Joe O'Toole (Independent)

All of us on the Independent benches would wish to be associated with those words of congratulations to former Senator Murphy.

I welcome the extension of the Order of Business and thank the Committee on Procedure and Privileges for moving on the issue. By way of explanation, it has been extended to 40 minutes from the time the Leader sits down following the announcement of the Order of Business, in other words it is effectively the guts of 45 minutes. It is a good development.

I agree with Senator Brian Hayes's position on tolling. It is not so much the cost of getting from Galway to Dublin as the cost of getting from Dublin to Galway that would bother me. After all the debate on the M50, the idea that we will finish up by giving National Toll Roads €0.5 billion and making sure that everybody who uses the road from now on must pay something is a step backwards and is unacceptable. I would certainly look forward to such a debate.

Previously I raised with the Leader the question of a debate on national partnership talks. My colleague, Senator Ross, raised the matter here last week and I contacted the Leader on a number of occasions in the meantime. As talks are about to begin, it would seem helpful to debate the issues, which normally are the reports of the three bodies, the National Economic and Social Forum, the National Economic and Social Council and the National Centre for Partnership, on which they are based. This would be more than helpful because it would require people to offer their views on how the wealth of the State should be redistributed. I would look forward to hearing my colleague, Senator Ross, explain how he feels that the profits and the wealth created by the State should be redistributed. It would force us to do that and it would be very helpful to hear the different views on it. A division was called on this issue in the Lower House earlier after Deputies sought a debate.

It was recommended that partnership debates should be part of the future functions of the House in the report on Seanad reform and such a debate would be a good opportunity to give the recommendation a dry run, see how it works and, perhaps, come back to the issue during the talks.