Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

We are debating the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill today and tomorrow. This is one of the measures the Government has chosen to introduce to get the public finances back in order. The one major issue which will come back for debate in this House and the Lower House is NAMA. I have the raised the issue previously as to when the Government will formally notify the NAMA scheme to the European Commission. On that occasion the Leader indicated that the House would be kept fully informed of that matter. Since the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill will be debated in the afternoon I ask that the Minister who is speaking to that Bill would clarify this issue because the NAMA scheme is more serious than any single budget? It is important to know at this juncture where we are at in respect of this scheme, whether it has been notified to the European Commission and the expected outcome of the examination and scrutiny by the European Commission. I would be relying on the European Commission to make fundamental changes to that scheme to minimise the cost to the taxpayer and the State.

In regard to the incident in the court in Tralee and the judgment of Judge Donagh MacDonagh in terms of the sexual offence and the sentence handed down, we have had many debates in this House about improving the position of victims of crime. We have had a report in recent weeks indicating a low level of reporting of sexual offences, particularly rape, and more particularly, the low level of prosecutions and convictions for that invidious crime. In this case - we do not have all the facts - the lady in question is quoted as saying:

I feel as if people are judging me the whole time. I've been asked by people I know if I am sorry for bringing Dan Foley to court.

The fact is that she is victimised not only in terms of the crime but there is a question about the culture that can give rise to this situation. It is the same type of culture that gives rise to the issues we have to deal with in the Murphy report, etc., where there is a lack of regard for the victim of crime and-----