Feargal Quinn (Independent)

The decision yesterday by the Minister for Defence to give the order for food for the Army to two Ulster companies is interesting. One of them, which obtained the order for eggs for the Army for the coming year, is based in County Monaghan. The other, which obtained the order for fresh poultry, worth €350,000, is in County Down. This is a reminder that we are one country in this area and it is not a question of North versus South. It seems to me that the other Minister who asked us some time ago to do our patriotic duty by shopping south of the Border was acting in a partitionist manner. It is probably out of the hands of the Department of Defence to do anything other than award the contract to the company offering the best value. If the best value is north of the Border, it is up to businesses in the South to reduce their prices in order to be competitive. There has not been nearly enough recognition of the need to do so. I ask the Leader to draw the Minister's attention to this issue so that action can be taken to address it.

Mr. Willie Walsh, the chief executive officer of British Airways, announced yesterday that he will not accept the bonus to which he is entitled because he wishes to set an example to his employees and to indicate his willingness to make the businesses successful. That is a standard of behaviour to which we in this State should look. Those who encourage others to accept pay cuts should do so themselves. We should have a guarantee that this will be done.

I heard with interest about a conference taking place next week in the United States. Some 100 Japanese citizens were due to attend that conference but were obliged to cancel because their country's Government has put in place a seven-day quarantine in respect of anyone visiting the United States. I understand that later today the World Health Organisation may upgrade its alert in respect of swine flu - the H1N1 virus - to level 6. This should act as a reminder to us to keep our eyes on the ball with regard to a possible pandemic. The problem has not gone away and we must continue to monitor events.