Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

If we are to prevent social unrest during the remainder of the winter and in the spring and if the Houses of the Oireachtas, specifically the Seanad, are to be seen as being relevant, we must address the two major issues that are impinging on the lives of ordinary people. The first is that relating to home owners who are in distress. We need to engage in a day-long debate on that issue. I ask the Leader to make time available for such a debate, during which we might consider solutions such as changing the code of practice that applies to lending institutions, removing the courts dimension and developing imaginative systems whereby people who are trying to pay their mortgages can do so. Fine Gael's proposal in respect of a NAMA-style equity share being taken in houses owned by people who are in distress is a good one. It and the various other proposals are deserving of consideration.

The second major issue which also requires a day-long debate relates to the 422,000 people who are without jobs. I put it to the Leader that among the solutions he should ensure is considered in any debate which might take place is the possibility of embarking on an extensive school building programme. In light of the reduced cost of contracts, the fact that local community involvement can be encouraged, the existence of standardised building designs, the use of more imaginative approaches etc., it would be possible to build every inexpensive school buildings, for which there is a crying need. A school building programme such as that to which I refer could lead to the creation of jobs and kick-start the construction industry to some degree. There are two glaring examples in the constituency in which I live, namely, Virginia national school and Laragh national school, where new school buildings have been promised for some time but which have not yet been built. The existing buildings are in a ramshackle state at a time when local contractors and construction workers are unemployed.

In the interests of creating further jobs, it would also be possible to develop alternative energy projects involving co-operative wind farms, consider the bio-fuel element and examine the VAT rate which applies. I ask the Leader to make time available for a two-day debate on specific solutions to the unemployment problem. If he does not do so, the Seanad will become completely irrelevant.