Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

With regard to the Colombian politician, Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, meetings regularly discuss politicians in difficulty in various countries. Some of them, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, are well known but there are other less well known situations. When I was a Deputy I put down a number of parliamentary questions about them on a number of occasions. Would the Leader seek a report on the politicians mentioned at the last IPU meeting to ensure that we add our voice to those of others expressing concern? Sometimes we can do little about some of these situations but we should, as an honest broker, convey our dissatisfaction with ongoing problems in a number of countries, particularly with regard to the politicians. The case being discussed today involves a female politician but across the board there are a number of issues which should be updated and addressed.

Over Christmas many people will spend a great deal of concentrated time in each other's presence. It is a festive occasion and everybody is supposed to be in a happy, festive mood. There will also probably be plenty of alcohol consumed in every house. I wish to raise the issue of domestic violence. On festive occasions, when people are supposedly having a good time, there is a greater opportunity for the physical, emotional or sexual abuse of partners or other family members to occur. I commend the radio advertisements being run at present. They are very sad and poignant. We should continue to debate the issue of how to encourage people to report abuse, how to minimise domestic violence and how to support those who are dealing with its fallout.

I wish to raise an issue that might seem silly but which I believe it is important. Could we have a debate on how we can make Christmas and the long winter nights less lonely for older people? It is a cross-departmental issue but some people appear to fall between the departmental stools. There are many good voluntary workers who operate with Government grants but for the people who are most in need nothing can beat a little human touch from the community. As I said on the Adjournment last night, it might consist of someone lifting the telephone to talk to them once a week. Perhaps we could have a discussion on the loneliness of many people — not only in rural areas but elsewhere, as one can be very lonely in a crowd — and how we can, as individuals, reach out this Christmas to people in our community.