Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I concur with Senator Mooney on the Irish flag. His point is very important because there are rules pertaining to it. One of the rules states that the national flag should be raised on election day and on other appropriate days but in a respectful manner. We do not raise the flag in a prostituted way as is done in certain count centres and in discotheques in the early hours of the morning. The idea of introducing the national flag as a subject in civics classes is an excellent one. The Minister of Education and Science should consider it. There is a perception that the flag belongs to a particular party and is not a national flag.

Each year, groups which have charitable status pay €18 million in VAT. This matter must be urgently addressed. Voluntary groups should not pay VAT on their income.

The Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 will be debated tomorrow. The money which becomes available as a result of this legislation should be targeted at groups who deal with people who have special needs and have disadvantaged status. We should be careful about that.

I congratulate the members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on acknowledging, late last night, that they have left out less well-off sectors of society and must broaden their base.