David Norris (Independent)

I support my colleague in what he said about Women's Aid. It is a very valuable organisation which has done tremendous work. The amount involved is negligible and the community gets a very good service from it. I also urge that this money be made available to it.

Regarding salmon, I unequivocally congratulate the Government and in particular the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, a brave, courageous and idealistic Minister who has a fine track record. He did the right thing on this occasion. I have spent the past few days castigating the Government side because I thought its nerve would wobble under the very understandable electoral pressure. I also congratulate the Acting Leader, Senator Dardis, who certainly fought this fight as we on this side also did. Well done and I am glad to have the opportunity to congratulate the Government.

However, in one final area I cannot congratulate any of us. I will give a few points which I would like taken up in discussion. I call for a debate on the protection of consumers' rights. In my opinion the consumer has no real protection. For example, we have no proper telephone service. We cannot get our phones serviced. It is never anybody's responsibility. It is always franchised out. We are still paying foreign investors for landlines. It is a kind of absentee landlordism. How on earth are we putting up with it? The company tells us it is recording our phone calls. How dare it? It never asked my permission. I hear these bland announcements that the phone call will be recorded.

I opposed the lifting of the groceries order. However, there was a gathering rush by the so-called Competition Authority which could not even submit its views in time in a matter involving the oil industry. It failed to meet the deadline. The head of the body previously advised one of the companies, which is an extraordinary business. It is led on the other hand by a television entertainer, who at the moment is answering questions about his, apparently, quite honourable involvement in a failed investment company, in which at the time it collapsed he retained 24% or 25% of the shares. How can people be pushed into this? We know now that there has been no reduction in prices despite the suspension of the groceries order.

The banks refuse to deal with their customers on a human level. Many of us pay the highest possible rates to the Voluntary Health Insurance and are entitled to free treatment. Do we get free treatment? No, we must pay by cash or cheque with a banker's card. We then need to do its paperwork to get money back eventually after it has invested it and got interest. There is no real protection. These are just a few areas. I am sure all my colleagues could produce other areas in which the consumer does not have his or her interests guaranteed or maintained.