David Norris (Independent)

I am speaking through the Chair but I am waving to the other side. The feminine side of my brain allows me to multi-task.

I refer to the debate on the economy. I am very happy to accept Senator Alex White's excellent suggestion on the way this debate should be taken. It is remarkable that the Government voted against having a debate on the economy even though it takes up most of the time each day. I am not confined in terms of the way it should happen but we need to be able to answer people like this lad, Donal Casey, writing in today's The Irish Times who, as the former chief executive of corporate business in Irish Life——