Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Brian Hayes referred to the tribunals and, in his own words, the colossal fees being charged. He asked, as he did yesterday, when we would have a debate on the Moriarty report. The House will deal with a considerable amount of new legislation next week and we will have the debate on the Moriarty report during the following week.

Senator Brian Hayes also referred to the former Senator and revered judicial officer, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, who advised not to rush the children's referendum. Senator Hayes's view was that we should agree the wording and set a date for the autumn, regardless of the result of the vote in May. That sounds eminently sensible to me.

Senator O'Toole made the point that the tribunals are established by the Oireachtas and, therefore, it is up to us to debate them and put forward our views. The Senator also spoke interestingly about school websites, which, if they did not have a .ie domain, could perhaps be taken over by nefarious groups or persons who would use them for their own purposes. He suggested all schools should be given a .ie domain, thereby granting them a measure of safety. This could be done as each school puts itself on the web.

Senator Ryan noted that the European Parliament accepted the report on rendition. In that regard, he proposed a change to the Order of Business, which was seconded by Senator Norris and with which we will deal.

The Senator also called for a debate on competitiveness. I read the part of the report concerning third level fees. While I accept it is just one aspect of the report, it struck me that those who wrote the report on competitiveness can well afford to pay to have their children attend third level, which is why they want us to reconsider the fee issue. The Government has made it clear it is not in the marketplace with regard to reintroducing third level fees, and rightly so. Nonetheless, the Senator seeks a debate on the issue.

Senator Ryan also called for a debate on the UNICEF report. I downloaded the report yesterday and went through it, and I went through it again last night. There is no doubt we rate very highly on many aspects, including with regard to health and safety, education, and how children feel about one another and their place in society. Instead of concentrating on areas where we do not rate highly — I accept measures must be considered — we should recognise we are above the halfway level. It is wrong to put forward the negative view.

I took part in a debate on radio yesterday in which everybody but myself was on the negative side. I asked whether the other participants had read the report but they had not done so. It is all very well to talk about a report but people should read it.