Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

Some very useful suggestions have been made this morning, first by Senator Twomey about written answers to questions, a matter on which I have campaigned in the past and in which I know every Senator is interested. We should have a facility in Parliament whereby Senators can receive written answers to questions put to Ministers. In the absence of that, I fully endorse what Senator Twomey has said. Perhaps when we come back in the autumn, the Leader through his parliamentary assistant and by reference to the Official Report can have these matters properly processed, reviewed and dealt with. It would be of great assistance to every Member of this House.

I am sure the Leader is very much aware of Senator O'Toole's very useful suggestion. Ministers often say they will amend a Bill in the other House when it could be done on Report Stage in this House.

I agree with what has been said that nothing is happening with banking following recapitalisation. The banks are waiting for NAMA. We will need to discuss that matter further with Government.

Senator Norris spoke about pharmacies, which are vital to our towns. They are small operators who are being squeezed. We know what is going on with the discounts. What he said about the big operators is quite right. I have no time for them either. However, we all have a vested interest in protecting the streets of our towns. The pharmacy is vital in all those locations and we need to do something about that.