Eoghan Harris (Independent)

I will try to take Senator Prendergast's concise contribution as my role model. From time to time I am challenged about the Seanad's purpose and it is very hard to defend its role when so many Members spend this valuable time rambling about their local constituency issues at great length without any order or apparent regard for the public's lack of interest in such matters, which are matters for a local newspaper.

This morning Members are faced with major issues about which they can be very good when addressing such matters. I refer, for example, to ageism, as Senator Mary White did recently, or to mental health, which was discussed before Christmas. Such matters go deep into the public. However, as for this local constituency stuff, rambling around knocking on every door of every local issue will only degrade the Seanad in the public's eyes. Members should have regard, with some self-respect, to the dignity and honour of the House when making such contributions.

We are lucky to have neighbours like the British rather than the Chinese. When I heard the dignified response of William Wallace to the attack made on his son, it reminded me that the English are decent people. He refused to view the incident as racist.

I call for a proper and lengthy debate on the criminal justice system so that the Seanad can contribute on a more fundamental level than fire brigade actions. The attack on the young fellow on O'Connell Street on St. Patrick's night and the riots in Finglas reveal the two major problems we currently face. Fundamentally, we are all flailing around at present but the solution is simpler than people might think. Most of the violent trouble that takes place in Ireland is caused by young men. They commit two kinds of violence — the stupid and mindless rampaging that took place in Finglas, which can be addressed by better investment in community policing and social welfare, and psychotic and sociopathic actions such as by the group which tore off that young fellow's finger. That is where the conservative side of me comes out. We need to identify persistent psychotic offenders, which can be done at an early age through psychological assessments and police work, and take them out of the community by the harsh political measures that once applied to political subversives. They should be sent to boot camps. However, every time I call for a military service corps run on military lines, I receive a sermon from the degraded side of feminism. There is a good side to feminism but another side believes young men should be knitting or making quilts.