Joe O'Toole (Independent)

To follow up on the last point made by the Senator, a number of us have said that the first victim of recession tends to be democracy, and the first post-democracy victim tends to be a free press and freedom of expression. One can see this running through society at present. We must be aware of and watch these themes.

Yesterday, there was general cheering about the fact that the nominee of the Minister, Deputy John Gormley, to chair the Dublin Docklands Development Authority board had resigned. I wish to revisit that issue. Is there not something ironic about the fact that somebody who uses legislation which we put together and passed and who did not break any law but used the law that we had produced finds himself in a position where he must resign? I know what I disliked about what he did but one must also consider his expertise, energy and availability. We had this guy employed for between €10,000 and €15,000 per year, which is what he would probably earn in a day in his other working life. It is a case of cutting off our nose to spite our face. We should revisit this matter. Having made our point about what he did, how we dislike it and how the law must be changed to ensure it does not happen again, we should acknowledge some of the blame and ask him to reconsider his decision to resign. That might not be a popular view but if we are discussing taking practical decisions to sort out the economy, we can hardly do it without people of that ability.

There was a wave of euphoria yesterday about the strike next week being called off. People must look at where the strike decision originated. People talk about the social partnership in the good times, but they have short memories. Social partnership was born in the worst of times, in 1987, and that is why it can work again. People ask whether it has a way forward. They should look across the water at what is happening in France at present, where workers are holding heads of industry to ransom to get their own way, there have been three general strikes in a year and the industry and employers group has said that under no circumstances will it allow the Government to introduce legislation to put a cap on salaries. That is the downside of no social partnership and of making advances without support. We must keep these matters in mind as we proceed.

I welcome No. 15, a Bill proposed by Senators Coghlan, Cummins and Fitzgerald to allow regulation of credit institutions such as building societies, particularly the one run by Mr. Fingleton, to ensure we can at least examine and regulate what is happening in that area. People are unaware that it is not being done at present. This is welcome legislation and I compliment the Senators on bringing it forward and ask the Government to support it.