Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I support the calls by other Senators for debates on various matters. I entirely support what Senator Ryan said this morning about the lack of time allowed between the different Stages for the Bill on the Dublin transport authority. The thinking behind its current handling is that if it is done in this way its progress through the Seanad will be accelerated. This is counter-productive. What happens is that because of the lack of time between the different Stages, when it comes to putting down amendments the temptation is to restore all the amendments that were discussed only days before. This is because there is so little time, first to get the legislation and then to consider it properly. I suspect that the Stage of debate to take place in the House this afternoon will take a lot longer than it should because on this side of the House there has not been the amount of time needed to do what the Government and the people expect of Members. I am sure this does not happen because of any malice on the Leader's part but it is getting in the way of Senators performing a proper role regarding important legislation.

Senator Ó Murchú made reference to the debate on community affairs that took place yesterday with the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív. I took an opportunity to listen to some of this debate and it seemed to be a very interesting and productive discussion. I believe that when such debate is engaged in the future we should recognise that issues regarding community life are not exclusively rural. I would appreciate if, during any debates we set forth on community life, the terms of reference would permit Senators to raise issues that concern the other two-thirds of the population. I do not denigrate in any way what was discussed yesterday but there are many other topics and issues affecting community life in urban settings that merit discussion as well.

I call for a debate on the current funding of housing projects in the State. Most major public housing projects are being delivered through public private partnerships. There are four such in my constituency. Of late there are rumours that developers are finding it increasingly difficult to deliver this work because of the current credit crunch. Confirmation of this has appeared in some newspapers today. I would appreciate if the Leader scheduled a debate on how this country funds these projects and in particular, on the use of public private partnerships. The aim is to ensure that good use might be made of these in the changed economic environment. While this might appear to be a dry, technical topic——