David Norris (Independent)

I support Senators Finucane and Ryan in their call for a debate on road safety, particularly in light of the NRA report. Senator Finucane is correct regarding the Northern Ireland situation. It should be quite an easy matter of adjustment to make it possible to include Northern-registered cars in our penalty points system. That is a very good, practical suggestion. There are also improvements that can be made domestically and locally. One of the reasons speed limits are not respected and are broken is that they are chaotic and incoherent. They do not deserve respect. There are motorways where speed limits change for arbitrary and capricious reasons, for example, and that reduces public respect.

There is also the issue of road surfaces. There were two desperately tragic incidents recently, one where a bright and talented young woman was killed in the west because the road surface laid by the local authority was flawed, the other where a school bus crashed for the same reason. We have our own house to put in order. In Germany, for example, driving lessons are a compulsory part of the school curriculum and that is something we should consider.

Senator Ryan also raised the question of immigration, which has become a thorny point in light of the new child care benefits. I spoke on child care in this House and was a dissenting voice among the chorus of demands for more money for parents. I made the point that there was a certain amount of sentimentality at play, as well as vote-buying. Today's newspapers report that queries to the Department regarding the new child care payment of €1,000, have increased from 20 per week to 200. Approximately 90% of the callers were Irish and the overwhelming majority wanted to know if the payment would coincide with the holiday period. I wonder how much the children will see of the €1,000 payment. This shows a level of materialism and selfishness in our society. I said as much during the last debate and was howled down in the Chamber. Then I went to the bar afterwards for coffee and my colleagues told me that I was right but they would not dare say so.

We have spoken recently about the issue of censorship in the light of controversial cartoons and so forth. We must also examine censorship in this country with regard to advertising for events, particularly of a political nature. I have received communication from people who had an advertisement broadcast once on RTE 1 radio. The advertisement itself was simple. It stated that AFrI and Front Line — two reputable organisations — were inviting the public to a conference entitled Shining Lights on Human Rights, at the Féile Bríde in Kildare town, featuring eyewitness accounts from the Niger Delta, Rossport, Darfur, Iraq and Shannon Airport. It went on to state that tickets and information were available by calling a particular telephone number. The advertisement was pulled because it was deemed to be political. That is too politically correct.

I recently attended the launch of a book called Guantanamo Jihad, held in the former St. Mary's Church, now a restaurant, on Mary Street in Dublin. The launch was moved from Kilmainham Jail because the authorities there were unhappy about the fact that some of the attendees would be wearing orange uniforms, similar to those worn by detainees in Guantanamo. Kilmainham Jail is one of our State operations. We should not close down political debate. There are difficulties because pressure groups would want to put blunt political messages across. However, to pull advertisements for a meeting is an over-reaction. Citizens are entitled to information and we should examine this area.