Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I will also rule myself out of contesting that election. However, I am open to contesting any future elections that might happen in the cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, which will follow under subsequent legislation. The question of the balance between the elected mayor and existing city managers will be dealt with in that legislation.

Senator O'Toole and others spoke about the cost of unemployment, while Senator Healy Eames referred to the seminar being held today by the ESRI on the cost of welfare in relation to other labour costs. Senator Regan talked about unemployment and competitiveness, as did Senator Callely. We must have a debate on this issue. We had a start to such a debate yesterday with the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill. Next year's Social Welfare and Pensions Bill will be vital in addressing these issues, as they go to the heart of what our policy is and what resources there are to pursue that policy into the future.

Senator Hannigan raised the Freedom of Information Act and pointed out that in the last five years the number of requests has decreased. However, the report of the Information Commissioner pointed out that the number of requests has risen in the past year for the first time in several years. That is encouraging. That is partly because the number of organisations——