Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

Like Senator Regan, I look forward to a robust debate on the aspects of this scheme as soon as they are available and am sure that will supersede any issue we might raise. That situation is the most important facing us.

I join Senator Fitzgerald in calling for a full debate on our competitiveness. One must welcome the announcement by the networking website, Facebook, that it will locate in Dublin. This is positive news in the face of a downward trend in employment figures but it is opportune now to focus on competitiveness, increasing our marketability to foreign direct investment and ensuring that we have the appropriate supports to harness our entrepreneurial flair. The creation of our own intellectual property and indigenous industry is most important in the current international economic scenario.

I join Senator McCarthy in what he said about coverage of the Seanad. We must re-invent ourselves and engage with the media so that they do feature us. It is true that they only cover the Order of Business from time to time. I have been in the House over six years and the people involved will forgive me for wondering if it is necessary to be a former general secretary of the INTO, Senator David Norris, or a Sunday Independent correspondent in order to get coverage during the Order of Business. Perhaps a committee might be established from the Seanad to engage with the media and seek to improve our image. In turn the media might choose to cover other aspects of the Seanad rather than the soundbites of the Order of Business.