John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I join my colleagues in calling on ComReg, the Government and the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to ensure that those who rely on the radio for their church services can continue to have access to them. If a ministerial order is required, one should be passed quickly. In many aspects of Irish life, where there is a public or charitable benefit accruing from a service, we go out of our way to ensure that value added tax and other taxes are not imposed. We ensure that facilities which help people, including particularly the credit unions, are given special status and this case is no different. I can think of no more laudable reason for access to the public airwaves than for the transmission of church services to people who are elderly or incapacitated.

I also agree with the calls for very severe sentences to be imposed on those who are trafficking in people. There are two types of trafficking, one of which involves bringing people here for work. The other involves bringing people here for slavery and in the latter case, a most severe penalty must be put in place.

With regard to violent crime, in incidents where the perpetrator is, for example, skilled in karate, this will be taken into account by the sentencing judge. He or she will tend to view such skills in a malign fashion, as if they were a weapon such as a knife. Unfortunately, there is a habit in this country, when drink has been taken, of kicking victims in the head. I have been asked to raise this matter in the Seanad and am glad to do so. If somebody is lying on the ground and is kicked in the head, that should be looked upon as a very serious matter. New legislation may be required to deal with this issue.