David Norris (Independent)

Of course it is. If it was not in order the Cathaoirleach would have stopped me long ago. Laurence Sterne not only wrote digressions in Tristram Shandy but also wrote a whole chapter entitled "A Digression upon Digressions". I assure the Cathaoirleach that I will be modest and control myself.

This is germane to the question of the safety of gas pipelines as contemplated by the Bill. People have the right to protest when they feel their safety is threatened. The Government obviously feels the need to be a monitoring power and purports to look after the welfare of citizens in this Bill. It is appropriate to raise this issue, especially to sound a warning about how this powerful company is investing heavily in media spin. We must be careful not to assist in this.

I am only repeating what I said on the Order of Business a few days ago. It was astonishing that the good and decent Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, allowed himself to say in the Dáil that an unnamed acquaintance of his had overheard a telephone conversation on a mobile telephone in Grafton Street in which the words "Rossport", "riot" and others were mentioned. That is smear and it is not good enough. I had complimented this Minister a few weeks previously on his courage in tackling other issues. Given that the former Minister, Ray Burke, handled licences in an unusual way that caused considerable comment, this should be opened up. It is inappropriate for the Taoiseach to say the correspondence is closed and so cut off the debate.

I hope we will have an opportunity under the Cathaoirleach's wise chairmanship to open up the question of the Shell to Sea campaign, the rights of the people in that area and the fact that they were attacked. I have seen the videos and spoken to people who were involved. One man, a professional photographer, was beaten with a baton and pushed onto the barbed wire. That is not appropriate. I am looking to the Cathaoirleach to guide us and ensure we have a full and proper debate on this topic.