Ivor Callely (Fianna Fail)

I note with interest the call for the Minister for Finance to come to the House to discuss social partnership. I do not agree with that proposal. The Minister for Finance has a lot more on his agenda that I would prefer him to concentrate on rather than coming to this House to talk about social partnership, an issue with its own momentum and which hopefully will have a successful outcome. At the appropriate time when one of the most important budgets that will ever be presented is completed, if the Minister has time to come to the House at that stage I would support such a call but not at this time.

I apply common-sense values to certain things. My concern today is the number of business houses in my constituency in the heart of the capital city and where I live which are facing severe trading difficulties. The commercial rate is causing a great problem. The setting of the rate is a reserved function of elected council members. I ask the Leader to obtain a breakdown of the politically controlled councils around the country to see how we could work with those councils to attempt to address the difficulties which some business houses are experiencing. We are all members of political bodies and if people affiliated to us are putting this pressure on business houses we might be able to use our energies to assist them in a practical way.

I refer to my good friend Senator Paschal Donohoe's comment about the OSCE. I agree with him that this is a great opportunity for Ireland to be the chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2012. Senator Donohoe said this was agreed two weeks' ago but this is not the case; it was agreed on Tuesday, 1 December in Athens. I attended that meeting along with a number of colleagues. I wish to pay tribute to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.