Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I share the concerns of Senator O'Toole and of Senator Ross, who I understand indicated he would be making a contribution along the lines of comments he wrote last week in his capacity as business editor of the Sunday Independent. He made the point that whenever there is any wobble in the equity markets, representatives of one of the major stockbrokers in this country, which in effect is working on behalf of many of the major companies, are trotted out onto the national airwaves and media to express what is conveyed as an independent, non-partisan opinion about the state of the stock market. In the context of calling for a debate on this area, Senator Ross made the valid point with regard to Eircom that it was wrong — I do not want to misquote him — that such people should be brought onto the national airwaves to influence the direction of purchasing of shares. I quibble with his assertion that not many people in Ireland would be exercised by this matter, because a significant number of people in Ireland own Vodafone shares as the result of the first sale of Eircom. I support the call for a debate on this in the context of how the markets are working and what financial regulations are in place to ensure proper information is given to the general public.

Like others, I have raised the issue of the undocumented Irish. This week, the US Senate will hopefully pass meaningful reform legislation which we trust will resolve this issue from an Irish perspective. Many Members will agree it does not help the situation to read in the media that the New York hurling team allegedly has several undocumented Irish players who might not be able to come to this country to complete the hurling championship.

The organisation in question receives substantial amounts of taxpayers' money so it is a political issue. It is time the Minister commented in this regard. It does not help the undocumented Irish in America when stories are published which allege that undocumented people are playing in a high profile hurling game and will not be able to come to this country because they will be unable to return. Surely the organisation in question should have established before the championship started whether the status of these people was legal.