Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

I compliment the Minister on his remarkable patience and endurance in listening to this debate in recent days. He has lent credibility to the Senators by listening to them. There was merit in the proposal when mooted two years ago by the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Noel Dempsey. However, it was withdrawn due to the influence of Independent Members and deemed not to be a good idea. The then Minister was roundly condemned by some of his own backbenchers. The current Minister is in a better position because he does not have to bother about his backbenchers.