures which suggest that, as a result of the considerable value of fish taken from our waters by continental fishing boats over the years, the European Union, not Ireland, is the net beneficiary of our relationship. If true, this would be astonishing.

I will quickly make two very unpopular points. Will the Leader indicate whether there is a timescale for the conclusion of the tribunals? At the outset of the tribunal process I was one of its most enthusiastic supporters. However, while we want openness, transparency and accountability, the tribunals have gone on for too long. Ultimately, we get no more than far from explosive conclusions and huge amounts of money being paid to the legal profession. I read in a newspaper today that in an exchange of letters with the European Commission, the Commission stated the tribunal process was perfectly in order. We will go off on a wild goose chase on this matter.