David Norris (Independent)

When will the Leader stop talking about the CPP? When did it last meet? My information is it last met in November 2008. Let us have action and leadership and not frustration.

Radio broadcasts of proceedings have stopped completely. It is not surprising the only business ever reported on television or in newspapers is the Order of Business. Today, The Irish Times columnist, Miriam Lord, had precisely three times the column inches of the column devoted to the collective wisdom of the Seanad. It is the Leader's responsibility with the other officers to make sure we get proper attention and we get a proper way to give our views.

I refer to the issue of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment's interview, which I also heard and which should be discussed. We need leadership. President Obama was splendid. He said America would have to face this day of reckoning and so on. Half the time what we got from the Tánaiste was not even English. She talked about the need for "strident government". We might need prudent government but we do not need strident government. She talked about "a percentile increase". I do not know what is a percentile increase. I never heard of it. I taught English for 30 years and I do not know what she was talking about.

I accept there is a little movement and the Director of Corporate Enforcement has sent in gardaí. They can recover some of the information from the hard drives of computers. One of the great things is all is not lost. The bankers can have shredded what they like but we can still get at information. However, I am worried that the banks are still at it.