Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

——and maybe into Saturday morning. For Senators to state that we are not placing the economy centre stage and that Members of this House are not being given an opportunity to express their views on the up-to-date challenge, which is unprecedented and global, is unfair and untrue.

Regarding the social partners, Senator Ross, who is a very eminent Member of the House, gives the side we read in the Sunday Independent, which is a must read. However, for me the social partners are the captains of industry and the engine of the economy. They include the farming community, which still plays a central role in the economy. We all saw the difficulties that community faced in the past ten days and how important it is to our economy in terms of exports. We have the employers, IBEC the trade unions and the Government. Central to Ireland's success in the past 20 years has been the role the social partners have played, as Senator O'Toole correctly said. He was also a very important pioneering member of social partnership.