Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

As a member of the Council of Europe, I intend to raise this next week at a meeting of the human rights section. It would be worthwhile to consider sending a delegation from this House to Colombia to meet officials there. We should bear in mind also that this discussion is being broadcast around the world on the Internet. It is possible that someone in the FARC guerilla movement may be listening and may have enough humanity to release this innocent victim.

I ask the Leader of the House for a debate on telecommunications. From the end of February next year the Eircom telemessage service will be discontinued. The operator service has already been discontinued. There has been a reduction in services from Eircom since it was privatised and without consultation with stakeholders or company directors. The telemessage service took over from the old telegram system, which was an excellent service provided to this country over the years, bringing both sad and good news. The telemessage service is quite useful and has often been used by Members of the House. There is now a reliance on Internet services, but many people still require this urgent form of communication. The removal of this service from 29 February next year is a retrograde step.

I ask the Leader for a debate on the services provided by Eircom. Since privatisation there has been a reduction in the roll-out of broadband. In my home in Castlecoote, for example, I cannot get the service most Senators have in their homes and offices. I have broadband in my office in Roscommon town, but in my home in Castlecoote, which is just six miles out, I do not have it.