Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

It is free up to a point. Senator McHugh called for An Bord Pleanála to be dismantled. I imagine there is a particular point behind his case which was passionately argued and perhaps we could discuss this. An Bord Pleanála is an independent body but occasionally it issues odd decisions which have no bearing on the inspectors' reports. That is where the difficulty arises. The board employs professionals who submit reports which it seems able to dismiss arbitrarily.

Senator Hanafin referred to the full-page advertisements in national newspapers about the new terminal at Dublin Airport. I agree with him. It was a disgrace when I was the butt of such advertising and it is equally so when the Taoiseach is the butt. How can this person do this to get his own way? We must ask about his party alignment——