Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Finucane, the acting Leader of the Opposition, spoke about the procrastination in his view regarding the announcement of the national stadium, but he wished it fair wind for which I thank him. Senator Minihan answered the accusation Senator Finucane laid at the door of the PDs, but I am sure there will be more about that anon.

Senator O'Toole raised the matter of the recent prison death and why the prisoner in question was on B wing. There is a general consensus that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform should come into the House to address this matter. We have requested his presence and I hope he can come to the House shortly.

I thank Senator McCarthy for his kind words about arranging a debate. We should congratulate him on being our style guru and on being far better than the Dáil gurus in that regard. He raised the matter of the national stadium in regard to which the IRFU and the FAI wholeheartedly supported the decision yesterday. The Senator called for the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism to come into the House to explain the position regarding the finance that was allocated. We have asked the Minister to come here and we hope hewill be able to do so next week now that the decision has been announced and his report released.

The Senator's party colleague, Senator Tuffy, requested a debate on the incidence of self-injury which leads in many cases to suicide.

Senator Dooley raised a fair point regarding yesterday's report, namely, that ongoing development will take place at Abbotstown, which will lead to greater development there in time. As more sports are played and more professionalism enters sport, there is a need for development at Abbotstown and such development was announced by the Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue, yesterday. That point is worth noting.

Senator John Paul Phelan raised the matter of the national stadium and the money involved. He said we wasted five years discussing it, but I do not agree.