Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

Senator McFadden talked about a €14 difference in the price of whiskey. That is one of the keystones of a topic that is very important. We have had debates on alcohol and I have asked for all-Ireland policies on the pricing of alcohol, which is one matter in which there should be a disparity when we as an island have a problem with alcohol abuse which needs to be addressed. An all-Ireland approach to issues such as the pricing of alcohol is very important.

There have always been exchanges in terms of people from one side of the Border going to the other. However, I draw attention to the changes in VAT and exchange rates. I ask that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, look at the Border areas. If one is far enough away from the Border there is no impact but in an area such as where I live, where Border towns are closer than larger towns in the county, many businesses have been put under pressure and we should find ways of stimulating the economy in these areas.

There was an issue with the water quality of bottled water recently. The food authority did not release its report and therefore all businesses involved in bottling water were tarred with the potential brush of having contaminated water. One company disclosed that it had a very good record with the quality of its water. Why would someone who has evidence of contamination not give that information to consumers in the interests of other businesses that are doing things by the book?

This is linked to the issue of obesity levels. I again ask that we fast-track the issue of labelling, not only of food products, which are improving in content, but also liquids. The amount of information on calorie, salt and sugar content in alcohol and soft drinks products is very limited. We need to look at that in the context of the obesity study released today.

Regarding FÁS, as previous speakers said, the budget in place for what FÁS does best, training those who need to be retrained, must remain the single focus. Investigations need to be done but the money needs to go where it is best spent, and it is being well spent on very good training programmes. We will need more and more training in the future, particularly in the coming months and we should not be distracted by what might or might not be proven as a result of reports. The focus must remain on retraining.