Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I was going to bring up a point Senator Coghlan has just raised and call for a debate on the Competition Authority. The report of the authority was issued in recent weeks and there is an ongoing review of the Competition Act 2002. It would be a good service to the House if we were to have such a debate. There are questions about the remit of the Competition Authority, the fact it has grown from its original functions and has a budget much larger than it used have, and yet its productivity seems to have decreased in terms of the number of warrants it has issued and the number of witnesses it summons yearly. The issue Senator Coghlan brought up raises questions about the effectiveness of the Competition Authority and we could have a debate on how it might be better structured. It also fits in with requests made at Order of Business by other Senators on the number of regulators, the degree of regulation and the effect on competitiveness.

I also call for a debate on marine research. I do so in the context of the unfortunate fire last night at Haulbowline naval base where there was a research centre run by University College Cork doing excellent work. The importance of marine research and its future value to the economy needs to overcome setbacks such as this and a debate in this House will help the direction of that in the future. If such time could be made available, it would be a good use of the time of this House.