Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the fact that the outgoing Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, will address the House tomorrow on the issue of the Lisbon treaty. We frequently have debates here about the relevance of the Seanad and we question how we can get the media to take more seriously the business of the House. I suggest that if the Taoiseach of the day were to address the House on a more regular basis, it would stimulate that interest and increase the perception of our relevance. I ask the Leader to consider this suggestion and to ask the incoming Taoiseach to address the House. Perhaps we could examine the possibility of it happening on a more regular basis. It would increase and improve the profile of the House.

I ask the Leader to convey to the Taoiseach some of the concerns Members of the House might have about the impact of a recent statement by a prominent businessman on the Lisbon treaty. I have been contacted by a number of business people querying whether the ratification of the treaty will have a positive or a negative impact on Irish business. I ask that the Taoiseach address this question tomorrow when addressing the issue of the treaty in the House.