John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

The point is that on the Continent, the railhead would go into the factory, which is the way to do it. However, the factory would pay for that; I do not know how many manufacturers here would be prepared to do so. It is purely an economic issue and it seems like bad business planning.

I believe Senator Feighan raised the wider issue of pensions, of which I was not aware and it is certainly a serious issue. Iarnród Éireann, as a semi-State body, is slightly different from some of the other bodies and probably had its own pension scheme. We all know that some of those schemes in both the private sector and the public sector may not have been as well funded as they should have been. Perhaps some of the investments were not as prudent as they should have been.

Senator Higgins spoke about the Garda Síochána Bill and the establishment of an ombudsman. As far as I am aware there is determination to have the Bill completed quickly. I will certainly speak to the Minister on the Senator's behalf and will ask him to communicate with him if it is in order.