Alex White (Labour)

I support Senator Fitzgerald's call for a debate on banking and, with her permission, second her proposed amendment to the Order of Business. We are about to see the first big test for the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, in the next few weeks in the context of what we have been reading in recent days about the hotel industry. Many Members on the Government benches were concerned about the allegation that NAMA would constitute a bailout for developers; therefore, this will be the first big test as to whether that turns out to be the case in the hotel industry. A debate on the issue should be arranged as it is urgent.

Second, I again ask the Leader when it is proposed to have a debate on the proposal to introduce a directly elected mayor for Dublin. Since I last raised the issue on the Order of Business, we have seen the publication of what is not a Bill or even the heads of a Bill but a summary of what the Minister intends to do. I welcome the fact, however, that something has been published. As I indicated on the last occasion, I do not wish to be described as being opposed in principle to what is being suggested simply because I am raising issues and seeking further elaboration on the matter. On the contrary, it is a very good suggestion. The objective of increasing democracy in our city is laudable, but the problem is that the Bill or at least the outline of the legislation that has been summarised in the newspapers does not appear to do this. That is the question I am raising. Can we have a debate, which includes the Minister, on precisely what it is intended to change as a result of the Bill?

For example, in regard to planning legislation which is currently before the Dáil, the Minister said the new mayor would have a role in the area of planning. The new mayor is not mentioned in the legislation. There is no reference to the mayor, nor could there be at this stage. It will interlock with a number of different areas of policy. It is not enough for the Minister to say the mayor will have the power to generate or suggest policy. If it will bring about real change, it needs to be embedded properly across the board, whether in planning, waste management, transport or policing. We should have a full and open debate in this House on the matter.