John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

There is no muddled thinking on this matter by any member of the Government. Attending the opening of a section of motorway in County Kildare which cost €160 million, the Minister for Finance made the point that this is a small country. Irrespective of whether one has a Dublin mindset, this city is grinding to a halt. It will be beneficial to the country and the capital that 10,300 jobs have been allocated to various parts of the country. I particularly welcome the decision, for which I have argued for many years, to move the Defence Forces to their natural home, namely, the Curragh, and to locate the Department of Defence in Newbridge.

With regard to last night's "Prime Time" and the availability of certain images on the Internet, a matter raised by Senators O'Toole, Glynn, Dooley, Scanlon and Brian Hayes, while I did not see the programme, I agree this is a serious issue. I heard the comments of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children on the issue this morning. It is reprehensible that these images should be downloaded but even worse that there should be a trade in them through the Internet. This demonstrates that the issue must be dealt with severely and that any deficiencies in legislation governing the Internet will need to be examined, which I am sure will occur.

Senator O'Toole raised the issues of the constitutional treaty and mutual defence. The Minister for Foreign Affairs gave a good exposition on this matter to the Committee on European Affairs last week and subsequently to a conference on the Presidency held in Dublin Castle. I fully agree with his position that there should be no question of obligation on these matters and that while it is acceptable for countries to seek mutual defence in the European Union, decisions on our participation should be voluntary. It would, however, be wrong if we did not come to the assistance of another member state if it was attacked or required assistance. This is a personal view, which does not necessarily reflect that of the Government.

On the contribution of people in politics and the pension age, I heard Senator O'Toole forcefully express his views on this matter during last week's debate on the budget and I note his comments. The matter could be debated and could come within the ambit of the Finance Bill.