Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I support Senator Wilson's comments regarding head shops and the fact that the Government has moved quickly in this regard, particularly the Minister of State, Deputy John Curran, and the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. The Government made a decision yesterday and it is about time these shops were closed. The issue was highlighted on "The Frontline" on Monday night which gave some idea of the problem but the programme was not greatly balanced because no Government representative was in attendance to explain what we were doing in this regard.

Will the Leader arrange a monthly review in the House of State companies in order that we can discuss relevant issues? For instance, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, now known as the injuries board, was established by the Oireachtas in 2004 and is operating well. It was supposed to operate without a State subsidy but in 2008 the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform allocated €820,000 to it, while in 2007 the sum allocated was €438,000. These amounts were related to legal costs in the case of O'Brien v. Personal Injuries Assessment Board. These issues should be discussed in the House. The Leader was Chairman of the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business which was very much involved in the establishment of the board.

Regular reports should be made to the House by State bodies such as the Dublin Airport Authority, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and the National Roads Authority in order that we can discuss issues affecting them because there is a vast pool of talent in the House which should be exploited and utilised to a greater degree. We should discuss issues with the appropriate Minister and make suggestions for the development of these organisations, given that we have such an excess of talent in the House which is bursting at the seams——