Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I support the point made by Senator Fitzgerald. I welcome that the Minister will take questions at the end of the debate on food and the merits of farmers' markets. That is a welcome development and we should show we can use it usefully without abusing it.

On the issue I raised yesterday and which Senator Fitzgerald raised earlier, namely, the question of Íngrid Betancourt, we should take this matter further. I discussed the matter with some Members of the other House last night. There was another occasion when parliamentarians were adept and ready to go to Colombia to plead the case for various people. I believe there is a strong case for people from this Parliament to go to Colombia and not at taxpayers' expense. I would like to have the representatives of FARC in front of me. I would like to make the case for Íngrid Betancourt and to hear the answers. This woman has been imprisoned for one reason only, namely, she was brave enough to oppose terrorism publicly and all that goes with it. We have no vested interest in this matter and it is something we should consider.