Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

It did not work out that way. The Senator also raised the issue of insurance. He is correct in that the cost has come down and we should have a debate on it.

Senator O'Meara spoke about youth mental health. She also inquired about the defamation Bill and the privacy Bill. I will have to make arrangements to meet the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, to ask if he is proceeding with these Bills because they are Seanad Bills and we want to know.

Senator Ormonde extended her good wishes to the talks in Scotland and supported the call for a debate on mental health. Senator Coghlan said the Competition Authority had failed the public interest by not investigating the sale of Statoil. He said the number of petrol stations has decreased enormously. Senator Scanlon had a different take on SSIAs and stated that only the interest earned would be reckoned in education maintenance grant applications.

Senator Norris called for a debate on Ryanair's attempt to take over Aer Lingus. The first thing Mr. O'Leary did was to alienate the workforce by saying he would sack 1,000 people immediately. The Senator asked also for a debate on the situation in Darfur or on the role of the UN peacekeeping missions.

Senator John Paul Phelan concurred with what Senator Mansergh said on the horse industry. He sought clarification on school bus transport. He wished to compliment the Garda on the incident at Gort and what happened there and called for a debate on Garda numbers.

Senator McHugh wants a debate on fisheries. Senator Browne said educational grants should be based on net income. That might be a difficult matter. The Senator is correct as that is the money in the hand. The Senator also called for a debate on ethics, on which we had a little toing and froing earlier.