Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

There are few Members of this House or of the Lower House or, indeed, members of any chamber right around the country, local authority and other, who have not from time to time made representations for people to be housed. I welcome that and long may it continue. I ask my party's spokesperson on housing, Senator Butler, and the Deputy Leader of the House to arrange a debate on local authority tenancies and tenancies in general with a view to ensuring tenants are aware of their obligations — they tell us often enough about their rights but they have obligations as well — and also on the management of housing estates, private and public. The matter merits a serious debate in this House.

On two previous occasions I mentioned the rolling out of the joint policing committees and the municipal policing committees. This is a unique opportunity for Members of this House and of Dáil Éireann, local authority members and, indeed, leaders of the various communities in which they operate, to play a part in assisting the Garda in the control of crime. I ask the Deputy Leader, Senator Boyle, to arrange for a debate on this important matter as soon as possible. This new arrangement provides almost every elected member of the Oireachtas and local authorities with an opportunity of playing his or her party in combatting crime.