Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

When I went into a reception centre for immigrants in Waterford city yesterday to canvass those in the building and to advise them of their right to register for voting purposes, I was stopped at the door and advised that a letter had been received from Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the effect that canvassing was prohibited in the reception centre. It seems that public representatives are not allowed to speak to the people inside and advise them of their rights. I would like the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to explain why such a letter was sent out. It is an absolute denial of democracy to prevent people from getting information about their democratic rights. I said I would raise the matter in the Seanad and I am doing so today. I hope the Leader of the House will let me know the situation in this regard.

Fourteen weeks ago, workers at Waterford Crystal learned that their jobs were gone. It was a devastating blow to the workers, their families and the people of Waterford. It is absolutely disgraceful that the workers in question have not yet received their statutory redundancy payments. I ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to address this wrong immediately. This should not have happened to the Waterford Crystal workers. They have been treated despicably by the Government since this issue first arose. The least they can expect is to get their entitlements within a reasonable timeframe. A period of 14 weeks is far too long. I ask the Tánaiste to address this issue as a matter of urgency.

It is regrettable that up to last week, the main Government party was the only party not to have submitted proposals for the reform of the Seanad. I welcome the Minister's suggestion that proposals on Seanad reform will be published at an early stage. We would welcome a discussion on those proposals. I hope a number my party's Seanad reform proposals will be included when the Minister finally addresses this problem.