James Carroll (Fianna Fail)

I offer a word of warning to Opposition Senators that eight Fine Gael and two Labour Party members of Louth County Council are coming to get them.

I ask the Leader to facilitate two debates, the first on the smart economy and research and development, an issue raised yesterday by Senator Mary White. On Monday the Louth economic forum announced its plans to create 10,000 new jobs in the county in the next ten years, focused on research and development, pharmaceuticals and internationally traded financial services. These jobs are essential for the entire country because, as we know, our recovery will have to be export and research and development-led if we are to be immune to future recessions.

The second issue on which I seek a debate is the announcement by Vodafone that it intends to hold onto unused credit in its customers' accounts. As was the case with dormant accounts in banks, there is an opportunity for a big company which has done very well in the Irish market to allocate the credit to charitable organisations. We should seriously consider this proposal, on which I urge the Leader to communicate directly with the Ministers for Finance and Social and Family Affairs and Vodafone.