Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Will the Leader advise me of the last occasion the Standing Orders of the House were reviewed? I am now in my second term in the House. The Order of Business is a vigorous and robust session. I refer to the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Bill which was dealt with this week. I am pleased that the contributions were above political considerations and that Senators from both sides of the House participated. However, I am concerned about the use of the title "Statements" by some and "Debate" by others. We discuss the most serious topics in these sessions. I am not referring to last night's Private Members' motion because the subject could have been provocative but the debate was instead robust and stimulating. However, in all honesty, I find the statements and-or debates not to be debates and to be quite sterile.

We are calling this morning for an examination of the cracks in the Celtic tiger society with an increasing number of young men dying by suicide. We must find out how these problems have arisen. Statements are usually made and people then leave the House. I would prefer to see some form of discussion or cross-party debate resulting in an agreed consensus. I refer to the issue of suicide and the societal changes brought about by the Celtic tiger. There is no doubt society has become more selfish and aggressive. This has been one of the downsides of the Celtic tiger but I do not believe we have gone bad altogether. This matter is above partisan politics. I would like to see participation as we had last night on Senator Norris's motion. I ask if the Standing Orders could be reviewed to allow this to take place.