Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Mostly it was not raised. If one is travelling at 80 mph in a 60 mph zone, one should be penalised, but if travelling at 52 mph in a 50 mph zone or 33 mph in a 30 mph, it is entirely silly to be penalised. I did not get my penalty point notification yet for being over the speed limit in a 50 mph zone but it is on the way. The Senator also referred to the people with whom he wished to deal.

Senator Ó Murchú is one of five Members who raised visa difficulties. Senator Henry cited the case of a member of the Nigerian Government, a Romanian engineer and a physicist, all of whom could not get into the State. It is elitist to refer to such individuals but at least they can prove their place in society in their countries of origin. It beggars belief that somebody who wished to attend a wedding was refused a visa. We give out about other countries but we are operating this system ourselves.

Senator Leyden referred to undocumented Irish people in the US saying this should be on the agenda of the meeting of the next President of the European Commission and the US President. I will forward that to his office because it would be useful.

Senator Terry agreed with Senator Morrissey regarding the €5 million needed in their constituency to open the accident and emergency facility, which has been ready for some time. The Senator sought a debate with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the SMI report which deals with the closure of Garda stations and Garda strength. The Minister remains firmly committed to recruiting extra gardaí and creating a fuss about that.