Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I agree with the three previous speakers who requested that we have an urgent debate on the forthcoming possibility of strikes and similar difficulties across the public services. Senator Alex White made an interesting point to the Deputy Leader, that it would be a useful exercise if we could use this Chamber to hear directly from and speak directly to the various interested parties. During the course of the previous Seanad we had such a facility with members of the European Parliament and it worked very effectively. It would be timely for us to engage directly in this House with the various employer representatives, union representatives etc., not only to listen to these people but to engage with them and put forward our views, alternative or otherwise.

In that regard I listened this week and watched on television an interview with the previous leader of the British miners, a man who appears to live in cloud cuckoo land, who spoke with pride of his role, not only in bringing the British mining industry to a halt but almost shutting down the British economy-----