David Norris (Independent)

As a teacher I assure Senators that as a principle I never had anything to do with any of my students in that regard. The Law Reform Commission has produced a sensitive set of proposals that treat the matter in a subtle way. There is no point in using the arm of the law to crush people in consensual relationships. If we are concerned, as Senator Glynn and I are, about the welfare of youths, let us do something about a matter which we can clearly control, namely, the appalling epidemic of bullying, in the form of homophobic abuse, which was exposed in a report published last week. The report also stated that whereas 90% of teachers were aware of it, 80% did nothing about it. One of the principal reasons for that is its occurrence in church schools. The report traced much of the homophobia back to church statements and that is why we are all afraid to address it. If we are serious about the welfare of young men and about preventing bullying and possible suicides we should tackle this behaviour.

Can we have a debate on the role of utilities in society? We have been flogging everything, such as Aer Lingus and Eircom. I noticed that one of my colleagues described the company buying Eircom as "Ballcock & Brown". A right ballcock has been made of the entire matter and as a consumer I am not pleased. We are told the lines belong to consumers if there is something wrong with them but to the company when we have to pay the rent. Can the Leader ask the Government to treat this matter in exactly the same way as it dealt with ground rents? I have, as have other Senators, paid several times over for the cost of a line but we are still charged €30 or €40 per month for it. It is absolutely outrageous, and is an imperialist tactic. Now Monsieur Fanon and other investors will rule the roost and they have said they want to make money out of it. Lots of other people have done so, including the proprietor of the Irish Independent, whose front page expresses pleasure about the deal. What about the unfortunate telephone users?