Mary Henry (Independent)

Like Senator Browne, I was disappointed that following the Minister's speech on Second Stage, in which he said he would put down amendments on Committee Stage regarding the Ferns Report, the amendments were not dealt with here. They will be dealt with on Committee Stage in the Lower House and when the Bill returns to the Seanad we will be only able to pull our forelocks and agree to them. We have no power to do anything unless something appalling is included. The Seanad addresses Bills such as this very seriously and it is a great disappointment that we did not have the opportunity to discuss those amendments today.