David Norris (Independent)

I was somewhat amused by the squawks of self-interested protest from Members of this House regarding the Minister's courageous and appropriate action in addressing the scandalous issue of speed limits. I have been saying this for the past two years here and I am glad somebody has taken notice. One cannot get respect for speed limits if one does not have two things, fairness and consistency. The local authorities have signally failed given that there are dual carriageways with 30 miles an hour speed limits. How could anybody respect that? It is a money-making exercise and a promotion of certain aspects of the Garda Síochána. The Minister should take the power away from the local authorities and leave them only an advisory role. I would certainly support him in that and in dealing with the situation because citizens are entitled to a fair deal.

I would like to ask for a debate on the setting up of a press council. There have been a number of calls from all sides of the House for this. A very important decision was handed down yesterday by the House of Lords in Britain in the case of a woman media star who was photographed by the Daily Mirror leaving an addiction clinic. She lost her case in the High Court but the Lords upheld her right to privacy on appeal. That is a very interesting and important decision that will have consequences in this jurisdiction as well.

I ask again for a debate on Iraq. I saw Mr. Bush on television. I cannot call him a liar. The Chair would not allow it. However, he is certainly estranged from the truth. Will he now give an undertaking, since he is so horrified by torture, to stop the known exporting of people from the United States of America to Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt to be tortured, which is well documented by Amnesty International?

Regarding moves to remove patent protection from areas of micro-technology, in which this country is extremely advanced, I request the Leader of the House not necessarily to draw the Government's attention to it because it knows about it, but to express to the Government the support of everybody in this House for protecting these rights. I understand the European Commission takes a different view to the Parliament. We should strongly support our Government in protecting rights in an interest that is vital to our economy.