Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

We discussed how stopping the funding for this was a good move.

Senator O'Toole raised the issue of good changes to maternity leave, which will be added to next year. Between this and paid and unpaid parental leave of almost 12 months, a mother or father who wishes to stay at home can do so. Flexible working is profoundly important and we look forward to the forthcoming Private Members' Bill. Last week, Senators O'Meara and O'Toole said we should move on this issue, tease out the small print and decide on proposals to continue the initiative. Once we have started on it we cannot leave it.

I agree with Senator Ryan that holding a debate on homelessness would be schmaltzy leading up to Christmas, the tradition of which is based on a mother being unable to find a home in which to have her child. The Senator would like a debate on inequalities in society and I hope to arrange it. Concerning worries about ESB supply outages were the winter to become colder, the stated examples occurred during a brief cold snap of nine or ten days. If we experienced a very bad winter before or after Christmas, the situation would be serious. Therefore, I will seek to arrange a debate on power supplies early in the new year.

I agree with Senator Minihan regarding the Centre for Public Inquiry. Senator Maurice Hayes's contribution was truthful but one establishes institutions in a democratic sense and hopes to abide by how they conduct their business. Senator Finucane asked for a debate on the supposed liberalisation of energy production and the PSO. If not for the PSO and peat stations, we would have been in a very bad way during those outages. I do not agree that we should do away with the PSO.