Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Senators have inquired about the motion that will come before the House on the new banking legislation, which it is proposed to take on Friday. I will have a more definitive time for the taking of it possibly after the Order of Business this morning. I will come back to the leaders of the various groups and inform the House and seek its approval for it in the morning. I thank all Members, leaders and Whips for their co-operation on this Bill, work on which has been ongoing for three weeks.

Senators Fitzgerald, O'Toole, Alex White, Healy Eames, Norris, Ó Domhnaill, Buttimer, Hanafin, McCarthy, Regan, Bacik, Coghlan, de Búrca and O'Reilly expressed various views on the budget announced yesterday. As we all know it was a difficult time for the Minister for Finance and the Government and a challenge had to be met. I welcome certain parts of the budget.