Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Titles are hard earned. Senator Hayes asked for the Minister for Transport to come to the House to discuss the proposed public transport strike. In anticipation of such a request, I made an inquiry this morning. The Minister is in Brussels and is expected to return tonight or tomorrow.

Senator O'Toole praised the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights for its work on the Barron report. We join in that. The sub-committee is looking for extra time which means it is hard at work. Senator Jim Walsh is a member of the sub-committee and we know from him how hard it is working.

The Senator also made the point that workers in strike situations are always accused. He asked about the inclusion of extra information on driving licences, such as organ donor information. Senator Dardis showed me his organ donor card, which is the size of a credit card. Senator O'Toole would like all the information to be on one card.

Senator Ryan does not want Senators to make waffly statements. Anybody who speaks in the House is entitled to say what they want. We would all agree with that and say they should be listened to.

On Thursday, 4 March, Senators Bannon, McCarthy, Tuffy, O'Meara, Coghlan and Browne asked for a debate on rural housing to be held this week. They all asked for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, to come to the House to participate in such a debate. I do not know which Minister will be here but I arranged for a debate on the new guidelines for rural housing in response to an unprecedented consensus in the House that one should be held. At my request, Senator Moylan furnished me with the names of those, including I am glad to say, three of Senator Ryan's colleagues, who called for this debate. In view of this, I do not know what is wrong.