Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

On the home front, I want to add my weight to Senator Cummins's call yesterday for a debate on the future of our international sports stadia. There is strong speculation that the capacity of Lansdowne Road will be reduced from 44,000 to 23,000 under new regulations. I highlight the concerns today in the aftermath of the friendly carnival event in Lansdowne Road last night enjoyed by people from all over the country, from Cork to Donegal, and even the Leader's Westmeath. We must focus our debate on the people of Ireland who follow and enjoy sport and go to these games, not on the organisations such as the FAI and the GAA or on the politics.

We urgently need to have a debate on our future fisheries policies. We now have a opportunity following the great news from the European Parliament that the Irish Box will be protected, but at the same time due to the restrictions on tonnage small Irish fishing boats are not being allowed to fish. On the one hand we are getting massive grants to dredge and upgrade our harbours, but at the same time we are driving the small fishermen from our ports. I call on the Leader to have an urgent debate on fisheries policies.