Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Senator Donohoe, who is very level headed, listens to the Leader when he asks serious questions, and I compliment him on that. I know he has a great future and I look forward to serving very many years with the Senator in the House. I hope some of his colleagues take example from his sense of responsibility, and how he conducts himself here.

As regards Senators calling for a debate on housing, I am pleased to say there will be a special debate in the House with the new Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Michael Finneran, on Tuesday week, 8 July. This is a very important issue for discussion and I am responding to the requests made of me in this area.

Senator O'Toole dealt with the question of sole traders, including people who are employed and married to traders. This is an important issue, particularly as regards everyone in a family making a contribution towards keeping the business going. I fully agree with the sentiments expressed by the Senator and we should make every effort to have this included in our pre-budget submission in September or October, when we come back for the autumn session.

Senator Hannigan pointed out that the Minister for Transport was meeting his counterpart in Northern Ireland and we want to wish him well. The Minister, like the Senator, comes from the royal county. We certainly wish the Minister well in his deliberations there today.

Senator Buttimer expressed his great concern as regards the toxic waste in Cork. This is a serious issue and we support the call of all Senators on the Minister to hear what can be done. I shall endeavour to have this further clarified in the House before the summer recess. As regards the points made on the importance of broadband in schools and the entire roll-out strategy, this is one of the greatest challenges facing the country and none of us is satisfied with the progress to date. That is to put the position on the record and I have no difficulty in trying to have this debated also. Time will be of the essence, however, because there are so many serious issues to be addressed, such as the economy and the fishing industry, which must be discussed in the House. I now have a timeframe for the housing debate, and I also want to inform the House that we shall have statements on Zimbabwe in the Seanad next week. Many people are seriously concerned about this, but I do not want to say too much because the election is taking place there today.