Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Brian Hayes, the Leader of the Opposition, raised the matter of the Immigration Bill which comes before the House later in the week. He commented straightforwardly on the number of late amendments which have been attached to it. The Senator described this as a lack of fair procedure and I intend to seek to speak to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform before the Bill is before us. I will report to the House regarding the matter. As the Senator said, if a Bill is not introduced in the Seanad, we find ourselves examining all amendments in a lump on Report Stage. While the procedure is correct, it does not seem the proper way to process legislation especially in the case of a large number of amendments. I will seek to discover how the matter is to be addressed.

The Senator praised the group of 7,000 people which turned up in Sligo to protest against the change in the awarding of a radio licence. The purpose of the protest was to draw attention to the fact that there is no recourse to an appeals system in this case. As we all know, it is possible to make an appeal in respect of rent increases or the refusal of a medical card, but that is not the case in respect of a radio licence. This matter has been raised in the House before by Senators from Sligo and Leitrim.

Senator Henry referred to the Immigration Bill in respect of which we will have to seek a ruling before the legislation is before the House for the last time. The changes to the Bill were mentioned by Senator Ryan who also raised the USA-EU agreement on a common security and police force. He wished to know when the latter matter had come before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Senator Ryan commented also on the Railway Procurement Agency and raised the issue of the Evening Herald, which is not widely available down the country although we did manage to get a copy of the front page. It is inexcusable. It is wrong in any sphere to comment on a person's private life where it does not affect their public life. To comment in the fashion the paper did on a person's private life is hateful and I thank the Senator for raising the matter. I have always stated this point of view publicly.

Senator Leyden raised the matter of Ryanair but we are not permitted to name the person involved. The Senator showed us the relevant advertisement. The Cathaoirleach was within his rights to refuse to allow us to comment on it. The person whose name we cannot speak is an arrogant bully who seeks to intimidate the Taoiseach and to get what he wants through his wealth.