Seanad debates

Tuesday, 8 April 2008

12:00 pm

Photo of John Paul PhelanJohn Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

Before the Easter recess, I asked the Leader for a debate on the current economic conditions. Senator MacSharry and other Senators on the Government side also called for such a debate. It would be apt to invite the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, to the Chamber as soon as possible to discuss this matter before he is elevated to another office. The discussion should focus on rising unemployment levels, the more modest projections for economic growth this year and the projected figures pertaining to tax revenue, which are much lower than those projected originally. It would be appropriate that the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, should come to the House to discuss how he sees matters developing from here and to get his views before he assumes another role.

I am not sure whether this is the correct forum to raise this. I had a number of Adjournment motions before the House before the Easter recess, the last two of which related to the area of education. There are at least three, if not four, Ministers in the Department of Education and Science and on each occasion no Minister relevant to the portfolio was able to be present. If one raises a specific issue, it is a poor show from any Department to be presented with an answer to an Adjournment debate which one knows is factually incorrect and not be able to question the Minister who arrives in the Chamber. On the last such occasion it was the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, who answered as well as he could but could not deal with the specific questions I raised. I understand that at times Ministers may not always be able to be present. However, in a Department that has three, if not four, Ministers, surely one of them should be able to be present to take a debate relevant to that Department.

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