Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I agree with the concept of republicanism as defined by Senator O'Toole and Senator Ryan. I compliment the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, on the way he handled the concept of republicanism on "Questions and Answers" last Monday. He gave an outline of how we perceive republicanism, which is not the type that is being sullied at present. I am delighted to support the comments made.

I raised the issue of a referendum on the European Constitution some time ago. While it is time to motivate people to discuss the proposed constitution, perhaps we should wait until after the by-elections to avoid confusing the issue. We should get one thing out of the way before we finalise and fix a date on another. Senator Brian Hayes was correct to say it is timely to use the Chamber to launch the debate and reach out to the public. It is a golden opportunity.