John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

Having missed the opportunity yesterday to congratulate my county colleague, Alan Kelly, on his election to the European Parliament, I do so today. I also share the concerns expressed by Senator Quinn regarding the waste of food because people do not understand the context of the stamping of food. If anything can be done by supermarkets to educate the public in this regard, it would be useful.

I ask the Leader for a debate because to serve the public well, I believe the Seanad should be the forum in which each political party lays out its stall in respect of dealing with the deficit of €20 billion, by outlining the cuts and taxes it proposes and what it would do to ensure the correction of Ireland's fiscal and financial state. In other words, I seek a two-day debate in which each political party would lay out its stall once and for all.