Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Hanafin supported calls for a debate on human rights in the Middle East and spoke about US involvement in Iraq. We will have a debate on the Middle East which I hope will take in all the issues we want to discuss.

Senator John Phelan wants the Minister for Transport to come to the House to discuss the plight of the motorist. He thinks car owners and drivers are getting a raw deal.

Senator Cummins raised the issue of storing the electronic voting machines in Waterford at a cost of €50,000 per annum and wonders how much the cumulative cost will be of storing them throughout the country. I have no doubt that figure will be produced soon.

As a general observation, there has been a very good series of articles in The Irish Times about the "new Irish" which has made excellent reading. It covered all the nationalities which have settled here and was aimed not just at students but at anyone seeking to understand the nationalities here and which are contributing to a different Ireland. Students have asked me to praise and acclaim the new Europe supplement to celebrate the accession of the new member states on 1 May and was renewed subsequently. It made very fine reading and was an act of real public service and I am glad to praise it.