David Norris (Independent)

It would be appropriate for us to bring the relevant Minister to the House to explain the relationship between Government and the organisation One in Four, which deals with survivors of sexual abuse. I understand Mr. O'Gorman was invited by the Government to establish a branch of the organisation here. He feels, because of his adverse comments on Government activities and policy, that the organisation is being marginalised and sidelined. That is clear to me from the comments emerging from the Department, that there is no obligation to fund the organisation. Why did the Department invite in the organisation? That is a question to which the House is entitled to an answer.

With regard to the matter in the other House, what concerns me is the fact that there were meetings with the so-called Real IRA. Subsequently, there was the Omagh bombing, but after that the meetings resumed. With reference to this, the Taoiseach said something in the other House that was deliberately untrue. That erodes confidence. It is a very dangerous thing to do, but I will leave it at that.

With regard to the bins campaign, people have a right to protest but they do not have a right to place the welfare of other citizens at risk. There is a serious health issue involved. There is the proliferation of rats carrying disease and a lack of civic responsibility. I am prepared to pay for the services provided and we should pay for our water. The European Union will make us pay for our water. We should pay for the bins because that develops a sense of civic responsibility. Citizens should not expect the State to clean and tidy up after them all the time, free of charge. One of the reasons we are so cavalier about litter is that we expect the nanny State to come in and do this work. There should be a reasonable fee, one that would not cripple people on small incomes in working class districts. As responsible citizens, we should pay and expect to pay for the services we receive from the State. That is the only way we will respect them. Surprisingly, 73% or 74% of the telepoll of 14,000 people on the "Marian Finucane" programme this morning took that line.