Shane Ross (Independent)

Exactly. It was not in the interests of the sheep or the cows. We have reached a ridiculous point in planning. Planners, particularly An Bord Pleanála, should be accountable to someone, perhaps this House. This is not the only case of animals being more important than humans in planning matters.

I wish to raise another, perhaps more serious, issue which was already discussed by Senator Bannon. He stated the loss of jobs is a matter of great concern. It is worthy of debate because nobody knows what is happening. Two sides of the argument are put forward. Some state multi-nationals are leaving for eastern Europe because costs are lower there. The other side of the argument is that those jobs are being replaced quickly and we are being alarmist. I do not know what is the truth and we should debate the matter.

Everybody is agreed about one point on which there is no doubt and I speak as one who is not a great fan of trade unions. The cost base here is a major problem. It should be emphasised that it is not only the fault of staff or a matter of having a head count and laying people off to cut costs.