Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

It has not affected the Senator's lip in generic terms, what he can say or how he says it. We were not laughing at the idea of a person going to the aid of another person and being attacked.

Senator Glynn raised the matter of the ugly face of the NIMBY syndrome which is prevalent here and he sought a debate on the responsibilities of citizens. Senator Terry raised the matter of pensions and I accept her point. We will have the highest percentage of young people under a certain age in a few years' time and many of them will be able to work to provide for us in later life. This matter is tied up with the issue of pensions. Perhaps a general debate on the issue would be useful. The Senator said that the NCB report was good and interesting.

Senator Jim Walsh also called for a debate on housing, particularly affordable housing. Different mechanisms are used by county councils to implement the obligations under Part V of the planning legislation. Some of them buy houses in other estates. It seems a random way to deal with it, but they are getting to grips with the problem. In my county a determined attempt has been made to secure social and affordable housing in different housing estates. Difficulties arise, and people complain about the problem, but the way in which it is tackled by different county councils is random. Perhaps a standard approach should be taken to the implementation of obligations under Part V of the planning legislation.

Senator Coonan spoke about the sexual assault of a woman in O'Connell Street. He raised in particular the report of Food and Drink Ireland. Three Departments, namely the Departments of Agriculture and Food, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Health and Children are involved in overseeing this kind of business. He said there tends to be over-regulation in food production, but I wish to point out that we have very good small producers engaged in organic production and there are also some major producers, including some corporate Irish food producers, who are internationally acclaimed throughout the world, some of whom are based in the Senator's area.

Senator Coghlan called for a debate on Part V of the planning legislation and the different approaches to this aspect of housing.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his courtesy and hospitality yesterday on the occasion of the visit of Mr. Bruton.