Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

At the outset, I agree with Senator Regan's points on the Libertas statements.

I would like to call for a general debate on housing. In light of recent developments in Dublin, it would be appropriate to look at this. There are a few public private partnerships and private finance initiatives which may have been planned, but which may be in danger now due to viability reasons. I think we should debate that. We could also debate the merits of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and the fact that it may need to be changed. I am not sure we are getting the optimum results for which we had hoped.

In welcoming the Taoiseach's recent announcement of a task force on reform of the public service, we in this House should have a debate on the issue. Our views, which are many and diverse, could be of help to this task force. As Senator White said, there is much farming out and subcontracting of many services to the private sector. Many of these surveys or consultancy reports may be better carried out by our public service, which may have the in-house expertise, making it more cost effective in these times of scarcity. A debate on those issues would be greatly appreciated.