Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Finucane, the Acting Leader of the Opposition, requested a debate on airport policy, particularly in respect of the ongoing viability of Shannon and Cork Airports, for which he fears. He also referred to the congestion at Dublin Airport which I will address when I reply to Senator Tuffy's question on the matter. Senator Finucane also raised the Taoiseach's approach to EU foreign policy objectives and undocumented Irish people in the US. I conveyed Senator Leyden's request in that regard to the Taoiseach's office yesterday and I will return to it in more detail. I thank the Senator for raising the matter again.

Senator O'Toole also referred to US relations with the UN and to Irish immigrants in the US. He sensibly made the point that, now that President Bush is coming to Ireland, we should try to have an input into the agenda. The Senator also requested a debate on social partnership, which we will try to arrange. The Taoiseach suggested in a letter to the reform group that he wishes to see social partnership scrutinised in detail. In that context, I wrote to the Taoiseach reminding him of that fact and requesting that the issue be debated in this House. Senator O'Toole also correctly pointed out that there are no trade unionists on the recently published list of tax defaulters.

Senator Tuffy asked about the position of the airports Bill. My office received a communication yesterday stating that the airports Bill was to commence in the other House this evening and will be taken again next Tuesday before coming to this House. The difficulty with this late communication is that the House has been told we must deal with a series of Bills, such as the important Residential Tenancies Bill 2003, the Water Services Bill 2003 and the dormant accounts (amendment) Bill as well as five or six others. Nonetheless, I assure the Senator that the airports Bill will not be rushed — I do not see why it should be. The Senator also referred to the agenda of the meeting between the Taoiseach and President Bush.

Senator Leyden also referred to undocumented Irish people in the US and suggested that the House propose a joint motion. Let us see if our points reach the Taoiseach's office first and then decide how to proceed. Will the Senator tell us when he intends to travel to the US to run for election and we will support him?