Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

It went over my head.

Senator Coghlan asked about the Aer Rianta Bill. As I said, it is being debated in the Dáilon Committee Stage and we will await developments.

Senator Scanlon stated that from his knowledge farmers did not get too much for their land. It is one of the beauties of the Seanad that Senators with different views can put those views forward, and that makes for good debate.

Senator Kitt called for a debate on the NRA and the cost of new roads and motorways. It would be useful to have such a debate because, according to reports in yesterday's newspapers, the increase in such costs is huge.

Senator McCarthy called for a debate on insurance company profits. We will have a debate in the autumn on the real decreases in the costs of insurance, bearing in mind the profits made by insurance companies as reported in The Irish Times today.

Senator Glynn spoke on decentralisation. He also raised the issue of leakage of water from the networks, which is particularly evident in the midlands. I suppose they are older water networks that need to be upgraded. Such a programme is being carried out so we can ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for firm facts on that matter.

Senator Ulick Burke spoke about the streamlining of third level fees and maintenance grants. As he spoke, it immediately came to my mind that there is nothing new in education. When I was six months in the job so many years ago, there was to be a streamlining of maintenance grants. Farmers' assets were looked at and so on, but it was agreed that would be incorrect because a farmer cannot sell land to pay for something else. There is confusion as both the VECs and county councils deal with different grant applications. I do not know what happens in Dublin, but outside Dublin each county takes applications for particular types of institutions through its VEC, while applications for other institutions such as universities are processed through the county council. Streamlining this process would be of great benefit to students and parents. That is particularly the case with institutes of technology, as they are not sure whether to approach the VEC or the county council. It is an excellent idea to streamline this process.

Senator Hanafin praised decentralisation. I am sorry to hear about Senator Bannon's jacket. I would advise him to bring a second jacket when he comes to Dublin——