Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I thoroughly support the idea of a debate on the Fine Gael document on reform of the Houses, and it would be very useful for the Government side to provide for it. It should be put out there so we may discuss it. We need to do that particularly at a time of a recession. It was never more important for us to extend to ordinary people the political scrutiny that is crucial in such difficult times.

I interrupted a speaker on the Government side yesterday, and it was not my intention to cast any aspersions on the Senator in question when he was discussing the construction industry. It was just the issue itself that I questioned, not the Senator, and I have raised this matter before. The construction industry cannot even give us the answer as regards how many houses, unsold, empty and waiting to go on the market are available. The construction industry, which has as tenants Home Bond, cannot even agree on the number. Neither of them agrees with the Central Statistics Office nor the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute. That is why I do not trust these people.

There are stories this morning to the effect that CAB is being asked to investigate fraudulent builders who are trying to set up fraudulent sales with fraudsters, trying to cheat us, the banks and the community at large. Also today, there is news of a significant firm of auditors filing a disclaimer, unable to sign off on the accounts of one of the largest building firms in the country on the basis that it cannot confirm these are a true and fair reflection of its business activities. I am quite happy to discuss the construction industry, and particularly the small people who have lost work because businesses have gone to the wall. However, I do not have any need to meet with representatives from the Construction Industry Federation, just to give them yet another opportunity to start off on their merry-go-round of profiteering and greed which has got us into the trouble we are in. I should be happy to have a debate on it, when all aspects can be dealt with, and I ask the Leader to bear that in mind.