Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I echo Senator Alex White's call for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the Chamber to discuss the reports in the newspapers today that certain senior members of the Refugee Appeals Authority have taken a divergent position from the chairman of the tribunal. It is a serious issue that requires clarification. Under the new Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill the chairperson of the tribunal, which is to be abolished, will become the chairperson of the new Protection Review Tribunal. It is important that there be absolute confidence in the integrity of both this body and the office of chairperson. The House needs clarification on this.

I ask that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government come to the House to address the issue of testing for radon gas in homes across the country. There is a report in today's newspapers that levels 45 times the acceptable limit were found in a house in Ballyporeen, County Tipperary. The head of the Radiological Protection Institute has estimated that 91,000 homes in Ireland have high radon levels but only 4,000 of those have been identified so far. It is possible to have homes tested for radon, which is a naturally occurring cancer-causing gas. Because radon is colourless, odourless and tasteless, people often do not realise their homes may contain high levels of it. It is important that the Department encourage and facilitate people in carrying out this test. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House to explain what his Department is doing to help householders to measure radon levels in their own homes.