John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Leader to request that the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources come to the House. Oil has now reached $142 per dollar. We are now hearing from the markets that speculators are not causing most of the problems, that there is shortage in light of the demands coming from China and India, that we are into a number of supercycles of demand for commodities from those nations and that there is a production capacity problem, which is not necessarily a shortage, which could continue for a few years. In light of all this and Ireland's unique situation in Europe, with unique possibilities, we should request EU funding to provide clean energy offshore from wind and tidal energy with major support from the EU in light of its correct claim that it has a competence in the energy field.

I also note that an abusive term was used again in the House. Yesterday, the term "rump" was used by somebody referring to members of the Fianna Fáil Party. One finds that some of these people who call themselves liberals are very intolerant. The term "dinosaurs" was used this morning. This is not the Jurassic or the Triassic age.