Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I support Senator John Paul Phelan's call, which was seconded by Senator Coghlan, for a special debate today on the economy and establish the practice of having a rolling debate whereby we would allocate two hours per week to an ongoing discussion on the economy.

Today, we should examine Senator Walsh's misunderstanding of Fine Gael's proposals on Oireachtas reform. It would be advantageous to provide that people in full-time employment and with other lucrative salaries do not receive pensions before reaching 60 years of age. It would also be advantageous to reduce the number of Ministers of State, given their proliferation.

Will the Leader arrange for a debate on our use of the excellent Civil Service? Civil servants are recruited from our school system by the most rigorous processes. Why should they be replaced in ministerial offices by a plethora of staff? There is no logic to that. Our fine Civil Service should run the country alongside politicians. We should not source people from outside.