David Norris (Independent)

Excuse me, this is a serious point. I raised this previously. I warned that people would be killed because of this kind of thing, and people were subsequently killed. I am serious about it. I went into a supermarket where there were four-packs available after 11 p.m. and bottles of wine. I asked if I could buy a bottle of whiskey and was told "yes". The person behind the counter was not familiar with the English language. I question that in the light of the kind of concert we might have.

I also ask whether we could have a debate on the role of Parliament in a democracy because, as a member of two unions affiliated to SIPTU, I was horrified that union pulled out of discussions with Government on a forthcoming pay agreement on the basis of what the leader of a democratic party in this State, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, did or did not say at her party's annual convention. That is extraordinary. It undermines democracy. We need to look at this because of the evidence that is emerging from tribunals, for instance, that the proprietor of a newspaper, Mr. Tony O'Reilly, objected to certain acts of the Government and subsequently, in the course of an election, the front page of one of his newspapers——