Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

Following on from the issues raised by Senator O'Toole, I call for an urgent debate on North-South bodies. I have raised this issue on several occasions. For example, Translink, the cross-Border body that operates the train service between Belfast and Dublin, is co-funded by the European Union. If one purchases a ticket in the North, one will pay £40, this price having recently increased from £36, but one must pay at least €55 - I understand this fare has increased recently - to purchase a ticket in Dublin. An effective exchange rate of 69 cent for £1 has been in operation for as long as I care to remember. I have not succeeded in getting Translink to answer my questions on this matter. I seek a mechanism to deal with a situation where commuters from the South are being exploited by a company which manages co-funded infrastructural services.

Other North-South bodies include the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission and the Foyle Fisheries Commission. The latter can issue licences for aquaculture, but when it does so, there is a veto by the Crown Estate. The question of the territorial status of the seabed of the River Foyle has never been dealt with. How can these bodies do their jobs when there is a third party which can veto their decisions? This House offers a forum where we can put our point of view and seek to deal with these difficult issues.

I agree with Senator O'Toole's comments regarding Foinse and Foras na Gaeilge. At the recent Council of Europe meeting, during a discussion on a report on endangered languages, we were told that Irish had moved from endangered to vulnerable. I extolled the virtues of the actions being taken in this State to support the language. It is disturbing to hear a North-South body charged with the development of the language saying it will not support an Irish language newspaper. These are the issues we must address. I recognise it is difficult to frame a debate on these matters but it must be done so we can tackle what are serious issues both for people living in Border areas and for the island as a whole.