Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I am sure my colleague, Senator Ross, could help me in that regard. I am appalled that the great newspaper with offices on Middle Abbey Street is in the ownership of a septuagenarian man. This cannot be right. For God's sake, we cannot have newspapers run by fellows in their 70s. What is the country coming to? We should take a stand on the matter.

I refer to the idea of having a Cabinet post for the arts, culture and tourism. Who would want anyone to look after these sectors? Is it not simply the bottom step of the ladder and the trapdoor out of office? Is this of importance to us? Should we bother having a Minister with responsibility for these sectors? I make these points seriously. The idea that certain responsibilities are unimportant or that people aged 60 years or more should not be involved is appalling, uninformed and ignorant. My colleague, Senator Quinn, did Trojan work here to ensure ageism was included in the grounds for discrimination. I am not completely disinterested because I am 62 years of age but it is of no relevance to me whether people know of my age. However, to make a judgment on the quality of people based of their age and insinuate that people of a certain age are not fit for office is unacceptable. We may criticise the Government and will continue to criticise individual members of it but this is something we should walk away from and query where we are going. Is this not discriminatory?